All Australian ruckman Todd Goldstein has capped off a stellar 2015, winning North Melbourne’s Syd Barker Medal.
Held at Peninsula, Central Pier in front of 900 guests, the event celebrated North’s season and also marked Brent Harvey’s 400 game milestone.
Harvey was given a special presentation as the fourth player in AFL/VFL history to reach the impressive feat.
Goldstein led the Medal count from start to finish, but was challenged late by 2014 winner Ben Cunnington, whose impressive finals campaign saw him quickly rise up the leaderboard.
Goldstein finished on 283 votes, while Cunnington collected 245 votes, only three votes ahead of Shaun Higgins in third place.
The 27-year-old Goldstein averaged 44.1 hit-outs, 4.2 tackles, 14.7 dispsoals and 4.2 marks in his 24 games. He also broke the AFL record for most hit-outs in a season, with 1058.
Goldstein was also the recipient of the Mazda Spirit Award, with North fans voting on the best player after each round on NMFC.com.au with respect to their toughness, power, strength and performance.
Other awards presented tonight, included:
Best Young Player - Ben Brown
Jason McCartney Award (for strength and courage): Jack Ziebell
Peter Scanlon Community Award: Bridget Barker (staff member)
Harold Henderson Best Clubman Award: Michael Firrito
Syd Barker Medal – Top 10 Leaderboard
Todd Goldstein – 283 votes
Ben Cunnington – 245 votes
Shaun Higgins – 242 votes
Brent Harvey – 227 votes
Jack Ziebell – 224 votes
Andrew Swallow – 224 votes
Ben Jacobs – 214 votes
Drew Petrie – 205 votes
Sam Wright – 192 votes
Scott Thompson – 179 votes
Under the club’s new Syd Barker voting system, players could earn up to 20 votes per match, with votes from their best 20 matches and finals counting towards their total.
