Selwood scores best and fairest
The changing of the guard at West Coast became complete on Friday night when Scott Selwood won his first best and fairest.
And in a sign of how far the club’s younger players have come, second year players Andrew Gaff and Jack Darling both had top five finishes.
Selwood polled 403 votes to edge out All-Australian ruckman Dean Cox by just three votes.
It was the second year in a row that Cox had been beaten by less than five votes.
Long kicking defender Shannon Hurn finished third on 396 votes, followed by Darling on 393 and Gaff on 285.
Defending champion Darren Glass (383), improved midfielder Chris Masten (382), dependable onballer Matt Priddis (367), veteran midfielder Daniel Kerr (364) and key defender Eric Mackenzie (360) completed the top 10.
In a major surprise, two of the club’s four All-Australians – Nic Naitanui and Beau Waters – finished outside the top 10.
Mackenzie was also named the player of the finals, Jacob Brennan won rookie of the year and Mitch Brown received the Chris Mainwaring Medal as the best clubman.
While the rise of the young players was a highlight, the Eagles were shocked when midfielder Tom Swift quit football to pursue a medical career.
The 22-year-old decided to follow in the footsteps of his parents Steve and Jo. He scored 99.85 in his TER at high school and said walking away from football was the smartest decision for his long term future.
“The opportunities I see myself having outside of football outweigh the benefits I’m going to gain from a football career,” Swift told The West Australian.
“A change in lifestyle is something I’ve always desired and following my academic pursuits and making the most out of them.
Swift will attend the University of Western Australia next year and is unsure whether he will even play for his WAFL club, Claremont.
He admitted agonising over the decision.
“I feel like I’ve come to a bit of a crossroad where if I let too much time elapse I won’t have those opportunities any more,” Swift said.
“You never make a decision being 100 per cent sure. There’s still a voice in the back of my head saying I’ve made the wrong decision, but it’s something I’ve got to live with now.”
But it was Selwood’s night. He emerged as an outstanding ball winner in 2012 after making his name as a tagger.
He led the team for disposals, finished second in tackles and kicked a career high 11 goals.
Selwood set up his win with a brilliant start to the season. He had already been recognised with a team high 15 Brownlow Medal votes after collecting at least 30 disposals in seven games.
Cox played as both a ruckman and key forward throughout 2012 and kicked a career high 28 goals while also dominating the ruck. He was rewarded with All-Australian selection last month.
But the ascension of Gaff and Darling showed why West Coast have become a finals force again.
Darling won the club’s goalkicking with 53 majors and led the forward line in the absence of Josh Kennedy for most of the year.
Gaff’s 592 possessions ranked him second behind only Selwood as his hard running and raking kick made him a constant danger.
