WAFL Fairest and Best Winners 2022Tuesday, November 8, 2022 - 5:25 AM - by Chris Pike

TO highlight what a quality WAFL season we had in 2022 all you have to do is look at the fact that Shane Nelson, Mitch Peirce, Jye Bolton, Milan Murdock, Lloyd Meek, Haiden Schloithe, Jesse Turner, Stefan Giro, Hamish Brayshaw, Corey Byrne and Harry Creasey are the fairest and best winners.

Every club has now held its season-end awards for the 2022 WAFL Premiership Season and it's a star-studded group of winners who took out the respective fairest and best awards across the board.

Among the group of 11 players who won their respective club champion award, there are two Sandover Medallists, seven members of the WAFL Team of the Year and a combined 22 fairest and best career wins between them.

Just to highlight how strong of a group of winners there was, the runner-up place getters across the clubs included Bailey Rogers, Cam Eardley, Blair Bell, Toby McQuilkin, Aidan Clarke, Leigh Kitchin, Scott Jones, Matt Taylor and Patrick Naish.

Amongst that group there is a Sandover Medallist, multiple time premiership stars, a premiership and State captain and four players who have been on AFL lists as well as another three members of the WAFL Team of the Year.

West Perth produced an outstanding to secure an emotional premiership triumph at Leederville Oval with the Falcons' fairest and best award unable to be split by the end of the season.

Midfield pair Shane Nelson and Mitch Peirce ended up being joint winners of the Breckler Medal at 2022, and there's no greater sign of outstanding performance than being a fairest and best recipient in a premiership year.

What the fairest and best win for Nelson means is that his standing as an all-time great at West Perth is only further enhanced. 

Not only is he now a dual premiership player, but remarkably a five-time Breckler Medal winner after yet another standout season where his consistency stood out averaging 27.2 possessions a game.

To have two premierships, five fairest and best awards, having played in the WAFL State team five times and to the WAFL Team of the Year eight times across his remarkable 208-game career at West Perth speaks for itself.

Meanwhile, Peirce is among the next generation at West Perth who has turned himself into a standout consistent midfielder. 

He shared the Breckler Medal with Nelson on the back of averaging 20.9 touches a game to now have 87 matches to his credit on top of being a premiership player and fairest and best winner.

While the elusive WAFL premiership continues to elude Claremont superstar Jye Bolton, his standing as one of the greats of the Tigers only continues to be enhanced after he won a third EB Cook Medal.

Bolton had another terrific season for the Tigers splitting his time between the midfield and off half-back in a team that reached another grand final. 

Bolton averaged averaging 30.8 possessions to claim his third fairest and best award with the Tigers which is yet another accolade in what has been a dazzling 132-game already.

On top of the three Cook Medals, Bolton is a dual Sandover Medallist, four-time Simpson Medal winner and has played for the WAFL State team five times and been named to the WAFL Team of the Year in all seven of his WAFL seasons since arriving in 2016.

Bolton won the 2022 fairest and best for Claremont ahead of last year's winner and Sandover Medallist Bailey Rogers with Ben Edwards coming in third.

East Fremantle had a breakout season in so many ways and defied the odds with all the obstacles thrown in their way to reach the preliminary final, and Milan Murdock was at the forefront of everything for the Sharks.

The tenacious and prolific midfielder was rewarded as a result by winning the Lynn Medal for the first time on the back of averaging 26.6 possessions a game. He's now 48 games into his WAFL career and one of the league's elite midfielders.

Murdock won the Lynn Medal at East Fremantle for 2022 ahead of Cam Eardley and Luke English.

Peel Thunder made a stirring run late in the season to qualify for the finals and then beat South Fremantle in the elimination final, and ruckman Lloyd Meek was at the forefront of everything they did.

You often hear that big men take longer to develop and clearly in his fourth season on Fremantle's AFL list, Meek showed that he's ready to come into his own and be a standout ruckman at AFL level as of 2022 and beyond. 

He finished the WAFL season with Peel in some remarkably dominant form as he laid claim to being the best big man across the competition. 

In his last three matches alone of the home and away season, he averaged 22 possessions and 34 hit outs while kicking four goals highlighting his quality as he now looks to continue his AFL career with Hawthorn.

Meek won the Tuckey Medal at Peel Thunder ahead of dual premiership winning hard man Blair Bell and tough midfielder Mitch Crowden.

The remarkable career of Haiden Schloithe concluded at the end of the 2022 season by him bringing up his 200-game milestone but also while remaining right at the peak of his powers culminating in winning South Fremantle's Hughes Medal for a fifth time.

Schloithe had made the decision that 2022 would always likely be his final WAFL season but even he might not have expected that he would finish in such dominant and outstanding form.

The 29-year-old had a good enough first half of the 2022 season where he was spending a significant percentage of games in the forward half, but once he became a permanent on-baller throughout the second half of the season, his form was irresistible.

Schloithe ended up averaging 27.9 possessions in the last eight games of the season and that form was recognised by being named to the WAFL Team of the Week in seven of those while racking up plenty of votes both in the Sandover and Hughes Medal counts.

By the end of the season, Schloithe ended up named to the WAFL Team of the Year for the seventh straight season while ending up runner-up in the Sandover Medal and then claimed a fifth WJ Hughes Medal as the South Fremantle fairest and best company.

By become a five-time fairest and best winner, it puts Schloithe in rarefied air in the history of the South Fremantle Football Club. The only player in the club's history to be a five-time fairest and best winner is the legendary Stephen Michael.

Emerging defender Toby McQuilkin was tremendous and consistent all season long to finish runner-up in fairest and best voting. On the back of being Player of the Finals in his debut season in 2021, he took the next step in 2022 to also be named to the WAFL Team of the Year.

Another standout defender, Chad Pearson, took out the third-place in the Hughes Medal count after another strong season where he continues to cement himself as one of the best and most versatile defenders in the competition.

Swan Districts wingman and vice-captain Jesse Turner won the Swan Medal for the first time as the league fairest and best to top off a brilliant season from the 26-year-old.

Along the way, Turner was named to the WAFL Team of the Year, played for the WAFL State Team against South Australia, and was vice-captain at Swan Districts as his 119-game career continues to go from strength to strength.

He was the leading ball winner across the WAFL competition as well with 551 disposals at an average of 30.6 a game to poll 183 votes in the Swan Medal count to take out the award for the first time.

Runner-up was Aidan Clarke who also had the best season of his 51-game career to finish on 91 votes ahead of the returning Tobe Watson on 90. Elijah Hewett was named Rookie of the Year and Chris Jones the leading goalkicker.

Subiaco had a tough season in 2022 with the reigning premiers missing out on playing finals, but they had three especially standout midfield performers who were all recognised in their fairest and best voting.

Stefan Giro joined Subiaco in 2022 after his time at Fremantle came to an end and had a standout season to be named Outridge Medallist.

Giro settled on a wing for the Lions and went on to averaging 27.6 possessions a game including racking up 30 or more touches on seven occasions highlighting his quality and consistency as a hard running and reliable left-footer.

He claimed the Outridge Medal ahead of captain Leigh Kitchin who had another standout season while emerging premiership midfielder Liam Hickmott was third to go along with being named to the WAFL Team of the Year.

East Perth had another difficult season in 2022 but also had some standout performers and none better than prolific midfielder Hamish Brayshaw who won the FD Book Medal.

Brayshaw put together the best WAFL season of his career that has now spanned 60 matches in the competition dating back to his debut in 2018.

He returned full-time to East Perth in 2022 and delivered a tremendous season in the midfield for the Royals averaging 27.8 touches a game including 30 or more on nine occasions to end up named to the Team of the Week six times and finish runner-up in Sandover Medal voting. 

Brayshaw took out the fairest and best award ahead of ruckman Scott Jones and Stan Wright.

Perth again had its challenges throughout the 2022 season finishing up with just the three wins, but Corey Byrne couldn’t have possibly done more as he claimed the Butcher Medal for a second straight year.

Backing up his 2021 performance, Byrne ended up averaging 23.1 possessions a game throughout 2022 to now be a dual fairest and best winner from his 84-match career with the Demons.

Matt Taylor was runner-up in Butcher Medal voting with Regan Clarke coming third.

The West Coast Eagles might have won just the one game in 2022, but still had some players who fought valiantly and none more so than Harry Creasey who took out the fairest and best award.

Creasey played 16 of the 18 games for the Eagles in 2022 and averaged 17.1 possessions to take out the fairest and best award ahead of Patrick Naish.

WAFL FAIREST AND BEST WINNERS 2022

CLAREMONT
Winner (EB Cook Medal): Jye Bolton
Runner-up: Bailey Rogers
Third place: Ben Edwards

EAST FREMANTLE
Winner (Lynn Medal): Milan Murdock
Runner-up: Cam Eardley
Third place: Luke English

EAST PERTH
Winner (FD Cook Medal): Hamish Brayshaw
Runner-up: Scott Jones 
Third place: Stan Wright

PEEL THUNDER
Winner (Tuckey Medal): Lloyd Meek
Runner-up: Blair Bell
Third place: Mitch Crowden

PERTH
Winner (Butcher Medal): Corey Byrne
Runner-up: Matt Taylor
Third place: Regan Clarke

SOUTH FREMANTLE
Winner (WJ Hughes Medal): Haiden Schloithe
Runner-up: Toby McQuilkin
Third place: Chad Pearson

SUBIACO
Winner (Outridge Medal): Stefan Giro
Runner-up: Leigh Kitchin
Third place: Liam Hickmott

SWAN DISTRICTS
Winner (Swan Medal): Jesse Turner
Runner-up: Aidan Clarke
Third place: Tobe Watson 

WEST COAST EAGLES
Winner: Harry Creasey
Runner-up: Patrick Naish

WEST PERTH
Winners (Breckler Medal): Mitch Peirce, Shane Nelson