Seymour’s Ally Black earned a superb second-place finish in the Wellman Medal on Monday night.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
Seymour Football Netball Club stars Ally Black, Elle Nexhip and Dylan Cook have all been recognised for their superb years on the court and field in their respective Goulburn Valley League competitions, with all three polling extremely well in the league’s top-flight best-and-fairest counts.
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In the case of Black and Nexhip, the pair finished as runner-up and third, respectively, in the Wellman Family Medal count, awarded to the fairest-and-best player in the A-grade netball competition in what was an exhilarating count at Tatura’s Ballantyne Centre on Monday night.
At the conclusion of round 15, Nexhip was leading the count on 21 votes, one ahead of Mansfield’s Alexandra Ball, with Black three back on 18 votes in equal third alongside Tatura’s Elsie Boyer, while a further four players lurked within three votes of that duo.
But the Lions won only one game in the final three rounds of the season, and Nexhip, the 2015 winner, would poll just one vote in that period to finish on 22 votes, one ahead of both Boyer and three-time winner Ash Hare of Echuca.
Seymour coach Elle Nexhip earned a podium finish in the Wellman Medal, finishing third in her first season back at the Lions.
Photo by
Jazzy Johal
Black would catch the eye of the umpires a little more than her coach in the final three games of the season, however, polling six of a possible nine votes to jump Nexhip and slot into second on 24 votes, but it would be one shy of Mansfield’s Ball by the end of the count, who claimed her first Wellman Family Medal with 25 votes.
The pair’s podium finish is well-deserved individual recognition that is reflective of a superb wider team campaign, with the Lions once again qualifying for and winning a final despite undergoing wholesale change in the off-season.
That the Lions were able to once again challenge is testament to the experience and talent of Nexhip in her first season as coach, a luxury the Lions will be afforded once again in 2027, with the capped England international’s re-signing for next season announced by the club at the weekend.
Seymour's Dylan Cook claimed a top-five finish in the Morrison Medal on Monday night.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
Gun onballer Dylan Cook was another Lion to feature prominently on the leaderboard on Monday night, earning a top-five finish in the Morrison Medal, having been instrumental in Seymour’s 2026 senior football campaign.
Having polled 12 votes by round 15 to sit equal seventh, tied with four other players including 2025 Morrison medallist Callum Brown of Mansfield, Cook flew home with five votes in the final three rounds to record an equal-fifth place finish, level with Rochester tough nut Mitch Trewhella and Mooroopna’s Liam Betson on 17 votes.
Just one ahead in fourth in a count dominated by the big men was Kyabram’s Zac Norris, while Angus Hicks (Shepparton United) finished third on 20 votes behind runner-up Mark Marriott (Benalla) on 22 votes and winner Ashley Holland (Shepparton) on 24 votes, with Holland becoming only the 10th person to win multiple Morrison Medals.
Across the other grades, Madilyn Hager notched a fifth place finish in the B-grade Sandra Cox Medal with 18 votes, while Casey Drummond finished equal third in the B-reserve Gaye Eaton Medal on 21 votes ahead of both Chloe and Sophie Locke, who finished in equal seventh on 17 votes apiece.
In the reserves football Abikhair Medal, Charlie Carmichael finished equal eighth on 10 votes, while teammate Jack Radford was recognised for his superb year in front of the big sticks, taking out the reserves goalkicking for the second straight season after booting 70 majors.
Awards concerning the under-15s and 17s netball and under-18s football will be announced at the new separate Junior Awards Day on the afternoon of October 3, with Lion Sophie Butterworth among the contenders shortlisted for the Carol Ryan Rising Star under-17 netball best-and-fairest, while Benjamin McCarthy is in the running for the Pattison Medal under-18 best and fairest.
The Junior Award Day will be held on Saturday, October 3 at the Museum of Vehicle Evolution in Shepparton.
