Collingwood congratulates Jack Crisp after polling 90 votes to win the 2021 E.W. Copeland Trophy.
A first-time winner, Crisp had an outstanding season for the Magpies. The dashing midfielder played in every game for the Pies, leading from the front in what was a tough year as a collective.
Crisp polled the most Brownlow votes (11) of any Collingwood player in 2021, and backed that up with a runaway victory on Copeland night.
His statistics this season highlight his significant on-field contribution. He averaged a career-high in multiple facets of the game with 27 disposals, 6.73 marks, 3.82 rebounds and 15.5 kicks per game.
In a close battle for second place, only four votes separated Brayden Maynard, Scott Pendlebury and Jordan De Goey.
With 70 votes, defender Brayden Maynard earned his highest ever finish, taking home the R.T. Rush Trophy for second place. Maynard was consistent and strong as ever in 2021.
In similar fashion to Crisp, Maynard had a career best year in multiple areas of the game. His career high count in disposals (20.95), marks (5.5), kicks (15.23), 1%ers (4.5) and rebounds (4.82), put him on the radar as one of the elite defenders in the competition.
Just behind Maynard with 67 votes was the five-time winner, Scott Pendlebury. In his 16th season of AFL, the captain is showing no signs of slowing down putting together another stellar year to take home the J.J. Royce Trophy.
If it wasn’t for a lower leg injury ending his season prematurely, Pendlebury would’ve made a play for his sixth Copeland medal; only Nathan Buckley holds six Copeland medals.
A player that will go down as arguably Collingwood’s best ever, Pendlebury averaged 23.17 disposals, 3.72 marks, 3.83 tackles, 4.39 clearances and 10 contested possessions.
One vote behind Pendlebury, was winner of the J.F. McHale Trophy, Jordan De Goey. A player who had a slower start to the season by his high standards, but a move into the midfield saw his output increase significantly.
Particularly in the second half of the season, De Goey was destructive in the midfield; and this was reflected on the stats sheet. He averaged a career high in disposals with 21, clearances with 3.05 and uncontested possessions with 14.4.
De Goey also kicked an equal career-high six goals against North Melbourne in Round 8, demonstrating his ability to impact the game significantly across multiple positions.
Winner of the Jack Regan Trophy in fifth place was Steele Sidebottom. With 59 votes, Sidebottom once again put together a consistent season in the black and white.
Despite not finding the ball as much as we’re accustomed to, Sidebottom’s leadership and experience proved crucial all season in a very young side.
Surpassing the 250 game mark this year, Sidebottom continues to demonstrate why so many regard him so highly both internally and externally.
Sidebottom also took home the Gavin Brown Award for at ball pressure this year. This award recognises the player who demonstrates the most tenacity and applies the most pressure on-field during the season.
2021 E.W. Copeland Trophy top 10:
1. Jack Crisp (90 votes)
2. Brayden Maynard (70 votes)
3. Scott Pendlebury (67 votes)
4. Jordan De Goey (66 votes)
5. Steele Sidebottom (59 votes)
6. Brodie Grundy (57 votes)
7. Darcy Moore (54 votes)
8. Isaac Quaynor (52 votes)
8. Jordan Roughead (52 votes)
10. Chris Mayne (48 votes)
Collingwood also presents six individual awards on the night of the Copeland as a way of identifying other positive contributions to the club.
Brody Mihocek takes home the Gordon Coventry Award for leading goal kicker. Mihocek kicked 34 goals in 2021, making it three consecutive awards for the key forward.
In addition to a top-10 finish in the Copeland, Jordan Roughead was awarded the Darren Millane Memorial Trophy for best clubman. Roughead’s off-field contribution to Collingwood has not gone unnoticed this year, with his community focus highlighted as a finalist for the Jim Stynes award on Brownlow night.
A leader at the club, Roughead has helped define and curate the culture at the club since joining from the Bulldogs at the end of 2018.
Finally, the Harry Collier Trophy for the best first year player goes to the extremely talented Oliver Henry. Selected with our first pick in the 2020 national draft, Henry had a fantastic first season at Collingwood.
In a season where the club debuted nine players, this award was more competitive than ever.
Henry played 10 AFL games for seven goals and averaged 9.1 disposals, 6.1 kicks and 4.4 marks. He was equally as impressive in the VFL where he played five games and kicked 10 goals.
His best performance for the year came against Carlton in Round 18. Henry kicked three goals and had 12 disposals to go with seven marks.
The VFL best and fairest was won by co-captain Lachlan Tardrew. Tardrew had an outstanding season in what was a difficult year for the VFL team. The dashing defender averaged 20.4 disposals, 10.6 kicks, 4.3 marks and 2.8 tackles across nine matches. Impressively, he had 20 or more disposals for seven consecutive games to finish the season.
The Jack Hellier Award for VFL best clubman was won by Tom Wilson. Wilson also had a fantastic year in the VFL, rewarded with three games at senior level. An exciting prospect, Wilson's athleticism provides him with a great amount of versatility. He will be a player that will look to have a big off-season in the lead up to the 2022 AFL season.
