And the 2010 GB Medallist is... (incl. donation info)

[David]

What a year for the Magpies. Dane Swan almost won a Brownlow Medal; Harry O'Brien saved the world; Alan Didak changed his mouthguard; and, curiously, the players got to stand on some podium and hold a large cup in the air.

It was another great year on Nick's Bulletin Board, as well. There were some teething issues, including a mega-sook in round 3 when we managed to not win a game, a controversial mid-season coaching spill in the posting XXII, and some increasingly alarming and intimate posts by Hiss; however, at the end of the season we all joined in for a sensual group hug. It was a truly beautiful and macabre sight.

Why do I mention all this now, dear reader? Well, tonight happens to be Nick's Bulletin Board's evening of evenings: the Gavin Brown Medal ceremony. And by ceremony, I mean a slightly-too-long post with more irritating tangents than a Rob Oakeshott speech.

The tension is palpable-ish. Will Dane Swan win, again? Will Dale Thomas emerge as king of the 'wackers'? Will Alan Toovey show the world why I shouldn't be in charge of counting votes?

I could reveal the winner now, but getting to the point is not the way we do things around here. Instead, I present you with all the votes, game by game.

But before I do that, let me tell you about my favourite quote from the movie Highlander...

[giant Monty Pythonesque foot descends from the sky and squashes me]

R.1 v Bulldogs W
3. O’Brien
2. Shaw
1. Swan

R.2 v Melbourne W
3. Beams
2. Pendlebury
1. Sidebottom

R.3 v St. Kilda L
3. Ball
2. Sidebottom
1. Thomas

R.4 v Hawthorn W
3. Shaw
2. Thomas
1. Sidebottom

R.5 v Essendon W
3. Beams
2. Wellingham
1. Cloke

R.6 v Carlton W
3. Swan
2. Ball
1. Pendlebury

R.7 v North Melbourne W
3. Swan
2. Sidebottom
1. Ball

R.8 v Fremantle W
3. Cloke
2. Swan
1. Pendlebury

R.9 v Geelong L
3. Beams
2. Johnson
1. Ball

R.10 v Brisbane L
3. Thomas
2. Pendlebury
1. O’Brien

R.11 v Bulldogs W
3. Pendlebury
2. Thomas
1. Davis

Votes after conclusion of R.11:
9 Beams
9 Pendlebury
9 Swan
8 Thomas
7 Ball
6 Sidebottom
5 Shaw
4 Cloke
4 O’Brien
2 Johnson
2 Wellingham
1 Davis

There was no clear leader at the halfway mark of the season. As expected, Swan and Pendles were right up the top, but Dayne Beams had emerged a surprise co-leader, and Thomas and Ball were only one and two votes behind respectively.

R.12 v Melbourne D
3. Swan
2. Dick
3. Thomas

R.13 v Sydney W
3. Shaw
2. Jolly
1. O’Brien

R.14 v West Coast W
3. Jolly
2. Didak
1. Swan

R.15 v Port Adelaide W
3. Swan
2. Pendlebury
1. Thomas

R.16 v St. Kilda W
3. Swan
2. L. Brown
1. Thomas

R.17 v Richmond W
3. Swan
2. Didak
1. L. Brown

R.18 v Carlton W
3. Pendlebury
2. Swan
1. Ball

R.19 v Geelong W
3. Didak
2. Wellingham
1. Macaffer

R.20 v Essendon W
3. Pendlebury
2. Cloke
1. Blair

R.21 v Adelaide W
3. Pendlebury
2. Thomas
1. Jolly

R.22 v Hawthorn L
3. Swan
2. Maxwell
1. Jolly

Votes after conclusion of R.22:
27 Swan
20 Pendlebury
13 Thomas
9 Beams
8 Ball
8 Shaw
7 Didak
7 Jolly
6 Cloke
6 Sidebottom
5 O’Brien
4 Wellingham
3 L. Brown
2 Dick
2 Johnson
2 Maxwell
1 Blair
1 Davis
1 Macaffer

Swan had broken free of the pack by round 22, but a good finals series by Pendlebury might yet prove enough to catch him. Thomas was in third place, with Beams, Ball, Shaw, Didak and Jolly right back in the pack.

QF v Bulldogs W
3. Swan
2. Thomas
1. Maxwell

PF v Geelong W
3. Pendlebury
2. Swan
1. Didak

GF v St. Kilda D
3. Thomas
2. Maxwell
1. Shaw

GFR v St. Kilda W
3. Sidebottom
2. Thomas
1. Pendlebury

Like Lance Armstrong, except with less ridiculous attire, our tattoo-clad superstar has claimed yet another win. Yes, surprise surprise, Dane Swan has won his fourth Gavin Brown Medal, to add to his 2006, 2008 and 2009 triumphs. This time around, he polled an incredible 32 votes.

As in the Brownlow, Scott Pendlebury is our runner up with 24, while Dale Thomas was not far behind with 20 after an incredible finals campaign. Dayne Beams came in fourth on countback (9 votes with 3 best on grounds); and Heath Shaw fifth.

In a year that saw Steele Sidebottom quite deservedly win the international "name of the year" award, he was adjudged best on ground in the Magpies' Grand Final victory. Well done Steele!

Our best finals player as a whole was Dale Thomas, who polled 7 votes including 5 in the two grand finals.

Once again, congratulations to Dane Swan, Gavin Brown Medallist for 2010!

Final Tally

1. Dane Swan 32
2. Scott Pendlebury 24
3. Dale Thomas 20
4. Dayne Beams 9 (3 BOG)
5. Heath Shaw 9 (2 BOG)
6. Steele Sidebottom 9 (1 BOG)
7. Alan Didak 8 (1 BOG)
8. Luke Ball 8 (1 BOG)
9. Darren Jolly 7
10. Travis Cloke 6
11. Harry O'Brien 5 (1 BOG)
12. Nick Maxwell 5
13. Sharrod Wellingham 4
14. Leigh Brown 3
15. Brad Dick 2
Ben Johnson 2
17. Jarryd Blair 1
Leon Davis 1
Brent Macaffer 1

[Collingwood 4 eternity]

Sarah Murdoch announced the winner of the Gavin Brown medal as "Scott Pendlebury" then said "Oh no , I'm so sorry , I'm so sorry it's .... the winner is Dane"

[Big T]

[David]

We now commence Operation "Get Cheap Trophy and Deliver it to Dane Swan". All in favour say... something?

[John Wren]

i'm a little outraged by all of this.

[Donny]

No way a cheap trophy.

It's called the Gavin Brown Medal.

I suggest we notify Swanny immediately (although he's probably read this thread already:)) and give him the medal (actually, 3 medals) when some money comes in.

By the way, thanks David. Well done.

Please put in the details of where to send our contributions.

[rocketronnie]

[David]

Despite Tannin's misgivings, I think we're going to go for paypal. It's probably the most secure and convenient method of transferring money that I can think of, short of giving out my bank account details.

The email address of my Paypal account is david_Lpfan @ hotmail.com. Feel free to chip in however much you feel like - a couple of dollars from 10-20 people should be more than enough.

[David]

Donny, how do you propose we best go about notifying Dane?

Although it is, of course, the Gavin Brown Medal, for some reason I prefer the idea of an actual trophy. That way we can actually engrave Dane's name, etc. I suppose medals can be engraved, but I'm not sure if it's usually done that way.

Here's the site I've been looking at, anyway. Any ideas or suggestions would be appreciated.

http://www.awardsandtrophies.com.au/Select/s3/Aussie-Rules.aspx

[David]

Actually, this one looks quite good.



$8.95, up to 4 lines of engraving on the back.

http://www.awardsandtrophies.com.au/Product/1784/Two-Tone-Medal--Aussie-Rules.aspx

[eddiesmith]

I like the idea of a trophy as well which can be added to each year as well as the individual medal, depending on what money comes in.

Although where to keep it is the problem, worthy of the Westpac trophy cabinet?

[rambopriscilla]

a medal mounted on a trophy? A big bastard trophy so it stands out amongst his others.

[Buttsy-Bells]

I didn't mind the look of that clock you put on line a couple of weeks ago - a "time honoured" trophy !

[David]

Yeah, I liked it too.

Come on people, we need more suggestions!

[Donny]