EFNL 2023: Noble Park’s Jackson Sketcher Wins Sir Gilbert Chandler Medal
Before Wednesday night, he did not have a senior best and fairest victory to his name. Now, Jackson Sketcher can add his name to the list of Noble Park champions who have brought home the Eastern League championship trophy.
Shockingly, this is his very first senior best and fairest award of any kind.
How fitting that this should be the commemoration.
On Wednesday night, Jackson Sketcher of Noble Park won the Sir Gilbert Chandler Medal as the best and fairest player in the men's Premier Division of the Eastern League, receiving 30 votes against James Belo's 26 in second place.
The right-footer wins the honor for the first time since Craig Anderson of the Bulls in 2011.
Sketcher's grasp on this year's honor appeared ominous as he pulled ahead by three votes after Round 16. Last year, despite missing five games, he was beaten for the award by a vote.
The 31-year-old Bull, who has been playing professionally for 13 years and has reached the dizzying heights of state leagues, premierships, and a reality television stint on 'The Recruit,' recognized the significance of winning the coveted medal.
To which Sketcher joked, "Playing with Kyle Martin doesn't really help that either," referring to the great Bull's streak of seven straight best and fairests at the club.
You may say that it's a first for anything, but that's not why you play football. Regardless of the criteria, it's certainly something to be proud of.
That's checked off the list, and God willing, I'll still be playing for a while; premierships are the ultimate goal, after all.
After losing his best friend and co-captain for the season with an ACL injury, Sketcher had to re-invent himself as an inside midfielder to help the team succeed.
While he did say, "I was probably a little bit more consistent this year because you get more looks without Kyle," he also admitted, "I was probably a lot more inside this year."
Without Kyle, I had to make some more adjustments; internally, I do not believe that I was as influential as I could be externally, but you make do with what you have.
"I got hurt a little more this year, too."
During his time in the TAC Cup (now the Coates Talent League), the then-Sandringham Dragon shared the Morrish Medal as the competition's best and fairest in 2010.
Before returning to Noble Park in 2015 and making an appearance on 'The Recruit' in 2016, he played for the Box Hill Hawks, Frankston, Perth, and Bendigo Gold in the state league.
After briefly returning to Frankston later that year and lighting it up across half-back, he was discussed as a potential draft pick, but he ultimately decided to return to Noble Park in 2017.
He hasn't looked back since, having led the club to a championship in 2022 and being named to his sixth all-star team just last week.
The most humbling part of winning the Chandler medal, according to Sketcher, was joining the ranks of Noble Park champions Denis Knight (2003), Benn Logan (2004), and Craig Anderson (2007, 2011).
"I recall that throughout the preseason, I would constantly make an effort to chase 'Ando' (Craig Anderson)... standing next to those men when I first arrived to the club when I was 18 years old, he was in his peak at that time, and you look up to those guys," Sketcher added.
"I used to work with Denis Knight, who clearly won one, and Benny Logan, who I used to go and watch when I was a young lad - my old father used to take me to Noble to go and watch them when I was a young boy. "I used to work with Denis Knight, who definitely won one."
Being in their company at this very moment, is a really amazing experience.
There has been no announcement on Sketcher's future with Noble Park as of yet.
Sketcher laughed as he said, "There are a lot of rumors going around at this time of year."
"It's extremely likely that you'll see me there once more... I have a few options to consider, so please give me your feedback.
Olivia Aing of the Eastern Devils was an overwhelming favorite to win the Premier Division women's honor. She received 28 votes and won the medal, preventing South Croydon's Taylah Black from winning a second-consecutive prize. Taylah Black ended up in second place with 19 votes.
Aing sprinted to 15 votes from her first five matches, all of which were best-on-ground efforts, before establishing an 11-vote cushion on top of the standings following Round 10.
Winners in the senior women's categories also included Maddison Blackburn (Division 1, Beaconsfield), Mia Chadwick (Division 2, Blackburn), Brooke Slaney (Division 3, Kilsyth), and Nicole Akers (Mitcham, Division 4).
In the meantime, the best and fairest medals for their respective divisions were won by Mooroolbark's Austin Smith (Division 1), Boronia's Mitch Mellis (Division 2), Donvale's James Rausa (Division 3), and Kilsyth's Jayden Weichard (Division 4).
Austin Smith, who also triumphed in the Kenneth Wright Medal competition in 2021, has now won his second championship in as many years. On Wednesday night, the Mooroolbark midfielder finished ahead of South Belgrave skipper Tim Smith by the slimmest of margins. Tim Smith received 21 votes.
Mellis wins the Paul Edie Medal with 23 votes, four more than Adam Booth (Mulgrave) and Nathan Mullenger-McHugh (Heathmont), who tied for second.
Boronia won the Division 2 title last weekend, and the 22-year-old was a key contributor.
As a junior, he won three best and fairest trophies in the league, three more as a member of the Hawks, and one more in 2018 as a member of the Eastern Ranges.
James Rausa, captain of the Donvale team, won the best-on-ground award in addition to leading his team to the Division 3 championship. With 26 votes, he won Division 3's top prize, the Perc James Medal, three more than Oakleigh District's Blake Pearson, a two-time Chandler Medalist.
Jayden Weichard of Kilsyth, a midfielder, won the Stephen Jones Medal with an overwhelming majority of 21 votes, seven more than the previous year's winner, Tom Smith of Surrey Park.