> Watch Dane Swan speak to CTV on stage at the Crown Palladium after accepting the E.W. Copeland TrophyDane Swan capped an outstanding 2009 season by winning his second-straight EW Copeland Trophy in front of 1750 people at Crown in Melbourne on Friday night.
The 25-year-old midfielder has joined an elite group of Collingwood players who have won back-to-back best-and-fairest awards, accomplished by only 12 men before him including club champions Bob Rose, Murray Weideman, Len Thompson and Nathan Buckley.
Swan, who earned his first All Australian guernsey in 2009, played all 25 matches and polled votes from the match committee in 17 of them, to win with 57 votes from fellow 2009 All Australian and club captain Nick Maxwell.
Maxwell had the best season of his career and was awarded votes in 18 of his 23 matches to finish with 48 votes and claim the RT Rush Trophy as runner-up, his highest ever finish.
Heath Shaw, who missed four of the first six matches, finished third with 43 votes, also his highest ever placing, having previously finished equal fourth in 2006 and fifth in 2007. He didn’t poll his first match committee vote until round nine, but polled in every game bar one (round 14) thereafter, including finals.
Heritier O’Brien also polled 43 votes and came fourth - his second-straight top-five finish – while 2006 winner Alan Didak capped an excellent season by snaring fifth with 41 votes.
The match committee is able to allocate up to 20 votes per game to the best players, with players receiving one vote for each game they represent Collingwood.
Scott Pendlebury was the early pacesetter in the count. He led by one vote from Swan and Josh Fraser after five rounds and polled in eight of the first nine rounds, with Swan taking the lead from Pendlebury by one vote at the halfway mark of the home-and-away season.
Swan’s incredible run of form throughout the second half of the season saw him extend his lead, and after 22 rounds he led by 12 votes from Maxwell.
Maxwell and Shaw polled in each game of the finals series to be joint recipients of the Bob Rose Trophy for being best player in finals, with Shaw jumping from sixth in the voting after 22 rounds to third after the preliminary final.
It was a huge night for Maxwell, who had finished in the top 10 in the Copeland voting only once before (ninth in 2005), and was 12th in both 2007 and 2008. He also won the Gavin Brown award for leading desire indicators for the third straight year.
Swan, who was drafted with the 58th overall selection in the 2001 AFL Draft, has developed into one of the best midfielders in the AFL.
From Westmeadows and the Calder Cannons, Swan has been a model of consistency and durability since his breakout year of 2006. He has played 85 consecutive matches after playing just 30 in his first four seasons on the list, and in 2009 he led the league in kicks and total disposals.
He has finished sixth, fourth, first and first in the last four years of Copeland Trophy voting.
O’Brien, 22, is a success story of the rookie list system, and has finished in the top 10 of the Copeland Trophy three times in a row since being permanently elevated to the senior list at the end of 2006.
Shaw and Didak both responded brilliantly this season after serving club-imposed suspensions at the end of 2008, particularly given they missed four and five matches respectively through injury in the first half of this season.
Pendlebury, who at 21 already has two top-three Copeland Trophy placings to his name (third in 2007, second in 08) and is club vice-captain, was coming third at the end of the home-and-away rounds but finished sixth after missing two finals through injury.
Veterans Tarkyn Lockyer, Leon Davis, Simon Prestigiacomo and Shane O’Bree rounded out the top 10.
In other awards presented on the night, 19-year-old Dayne Beams won the Harry Collier Trophy for best first year player after playing 18 games in his rookie season and finishing fourth in the AFL Rising Star award, and John Anthony won the Gordon Coventry award for being the club’s leading goal kicker with 50 goals.
21-year-old midfielder Ryan Cook won the Joseph Wren Trophy for best VFL player, while O’Brien was the recipient of the Darren Millane Trophy for best clubman.
The club also paid tribute to Anthony Rocca, who recently announced his retirement from AFL football after 15 seasons and 242 games at the elite level, including 13 seasons and 220 games in black and white stripes.
2009 Copeland Trophy – Top 10
1st – Dane Swan, 57 votes (EW Copeland Trophy)
2nd – Nick Maxwell, 48 votes (RT Rush Trophy)
3rd – Heath Shaw, 43 votes (JJ Joyce Trophy)
4th – Heritier O’Brien, 43 votes (JF McHale Trophy)
5th – Alan Didak, 41 votes (Jack Regan Trophy)
6th – Scott Pendlebury, 41 votes
7th – Tarkyn Lockyer, 39 votes
8th – Leon Davis, 38 votes
9th – Simon Prestigiacomo, 37 votes
10th – Shane O’Bree, 36 votes
Other awards
Joseph Wren Trophy (Best VFL Player) – Ryan Cook
Darren Millane Trophy (Best Clubman) – Heritier O’Brien
Harry Collier Trophy (Best First Year Player) - Dayne Beams
Gordon Coventry Trophy (Leading Goal Kicker) - John Anthony, 50 goals
Gavin Brown Award (Leading Desire Indicators) - Nick Maxwell
Bob Rose Award (Best Player in Finals) - Nick Maxwell and Heath Shaw
Phonse Kyne Trophy (For Services to the Club) - Anne Martin
Back-to-back Copeland Trophy winners
Albert Collier (1934, 35)
Des Fothergill (37, 38)
Phonse Kyne (46, 47, 48)
Bob Rose (51, 52, 53)
Thorold Merrett (58, 59)
Murray Weideman (61, 62)
Len Thompson (67, 68 and 72, 73)
Peter Moore (79, 80)
Mick McGuane (92, 93)
Nathan Buckley (98, 99, 00)
Paul Licuria (01, 02)
James Clement (04, 05)
Dane Swan (08, 09)
Most Copeland Trophies
6 – Nathan Buckley (1994, 96, 98, 99, 00, 03)
5 – Len Thompson (1967, 68, 72, 73, 77)
4 – Bob Rose (1949, 51, 52, 53)
3 – Albert Collier (1929, 34, 35), Des Fothergill (1937, 38, 40), Phonse Kyne (1946, 47, 48), Murray Weideman (1957, 61, 62), Gavin Brown (1989, 94, 97)
2 – Harry Collier (1928, 30), Syd Coventry (1927, 32), Thorold Merrett (1958, 59), Wayne Richardson (1971, 74), Peter Moore (1979, 80), Billy Picken (1978, 83), Mark Williams (1981, 85), Tony Shaw (1984, 90), Mick McGuane (1992, 93), Paul Licuria, (2001, 02), James Clement (2004, 05), Dane Swan (2008, 09)
The EW Copeland Trophy voting system
1. Each player is allocated one vote for each game in which he is selected to represent the Collingwood Football Club.
2. Up to 20 votes per game can be allocated to the best players as judged by the Collingwood Match Committee. Votes are awarded based on the average vote of all members of the Match Committee.
3. In the event that two or more players finish with the same number of votes then the player who has played in the least amount of games takes the higher position. If these players have played the same number of games then the player who has polled the greater number of “high value” votes will take the higher position.
