Both Simon Treloar, as president and coach, and Rory Heffernan, as captain, led from the front for the Goulburn Swans in 2021, and their efforts were rewarded as the pair tied on 82 points for the club's Best and Fairest award on Friday night.
Treloar and Heffernan consistently stood out on the field for Goulburn, and as the club's two most experienced players, the weight of expectation did not slow them down throughout the year.
The Swans' presentation night was held at the Attic in the Astor Hotel on December 3, and was well-attended by roughly 60 players, committee members, family members, and sponsors.
"We've actually got a few boys out of town working tonight, but we've got lots of life members around, some sponsors, it's great to see the turnout," Treloar said.
"We're really happy with the numbers ... it's a great turnout. To have past presidents turn up tonight, and they weren't asked to come. They messaged and wanted to be here."
After an early buffet dinner, emcee and club stalwart Scott "Shrimpy" Fleming got award presentations underway.
The first accolade to be presented was one which, Treloar said, is highly coveted by members of the team - the Players' Player.
Treloar himself and Andrew Munroe claimed that award jointly, after which began the Best and Fairest count, each round of which was passionately announced by birthday boy, Bob Stephens.
The rest of the awards were presented by a variety of club personalities, with plenty of friendly heckling from the crowd.
Despite the truncated season, Treloar said the feeling among not just the squad, but the club as a whole was extremely positive.
"We're excited for 2022, that's for sure," he said.
"We've got coaches and assistant coaches locked in for next year, we've got the president and vice president, we've got everything locked in and ready to go. It's getting really exciting for 2022.
"The boys just can't wait to get out and hit up pre-season, hit the ground running for next year."
Prior to the start of the season just gone, the Swans came up with a three-year plan which sought to effectively rebuild the side from the ground up. With a host of new players on board, success wasn't expected early, but Treloar is nonetheless thrilled with what the club achieved in 2021 and expects bigger things in 2022.
"We got through year one, and year two's just going to rocket ahead," he said.
"We're going to be really successful next year with what we achieve on the field and what we achieve off the field as well. It's going to be really exciting."
The full list of award recipients is as follows:
Players' Player
- Simon Treloar and Andrew Munroe
Coaches' Award
- Sam Kent
Two Bob Award
- Corben Mobbs
CBJ Award
- James Kent
Best First Season
- Callum Johnston
Leading Goalscorer
- Matt Rath
Golden Boot
- Harry Kristan
Rookie of the Year
- Aaron Skelly
Most Improved
- Rattanaphon Nakhonwan
Best Backman
- Dylan Pumpa
Clubman of the Year
- Rory Heffernan
Best and Fairest
- Rory Heffernan and Simon Treloar
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