Sydney Swans midfielder Callum Mills has narrowly missed out on being awarded the Carey Bunton Medal for the best player in the AFL this season based on the votes of the AFL Coaches Association.
Mills (originally from the Mosman Club) had an incredibly strong season in 2021 to finish on 42 votes while teammate Isaac Heeney (from the Cardiff Club, Newcastle) finished the year on 41 votes.
The pair were just short of GWS mid-fielder Jacob Hopper from Leeton-Whitton has claimed the award with 51 votes.
The Carey-Bunton Medal is named in honour of NSW’s greatest-ever two players, Wayne Carey (North Wagga), the North Melbourne dual premiership skipper who is rated by many as the best player of the modern era in the VFL/AFL; and Haydn Bunton (Albury Rovers/Albury/West Albury), the most decorated player of all time with three Brownlow medals for Fitzroy in the VFL and three Sandover medals for Subiaco in the WAFL.
The NSW Australian Football History Society has also named their NSW State-of-Origin team for 2021 which includes six Sydney Swans players.
Aside from Mills and Heeney, defenders Harry Cunningham and Dane Rampe were named in the side along with forwards Errol Gulden and Sam Wicks.
The team was selected by Richard Colless, Gerard Healy, Mike Sheahan, Wayne Carey, Mark Maclure and Rod Gillett.
FB: Harry Cunningham - Dougal Howard - Harry Perryman
HB: Taylor Duryea - Dane Rampe - Isaac Cumming
C: Isaac Smith - Callum Mills - Errol Gulden
HF: Luke Breust (Vice-Capt) - Harry Himmelberg - Sam Wicks
FF: Lachie Schultz - Tom Hawkins (Captain) - Todd Marshall
R: Matthew Flynn Jacob Hopper Isaac Heeney
I: Daniel Lloyd, Charlie Spargo, Jack Buckley, Jacob Koschitzke
Sydney’s John Longmire (Corowa Rutherglen) was named as the coach with Jarrad McVeigh (Pennant Hills) and Ben Mathews (Corowa Rutherglen named as assistant coaches alongside Mark McVeigh, Adam Schneider and Greg Stafford.
In announcing the NSW State-of-Origin team for 2021, Society patron Richard Colless, who leads the selection process for the selection of the team said, “This year’s team was selected from the fifty-one players from NSW-based clubs on AFL lists in 2021”
“Tom Hawkins from Geelong is again captain of the team, and he wins the inaugural Mohr Medal (named in honour of St Kilda goalkicking champion Wilbur (Bill) Mohr in the 1930s. Bill played in Wagga Wagga with Federals which became Wagga Tigers. He was the leading goalkicker for St Kilda from 1929-40. He was selected at full forward in the Greatest NSW Team of All Time announced in 2018, a member of the St Kilda Team of the Century, and inaugural inductee into the AFL Hall of Fame, and 18 times Victorian representative) for being the leading NSW goal kicker in the AFL with 54 goals”.
“Sydney’s Errol Gulden wins the Stiff Medal for Emerging Talent following an outstanding debut in the AFL this season. The medal is named after former South Sydney player Jimmy Stiff who represented NSW 10 times in the early 1930s. He was included amongst the best players in every game including best on ground v Victoria at the SCG in 1932. In the 1933 ANFC Carnival he was awarded the equivalent of the Tassie Medal and was adjudged best on ground in five games including v Victoria/WA/Tasmania. He also played in the 1934/35 South Sydney premiership teams in the Sydney Football League”.
“We were very pleased to again have the support from the AFL Coaches Association for the voting system for the Carey Bunton Medal, it provided an empirical basis for the award. Thank you to Alistair Nicholson and his team at the AFLCA”.
Selection note: It’s important to acknowledge that notwithstanding, an outstanding on field season by Taylor Walker the selectors have concluded due to recent events it would be inappropriate to consider Taylor for selection in the team.
CAREY BUNTON MEDAL
51 Jacob Hopper
42 Callum Mills
41 Isaac Heeney
38 Taylor Walker
34 Tom Hawkins
11 Errol Gulden
MOHR MEDAL FOR GOALKICKING
Tom Hawkins 54 goals
Taylor Walker 48
Luke Breust 33
Isaac Heeney 32
Harry Himmelberg 32
Jacob Koschitzke 27
STIFF MEDAL FOR EMERGING TALENT
Errol Gulden Sydney
