This year’s Bob Skilton Medal count is set to be another tight contest, with a number of Sydney Swans players likely to poll well at Friday night’s Club Champion Dinner, held at The Star.

Looking ahead to tomorrow night’s count, sydneyswans.com.au has taken a closer look at who the main contenders are to take out the prestigious Bob Skilton Medal.

The contenders

After almost doubling his career Brownlow Medal votes in this year’s count, midfielder Dan Hannebery is likely to be a strong contender to take out his first Bob Skilton Medal.

The 22-year-old, who capped off a career-best season with All-Australian selection and a top-five finish in the Brownlow, enjoyed a terrific stretch of form early in the season and took out the inaugural ANZAC Medal for his best on ground performance in the Swans’ round five win over St Kilda in Wellington.

Hannebery also produced clear best on ground efforts in the Swans’ round 11 win over Adelaide (42 disposals, one goal) as well as in the round 17 win over the West Coast Eagles, where he finished the match with 40 touches and two goals.

Sydney Swans co-captain Jarrad McVeigh could be in line to take out his second Bob Skilton Medal following a sensational season from the versatile star, who also received his first All-Australian nod this year.

McVeigh was at his brilliant best at the beginning of the season as an attacking midfielder, and led the Swans’ goal kicking tally after five rounds, including a 27-disposal, three-goal effort against Geelong at the SCG in round four.

When injuries forced McVeigh onto the half-back line during the season, the co-captain didn’t miss a beat and put in several eye-catching efforts including  an impressive 35-disposal game against GWS in round 16 and a career-best 42-disposal performance against Carlton in the semi final.

Fellow co-captain Kieren Jack will also be a strong candidate for this year’s award after a stunning season in the Swans midfield. In his first year in the top job as co-captain, Jack produced one of his most consistent seasons and was rewarded with a place in the All-Australian midfield.

Having won the award in 2010, Jack has a history of polling well at the annual Club Champion event and is likely to do so again following his stellar season in 2013. Jack averaged 25.2 disposals, kicked 24 goals for the season, and was ranked as the number one player in the league for inside 50s.

The 26-year-old showed his best form in the round 18 win over Richmond, where he finished the match with 26 touches and two goals, and again in round 19 where Jack notched up 30 disposals and kicked two goals.

Last year’s Bob Skilton medallist Josh Kennedy should also poll well in this year’s count, following another strong season as an inside midfielder.

Kennedy also has an impressive history at the club’s annual vote count, finishing in the top three every year since joining the Swans at the end of 2009.

The AFL’s leading clearance player for the second consecutive season, Kennedy was massive in the Swans’ 59-point win over St Kilda in round 21 and was also very consistent throughout the finals series.

Named alongside Kennedy in the 40-man All Australian squad, Nick Malceski also enjoyed one of his best seasons to date.

Playing predominantly off the half-back line alongside McVeigh in 2013, Malceski took out the Brett Kirk Medal for his 30 disposals and one goal against GWS and was a consistent performer in the Swans backline, which was hit by a spate of injuries this year.

In just his third year at the club, young midfielder Luke Parker should register a career-best vote tally at this year’s count.

After missing chunks of 2012 with injuries, Parker played every game in 2013 and provided a strong forward option towards the end of the season, kicking three goals in both the Swans’ round 23 loss to Hawthorn and the club’s semi final win over Carlton.

After a third place finish in last year’s count, Swans veteran Ryan O’Keefe is another player likely to poll well again this year.

In his 14th AFL season, O’Keefe ranked number one at the club for tackles in 2013, laying 164 for the year and averaging 6.6 per match. The 32-year-old managed 28 tackles in the Swans’ two clashes with South Australian sides in round 11 and 13, including a 28-possession, 15-tackle effort against the Crows.

The voting system

Following each game this season, votes for the 2013 Bob Skilton Medal were awarded to the players by the Swans coaching staff including John Longmire, John Blakey, Stuart Dew, Henry Playfair and Leigh Tudor.

A maximum of ten votes could be allocated to as many or as few players after each match, with the maximum a player could receive was 50 votes.

About the Bob Skilton Medal

The club’s best and fairest award is named in honour of three-time Brownlow Medallist Bob Skilton, who played 237 games for South Melbourne between 1956 and 1971.

Skilton won the South Melbourne best and fairest award nine times in his career, ahead of J. Herbie Matthews and Peter Bedford, who won four each.

The award was named the Bob Skilton Medal in 1995.

Of the current Swans playing group, Adam Goodes is the only current player to have won the award on multiple occasions (2003, 2006, 2011)

Additional awards

In addition to the Bob Skilton Medal, five other awards on the night will be presented including:

Rising Star Award
Dennis Carroll Award for Most Improved
Barry Round Shield for Best Clubman
Paul Kelly Players’ Player Award
Paul Roos Award for Best Player in a Finals Series

Coverage

Keep up-to-date with all the Bob Skilton Medal coverage as it happens on sydneyswans.com.au or via the club’s Official social media channels including Twitter and Facebook.

The official hashtag for the 2013 Sydney Swans Club Champion Event is #SkiltonMedal