Ahead of Friday night’s count, which will be held at The Star Events Centre and streamed live on sydneyswans.com.au from 6.50pm, we have taken a closer look at the players who are likely to be in the running to take out this year’s Bob Skilton Medal count.
The contenders
It just wouldn’t be a Club Champion preview without midfielder Josh Kennedy in the running.
The 26-year-old, who won the award in 2012, has polled in the top-three in the Bob Skilton Medal in every year he has been at the club, and looks set to be thereabouts again in 2014.
Kennedy produced a number of impressive performances throughout the season, including a dominant 39-possession and ten clearance effort against Essendon in round nine, as well as his career-high 41 touches against Carlton in round 17, which also saw him pick up an AFL record 29 contested possessions.
The midfielder’s impressive season saw him finish in the top-five of the 2014 Brownlow Medal count with 21 votes and earn his second All-Australian honours.
The club’s leading Brownlow vote-getter Lance Franklin is also a certainty to poll well in his first Sydney Swans Club Champion night, following his stellar debut season in the Harbour City.
Franklin, who was awarded the Coleman Medal after booting 67 goals during the home and away season and 79 in total, had a number of match-winning performances in 2014 including his nine-goal effort against St Kilda in round 21.
Buddy was also at his best in round 13, when the star forward kicked five second-half goals to help the Swans over the line against Port Adelaide at the SCG, as well as in the club’s 71-point preliminary final win, where he booted five goals and picked up 23 possessions and 11 marks.
Franklin also capped off an impressive first season in the red and white with his fifth All-Australian honours.
Last year’s Most Improved Player award recipient Luke Parker is likely to be the Swans biggest bolter in this year’s count, with the young midfielder producing an outstanding season in just his fourth year at the club.
The 21-year-old played every match this season and was named in the extended All-Australian squad of 40, and was considered by many to be unlucky to have missed out on selection in the final side.
Parker had a number of standout games, with his 33 possessions, six tackles and two goals against the West Coast Eagles in Perth in round 16 towards the top of the list.
He also impressed early in the season, when he booted four goals and collected 26 possessions against the Crows in Adelaide in round three.
Following another impressive season, Nick Malceski is also likely to poll well in Friday night’s count.
The silky defender, who had been nominated for All-Australian selection on three previous occasions, finally broke through this season and earned his place in the 22 for the first time.
Malceski, who led the competition for rebound-50s, averaging 5.2 per match, and metres gained, was at his brilliant best in the Swans 110-point win over Geelong at the SCG, with the defender picking up 37 possessions and eight rebounds against the Cats.
While fellow All-Australian Nick Smith didn’t poll a Brownlow vote, expect the lock-down defender to attract plenty of votes from the coaches in Friday night’s count.
Often underrated outside the club, the 26-year-old is regularly tasked with important roles on opposition small forwards, and has a knack of getting the job done more often than not.
Smith’s efforts against Fremantle goal sneak Hayden Ballantyne in the qualifying final win was among his best this season, with Smith holding the Docker goalless and to just seven possessions for the match.
A move into the midfield certainly agreed with Ben McGlynn this season, with the 29-year-old also posting his best season to date.
McGlynn, who also stepped up to the club’s leadership group this season, averaged more than 20 possessions per match in 2014, and ranked in the competition’s top-ten for average tackles per match (6.4).
His standout match was in the Swans’ round 11 win over Geelong, where he picked up 26 possessions, 11 tackles and ten inside-50s.
The voting system
At the conclusion of each game, votes for the 2014 Bob Skilton Medal were awarded to the players by the Swans coaching staff including John Longmire, John Blakey, Stuart Dew, Henry Playfair and Marty Mattner.
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 (2003, 2006, 2011) and Jarrad McVeigh (2008, 2013)are the only current players to have won the award on multiple occasions.
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
The 2014 Bob Skilton Medal will be streamed live on sydneyswans.com.au from 6:50pm or you can keep up-to-date 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
