Corio midfielder Joel Bennett has taken home the Geelong and District Football League’s (GDFL) highest honour after being named the 2023 Whitley Medallist.
The Devils skipper and co-coach polled 30 votes across the season, including eight in which he was named best-on-ground.
Bennett received six more votes than Werribee Centrals mid Tyler Crennan and finished 12 ahead of third-placed Tavae Sauni of Winchelsea.
He was also named captain of the GDFL Team of the Year for the second year in a row.
Thomson’s Mitchell Simons and Winchelsea’s Bailey Forssman were co-winners of the reserve grade Ivan Tansing Medal with 15 votes apiece.
GDFL Team of the Year:
B: Caleb Bacely (BPH). Luke Bowdern (Bannockburn), Hayden Spiller (Bannockburn)
HB: Toby Bennett (Corio), Steve Salajan (Thomson), Fin Parish (Winchelsea)
C: Michael Culliver (Werribee Centrals, Brad Surkitt (Inverleigh), Jahd Anderson (Thomson)
HF: Adam Donohue (Inverleigh), Darcy Troop (Thomson). Casey Meehan (Inverleigh)
F: Leigh Ellis (Inverleigh), Will Ford (BPH), Tyler Crennan (Werribee Centrals)
R: Andrew Jarvis (Thomson), Joel Bennett (C) (Corio), Boe Collins (BPH)
Coach: Paul Lynch (Thomson)
2023 GDFL Whitley Medal Top Ten
Joel Bennett (Corio) 30
Tyler Crennan (Werribee Centrals) 24
Tavae Sauni (Winchelsea) 18
Brad Surkitt (Inverleigh) 17
Nick Peters (Bannockburn) 16
Tim Barton (Bell Post Hill) 16
Tim McLennan (East Geelong) 16
Andrew Jarvis (Thomson) 16
Adam Donohue (Inverleigh) 15
Zach Plant (Thomson) 15
