Moran takes out top gongs, Bats and Panthers star at Ovens and King awards night

By James Kleeman

Aug 15, 2022

Star of the show: All Blacks skipper Riley Moran secured two of the league’s highest honours at the recent awards ceremony. Photo by Brenden Paddock

Both Benalla All Blacks and Goorambat had a night to remember at the Ovens and King Football Netball League awards ceremony on Sunday night.

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A number of the club’s star players received personal accolades and were named in the league football and netball teams of the year.

Stealing headlines was All Blacks’ mercurial midfielder and captain Riley Moran, who took home both the Clyde Baker Medal (coaches MVP) and Player of the Year awards.

Moran has been at the forefront of the Panthers’ surge to minor premiership success this season, booting 28 goals and getting himself among the best-on-ground in 12 of his 17 games played this year.

Moran said with the amount of talented players at the All Blacks hitting their straps this year, he was a bit surprised to have the medal around his neck by the end of the night.

“It’s a bit of a shock to be honest, I didn’t think I’d be standing up there at the end of the night,” Moran said.

“We’ve got so many talented footballers in our side, I thought we might have been picking votes from each other all night, I’m thrilled with the outcome.”

Golden boot: Panthers forward Lachy Thompson clinched the Ovens and King League leading goal kicker award with 105 goals for the season.

Moran’s teammate Jackson Hourigan finished runner-up for the second year in a row, while fellow midfielder Al Jacka finished in fourth.

Goal machine Lachy Thompson saluted in the goal kicking award with a mammoth 105 goals across his 17 games.

Meanwhile, the All Blacks dominated the team of the year — with Moran, Thompson, Hourigan, Jacka, Sam Newton, Cody Crawford and Harry Ellis all slotting into the 22.

For Goorambat, playing-coach Sam Gladstone and talented midfielder Jamie Dunne also saluted with spots in the league’s best.

Two All Blacks and Goorambat players also featured in the netball starting seven.

Bats attacker Kylie Relf was named on the subs bench, while All Blacks defender Marni Thorne was named in wing defence after the two enjoyed superb seasons.