Star GIANTS defender Sam Taylor has won the 2022 Kevin Sheedy Medal, taking out his first Club Champion award.
The award caps off a career-best season which saw him recognised as one of the best defenders in the competition, earning an inaugural induction into the All-Australian team on Wednesday night.
Playing in all 22 games for the GIANTS, Taylor polled strongly across the count, taking the lead after round 18 and finishing the night on 156 votes from co-captain Stephen Coniglio (108 votes) and young gun Tom Green (104).
This season Taylor led the league in total intercepts and intercepts per game, ranked second in spoils, and averaged 15.2 disposals per game.
Taylor’s victory caps off a remarkable return to the elite level, two seasons after he was sidelined for almost an entire year with septic arthritis which saw him lose eight kilograms and have to re-build his body again.
Drafted with pick 28 in the 2017 NAB AFL Draft, the West Australian native is signed with the GIANTS until the end of 2025.
GIANTS General Manager of Football Jason McCartney congratulated Taylor on his win.
“This is a wonderful effort by Sam and a much-deserved reward for an outstanding season,” McCartney said.
“We’ve always known he’s an incredibly hard working and skilful player but what he’s been able to achieve this season is nothing short of remarkable, particularly given the amount of work our back line had to do.
“Sam has rare competitiveness, even by professional footballers’ standards. This season we’ve seen him step up to lead the backline and his growth and maturity has been fantastic to watch.
“We’re proud of the player and person he’s become and look forward to his continued development over the coming seasons.”
It was young-gun Tom Green who held top spot on the leader board until round 14, but Taylor powered home, polling votes in all but three games for the season, to be rewarded with his first Kevin Sheedy Medal in his fifth season.
Forward-turned-defender Harry Himmelberg finished in fourth place on 99 votes, with Jesse Hogan (93 votes) completing the top five, booting 35 goals from his 18 games this season.
Co-captain Toby Greene was awarded full votes for his round 14 seven-goal performance against the Bulldogs.
Greene also narrowly defeated Hogan as the club’s Leading Goalkicker, with 37 goals from 15 games, as well as taking home Mark of the Year for his roof-raising screamer against Carlton in round 19.
Fellow co-captain Josh Kelly won the Goal of the Year for his classy long-bomb against the Lions at Manuka Oval in round 18.
A heroic return from Harry Perryman after being sidelined for six weeks with four broken ribs saw the 23-year-old finish sixth in the count, as well as taking out the Coaches Award for his toughness, selflessness and ability to play multiple roles.
Mature-age rookie Jacob Wehr was the recipient of the Rising Star Award for his efforts across ten consecutive games following his debut in round 10, while Jarrod Brander took out VFL Player of the Year honours, as voted by the coaches.
Harry Rowston was awarded the Academy Player of the Year. The tough midfielder has been in the GIANTS Academy since he was 13 and hails from the Griffith Swans.
As well as his top three finish on the leader board, Tom Green also took home the Members’ Choice Award, which was voted on by members and fans at the conclusion of every round across the season.
Membership Coordinator Anthony Badman rounded out the awards for the evening after being recognised as the GIANTS’ Staff Member of the Year.
The GIANTS broke their all-time AFL membership record this season with 32,624 members signing up to join the big big sound.
The 2022 Kevin Sheedy Medal was held at the Ivy Ballroom in Sydney with players, staff and guests joining hosts Melissa Doyle and Jim Wilson for the presentation of the awards.
The Kevin Sheedy Medal is voted on by the coaches. After every game, each coach awards votes to as many players as they see fit on a scale of one to four with four being the highest possible score per player. A coach can award votes to every player, or no players, for any given game.
The votes across the season are then tallied up with the player with the most votes awarded the Kevin Sheedy Medal.
2022 Kevin Sheedy Medal Top 10:
1 Sam Taylor (156 votes)
2 Stephen Coniglio (108)
3 Tom Green (104)
4 Harry Himmelberg (99)
5 Jesse Hogan (93)
6 Harry Perryman (91)
7 Toby Greene (90)
8 Josh Kelly (89)
9 Isaac Cumming (86)
10 Callan Ward (79)
Award Winners
Rising Star Award, presented by St.George
Jacob Wehr
Academy Player of the Year, presented by Bingo Industries
Harry Rowston
VFL Player of the Year, presented by Bingo Industries
Jarrod Brander
Members Choice Award, presented by Toyo Tires
Tom Green
Mark of the Year, presented by Harvey Norman
Toby Greene - Round 19 v Carlton
Goal of the Year, presented by Toyo Tires
Josh Kelly - Round 18 v Brisbane
Leading Goalkicker
, presented by Crypto.com
Toby Greene - 37 goals
Coaches Award, presented by EFEX
Harry Perryman
Past Winners:
2021 - Josh Kelly
2020 - Nick Haynes and Lachie Whitfield
2019 - Tim Taranto
2018 - Lachie Whitfield
2017 - Josh Kelly
2016 - Toby Greene
2015 - Heath Shaw
2014 - Shane Mumford
2013 - Jeremy Cameron
2012 - Callan Ward
