The GIANTS’ 2019 season comes to an official end on Friday night as the Kevin Sheedy Medallist is crowned at the Hyatt Regency. 

With six GIANTS in contention for their second club champion award and a host of others looking to poll strongly this could be one of the closest counts to date. 

GIANTS Media looks at who might claim the award in the GIANTS’ historic season that saw them reach the Grand Final.

How the count works

  • Each game (home and away, and finals), five of the GIANTS’ coaches are able to give each player up to four votes.
  • Players can receive anywhere from zero votes to 20 votes with a 20-vote game considered ‘a perfect game’.
  • If two or more players are tied on the most votes at the end of the count, they will be declared joint winners.

Previous Winners
2012 – Callan Ward
2013 – Jeremy Cameron
2014 – Shane Mumford
2015 – Heath Shaw
2016 – Toby Greene
2017 – Josh Kelly
2018 – Lachie Whitfield

Who could win?

With the GIANTS using 38 players in 2019, the list of contenders has been narrowed down a bit with only players who played 15 games or more considered.

Defenders 

Phil Davis – 23 games
Another outstanding season from the co-captain. A solid poller in previous Sheedy Medals, Davis has finished in the top 10 on four occasions and in 2017 and 2018 he finished third. Davis led the competition in intercept marks and despite missing a few games with an ankle injury he will poll well again.

Heath Shaw - 26 games
The evergreen Shaw didn’t miss a game in 2019 and was a key part of the GIANTS’ back six. The 2015 Sheedy Medal winner averaged 20 disposals across the season. Having finished in the top 10 every season since joining the GIANTS you would expect to see Shaw poll well again. 

Sam Reid – 26 games
Like Shaw, Reid didn’t miss a game in 2019 as he played a variety of roles as the GIANTS marched towards the Grand Final. While Reid doesn’t find a lot of the footy, he is a highly regarded role player. With the Sheedy Medal judged differently to the Brownlow Medal, it should come as no surprise if Reid polls well.

Zac Williams – 24 games
While Williams is generally classed as a defender, his impressive spells in the midfield throughout the season – especially during finals – will see him poll strongly. The Narrandera product finished in the top 10 in 2016 and 2017 before injury saw him miss most of 2018. Averaging 23 disposals in 2019 and unlucky not to be included in the 40-player All Australian squad, the kid who has been called ‘Zac Sheedy’ stands as a very good chance to take home his first Sheedy Medal. 

Nick Haynes – 23 games
Part of the 2019 All Australian 40-player squad, Haynes was at his absolute best across the GIANTS’ backline. Haynes polled five Brownlow votes as he did more than just crunch packs and take marks, with the 27-year-old averaging 18 disposals. Having finished fifth in the Sheedy Medal last year, Haynes might go even better on Friday night.

Adam Kennedy – 23 games
Kennedy’s dash off half back and occasional play on the wing saw him enjoy his most consistent season at the GIANTS in 2019. While Kennedy won’t lose votes to other players, the outstanding seasons of his fellow defenders will likely see him miss the top 10.

Sam Taylor – 22 games
While an injury forced him to miss four games in his second season at the GIANTS, Sam Taylor formed a brilliant partnership with Haynes and Davis in the backline. Proving he could play tall and small, Taylor’s speed and strength saw him take on, and beat, some of the competition’s best key forwards. The West Australian polled well in 2018 when he played just eight games and will definitely poll well again. 

Midfielders and Rucks

Harry Perryman – 19 games
The kid from Collingullie enjoyed a breakout year in 2019, playing more games this season than his previous two combined. Playing on the wing and half-back the 20-year-old showed his toughness around the contest and elite disposal by foot. Perryman averaged 18 touches in 2019 and should finish inside the top 20 in Friday’s poll.

Tim Taranto – 26 games
Having finished eighth in 2018’s count, Taranto could very well win his first Sheedy Medal on Friday night. The fifth year GIANT was outstanding in the midfield averaging 27 disposals and kicking 11 goals in 2019. He filled the holes left by Callan Ward and Stephen Coniglio, excelling in his third season at the club. Taranto had an outstanding finals series, that saw him finish second in the AFL Coaches’ Association’s Gary Ayres Medal, and will finish the count very strongly.

Jacob Hopper – 23 games
Having overcome injury issues in his first three seasons in the AFL, Hopper went to a new level in 2019. Alongside Taranto he formed a brilliant contested ball partnership and finished the season averaging 26 disposals. After finishing equal 10th in the 2018 Sheedy Medal it would come as no surprise if Hopper finishes higher or even wins the 2019 Sheedy Medal. 

Shane Mumford – 20 games
After winning the 2014 Kevin Sheedy Medal having played 17 games, Mumford is an outside chance to claim his second after a big season for the GIANTS. It’ll be a lot tougher to win this year as the experienced GIANT is now playing alongside some of the competition’s best players compared to the kids he played with five seasons ago. While Mumford was often beaten when it came to the hitout count, his boy work was as strong as ever and he played an important role in the GIANTS’ push to the Grand Final. 

Lachie Whitfield – 19 games
Whitfield could very well be the first GIANT to not only win his second Sheedy Medal but go back-to-back. While he missed seven games, Whitfield’s impact was massive when he played. Averaging 27 disposals, Whitfield caught the eye of the umpires in the Brownlow Medal, the question now is, has he caught the eye of the GIANTS’ coaches?

Toby Greene – 19 games
Greene played forward at times in 2019 but it was when he stepped up and played in the midfield that he was at his best. The 2016 Sheedy Medallist kicked 27 goals in 2019 and averaged 23 disposals. Injury and a suspension saw him miss seven games but given his Sheedy Medal history (five top 10 finishes in seven seasons) he should poll strongly on Friday night. 

Matt de Boer – 19 games
As the GIANTS approached the mid-season bye, de Boer was being touted as a possible All Australian as he claimed scalp after scalp whilst playing as a tagger in the GIANTS’ midfield. A broken shoulder saw him miss a good chunk of the season, but it would come as no surprise if he leads or is close to leading the count after round 10. His finals campaign was also impressive, so expect de Boer to poll well, especially in the elimination final when he took Bulldogs star Marcus Bontempelli out of the game.

Josh Kelly – 18 games
The 2017 Sheedy Medallist will find it tough to claim this year’s medal having missed eight games. Kelly still averaged 28 disposals in 2019 and was damaging with ball in hand but had a stop-start season due to injury. Kelly also hit the scoreboard this year, kicking 14 goals including three in the elimination final. 

Stephen Coniglio – 15 games
No GIANTS fan will be surprised if Coniglio leads the count alongside de Boer and Whitfield in the early stages of the season. The 25-year-old was racking up touches and kicking goals for fun. A knee injury ended his season in round 17, but to that point he’d claimed 17 Brownlow votes, kicked 15 goals and averaged 28.5 disposals.

Forwards

Jeremy Cameron – 24 games
Cameron is the only forward to have claimed the Sheedy Medal, but he has finished in the top 10 on four other occasions. Having claimed the Coleman Medal in 2019 with 76 goals and being named in the All Australian team, Cameron could very well finish in the top ten again. His ability to push up the ground and find more of the footy could even see him claim his second Sheedy Medal.

Jeremy Finlayson - 23 games
After bursting onto the scene in 2018 as a defender, Finlayson was moved forward and excelled there in 2019. The Academy graduate kicked 44 goals in an impressive season alongside Cameron and Harry Himmelberg. Despite Finlayson’s big year he’s an outside chance to claim the Sheedy Medal, but will certainly poll more than the 35 votes he did last season. 

Harry Himmelberg – 25 games
The high marking and tough Himmelberg was the competition leader when it came to goal assists and also kicked1 a career best 38 goals in 2019. The Wagga product finished 13th in the 2018 Sheedy Medal but his efforts in 2019 could see him push for top 10 honours on Friday night. 

Daniel Lloyd – 18 games
Lloyd kicked 16 goals in 18 games as he established himself as an important part of the GIANTS’ forward line this season. His defensive work was outstanding, however having played 18 games he is an underdog to take out the Sheedy Medal. Lloyd finished 22nd in the 2018 count with 50 votes but given his larger contribution this season he should poll a lot more.

Brent Daniels – 26 games
In his second season in the AFL Daniels played in every game, an outstanding achievement that also saw him claim the round 23 NAB AFL Rising Star nomination. Daniels was a true role player in 2019 and – like Himmelberg – was one of the most selfless players in the competition. Daniels should poll strongly but is an outside chance to claim the Sheedy Medal.