Geraldton’s Judd McVee wins Melbourne’s best young player and finishes top 10 in best and fairest voting

Geraldton local and former Rover Judd McVee’s consistent and impressive first AFL season has been capped off with Melbourne’s best young player award. The Demons hosted their end-of-year awards on Friday, October 6, to honour their club champions and announce the votes for the club’s best and fairest. McVee was announced as co-winner of the Harold Ball Memorial Trophy alongside fellow WA man Jacob Van Rooyen. The trophy is given to the best young player for the Demons. To go with the award, McVee earned some recognition for defensive efforts this year, finishing in the top 10 for the club’s best and fairest. The Keith “Bluey” Truscott Memorial Trophy is given to Melbourne’s best player who receives the most votes throughout the season. At the end of each game, four members of the match committee give each player a ranking out of 10 for their performance. Christian Petracca won the award with 602 total votes, but young star McVee finished ninth on the leaderboard with 424 votes. During his rookie campaign, McVee played in all 23 of Melbourne’s home-and-away games, averaging 12.9 disposals, 5.3 handballs, 7.5 kicks and 181.9m gained. In round 18 he had 14 disposals with eight handballs and one mark to earn himself a much-deserved rising star nomination. He also played in Melbourne’s two finals, but the 2021 premiers went out in straight sets.