Kim Schofield and Flynn Dillon tie for JJ Clune Medal as Olivia Bidwell and Gemma Dix share women’s award

Kim Schofield and Flynn Dillon have once again been etched into GNFL history after the pair tied for the JJ Clune Medal, each winning the award for a second time. Northampton’s Dillon was off to a flying start in the count on Tuesday night, polling all five votes in the first five games of the season, putting him at 25 in total and in the clear lead. The next closest were Chapman Valley’s Gerard McKenna and Railways’ Jesse Adamini on 11. In the next two rounds, Dillon polled another six votes, taking him to 31, but he did not play again in the season. After the end of round 10, Dillon still sat on top, but Adamini was on his tail at 26 and Brigades’ Kim Schofield was a late-runner at 23 votes. Tension filled the room when it came to the final round’s votes, with Adamini and Schofield each having the chance to catch or pass Dillon. It was Schofield who got the votes needed to tie with Dillon. With just seven games played, Dillon said the award came as a surprise and he was nervous watching the count at the end. “It’s very surprising, I’ve missed most of the season, but we had a good start before I left. . . I’m honoured to have the award and can’t believe it to be honest,” he said. “It was pretty nerve-racking to be honest, there were guys out there that played a full year and probably deserved it more than me, but obviously I did pretty well in the first half.” Schofield said he wasn’t sure how the count would end. “It’s obviously a bit of a shock at the moment, fantastic to share along with Flynn whose had an amazing season, he’s a great player, too. . . but I’m pretty proud of myself to come back and have a consistent year,” he said. “I’m pretty stoked. . . you never know how these things go, some days you think you played well and you don’t get a vote, and some days you do.” The win gives both Dillon and Schofield their second JJ Clune, with Dillon winning his first in 2021 and Schofield in 2017. According to stats expert Victor Tanti, the pair become the eighth and ninth dual winners of the award in league history, and Schofield is the first ever to win the award for two different clubs, with his first being for Railways. There were also dual winners for the women’s footballer of the year award, with Brigades’ Gemma Dix and Towns’ Olivia Bidwell taking it home with 21 votes each. Dix was a favourite for the award after a dominant season and helping lead the charge for the Hawks as they went undefeated. “It’s pretty good, like proud really for myself, shocked as well. . . Olivia and a lot of players had a great season,” she said. “So it was a shock to the system really. . . I wasn’t expecting it to be honest, we have a lot of girls on our team that could steal votes and poll, but just really grateful.” Bidwell takes the award home for the second year in a row, after she tied with Tayah Palmer last year. “Stoked would be my answer, two years in a row is something that you don’t see, I’m pretty proud of myself and obviously Gemma as well, she had a great season,” she said. “I do put quite a lot of effort into all of my sporting, so I take pride in it. So I’m really proud of myself for being able to keep up to the standard that I know that I can.” Brigades pair Jaxon Luff and Riaz Mohammad won the reserves and colts best-and-fairest awards, respectively. 2023 HONOUR ROLL JJ Clune Medal: Flynn Dillon (Northampton) & Kim Schofield (Brigades) Women’s Footballer of the Year: Gemma Dix (Brigades) & Olivia Bidwell (Towns) Jim Scott Medal (Reserves B&F): Jaxon Luff (Brigades) President’s Medal (Colts B&F): Riaz Mohammad (Brigades) Rising Star: Mitchell Thompson (Chapman Valley) Club Person of the Year: Gloria Minson (Towns) Field Umpire of the Year: Steve Pratt Goal Umpire of the Year: Craig Hams Boundary Umpire of the Year: Noah Bennett East Fremantle Most Promising: Jasmine Johansen (Railways) & Llewyn Valli (Brigades) Sports Shed Footballer of the year: Gerard McKenna (Chapman Valley) Womens Country Week 2022 Best Player: Tayah Palmer (Chapman Valley) Women’s Country Week All Stars 2022: Tayah Palmer (Chapman Valley), Jasmine Johansen (Railways) & Jessica Guidice-Nairn (Brigades) Colts County Week 2023 Best Player: Llewyn Valli (Brigades) Colts Country Week All Stars 2023: Draydon Wingo (Railways), James Simmons (Towns) & Finn Dethlefsen (Railways) League Country Week Best Player 2023: Kim Schofield (Brigades) League Country Week All Stars 2023: Kim Schofield (Brigades) & Jayden Schofield (Brigades) GNFL life member: Barry Mitchell LEADING GOAL KICKERS League: Harry Taylor (Northampton) 45 GNFLW: Selina Kiddle (Northampton) 27 Reserves: Clifford Campbell (Chapman Valley) 26 Colts: Jaxon Graham (Railways) 27 JJ CLUNE COUNT Flynn Dillon (Northampton) & Kim Schofield (Brigades) 31 Jesse Adamini (Railways) 29 Chris Scott (Rovers) 23 Thomas Denton (Rovers) & Braden Jupp (Northampton) 21 Gerard McKenna (Chapman Valley) & Harry Taylor (Northampton) 18 Rohan Farris (Towns), Dylan Ralph (Northampton) & Joshua Simpson (Rovers) 15