Being named joint winner of the McCormick Medal for the Best and Fairest player in the Under-16 Wangaratta and District Junior Football League competition might have come as a bit of a surprise for Benalla’s Lachy Boyle earlier this month, but it was ultimately an achievement two years in the making for the young midfielder.
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“I was aiming for it,” the 16-year-old said.
“Two years ago, I came fourth in the Under-14s. It showed me where I was at.
“I wanted to do the best I could and have a crack at it.
“But I didn’t want to get my hopes up."
The Benalla Giants' skipper said he'd had a fairly consistent season as a top-ager, but a minor quad strain in his left leg early in the season hampered some of his influence.
But the young footballer came good in the latter half of the season, which was illustrated perfectly throughout the best-and-fairest voting.
Boyle, who was nowhere near the top of the leader board ahead of the final six rounds, polled heavily to spring back up the rungs and claim the top honour.
It wasn’t the only award the Benalla footballer took out, with Boyle also awarded the joint Under-16 Wangaratta Chronicle Award for Most Valuable Player in the league.
Having represented Benalla in a number of football forums, such as captaining the inter-league squad as well as featuring in the V/Line Cup, it seems to be Boyle's willingness to push himself to be the very best he can be that is providing the dividends of his vast improvement during the past few seasons.
It's his strong core fitness, as well as his leadership, that Boyle credits as his biggest strengths.
“I like to be fitter than most others, so I can run more, and I try give that third effort to get over the line,” he said.
While it was ultimately a challenging season for Boyle, with his Giants outfit taking home only three wins for the season, there was still plenty of upside for the developing footballer.
“Being a top-ager, you have to think a lot harder and work harder to get to the contest,” he said.
“And just the physicality side of it, you’re running more in games.
“But we improved as a team as the season went on.
“I think if we had a couple more rounds left, we would have got some more wins.”
Although Boyle should technically now be in off-season mode, his mind isn’t too far away from what’s next.
He is set to follow a program ahead of getting stuck in when the Under-18 preseason gears up, and will also train with the Murray Bushrangers' Under-17 squad.
“I’ll be focusing on building up my speed and having a good first year in Under-18s,” Boyle said.
“I’m looking forward to that step up.”
Boyle would like to thank his coaches Ben Wapling and Dean Mathieson, and well as his parents.