SWAN Hill dynamo Matthew Wade won the LJ Hooker Guardian Best Player of the Year Award for the third time, putting the cream on a very big 2023 cake for the talented onballer.
Wade won the award with 18 votes, three in front of Balranald’s Ethan Gant, followed by three players on 14 votes – Rylee Smith and Josh Nitschke of Kerang, and Joel Helman of Cohuna.
The award is voted by The Guardian reporters at each match on a 3-2-1 basis across the season.
Wade’s achievement was highly meritorious given his side finished out of the finals race with nine victories for the 16-game season.
On more than one occasion he was awarded three votes in games the Swans lost, such was his game dominance in many matches.
From a slower start, Wade finished strongly to pick up 3, 2 and 3 votes in his late games to storm home.
However, not only did he take home the coveted media award, he also took out the Jack Betts Medal for the league best and fairest at the CMFNL vote count on Monday night.
He also got the chocolates as the league’s Most Valuable Player, as well as winning the Goal of the Year Award.
In the league vote count, Wade trailed in early voting, not even being on the first board.
He was five votes behind Joel Helman after round 10 and closed the gap to three votes after round 15.
However, he came home with a wet sail to record a three-vote win.
The Swans superstar has been their standout player for many years, winning both the LJ Hooker Award and the Jack Betts Medal in 2016 and 2017 before repeating the feat this year.
This year’s achievement put Wade in elite company with Nyah’s Paddy Phelan, who won three league best-and-fairests in 1957, 1966 and 1969.
He is just one medal behind Tooleybuc Manangatang’s legendary Ryan O’Sullivan, who took home four Jack Betts honours in 2004, 2007, 2009 and 2014.
Another distinction Wade and O’Sullivan share is that they are the only two individual CMFNL players to win three LJ Hooker Player of the Year Awards over their careers – rarefied company indeed.
Wade has won four best-and-fairest awards at Swan Hill and is red-hot favourite to make that five next week at the club vote count.
He also won several club best-and-fairest awards in the South-East and Ellinbank leagues before shifting to Swan Hill for his work with Victoria Police.
Wade has represented Victoria in seven National Police Championship carnivals across Australia, winning four titles and being named as player of the championship in 2018.
Those who have watched the highly-skilled Wade over his CMFNL career have marvelled at his ability to read the play and always be at the drop of the ball.
His second and third efforts are legendary, and his capacity to go and get the hard ball is universally admired.
Wade is a highly durable player and, since finishing his coaching stint with the Swans, has lifted his superb fitness levels even higher, crediting this physical preparation for his great season.
