Brigades ruck Hayden Johnson claims top honours winning the 2024 JJ Clune Medal

It was a tight race home during the Great Northern Football League’s night of nights, but Brigades big man Hayden Johnson held on to claim top honours in the 2024 JJ Clune Medal. Tension filled the air at the Wintersun Hotel on Tuesday night when the count came down to the final rounds, with it being a three-man race at the top. The punters’ choice Dylan Ralph from Northampton got out to a flying start early in the count. Johnson gained traction with five votes in round five and four in the following round and was in the lead at the round six break. Rams pair Ralph and 2023 winner Flynn Dillon were noticeably trading top spots with votes, while Johnson and Chapman Valley’s Beau Simpson continued to poll well in wins. The next batch saw Johnson poll top votes twice and Dillon was rising up the charts with his hot form. After round 15 it was close at the top, with Ralph having a one-vote lead over Johnson and Dillon trailing closely behind. In the final two rounds, Johnson polled five and two votes which got him over the line ahead of the Northampton pair who had been taking votes off each other all night - while Johnson was the only Brigades player inside the top 17 vote getters. Following his win, Johnson said that the nerves were high in the round 17 votes but was “super stoked” with the result. The ruck didn’t rate his chances coming into the night, but his mindset shifted after a strong start. “I didn’t think that I did that well in the first half of the year,” Johnson said. “I polled quite well at the start so was a bit overwhelmed come that first break, thought I might be on here; might have to have a few waters. “I got invited tonight so I was sort of half thinking it, but you never think that you’re going to do that, just so overwhelmed to be honest.” Off the back of his JJ Clune, Johnson said that his eyes are on the big picture with the grand final. “The job’s not done, obviously this is great to win this, but this Saturday that’s where I want to be and hopefully win that, so can’t wait,” he said. The women’s best and fairest award was shared for the third year in a row, with Towns’ Gemma Dix and Chapman Valley’s Andie Payne each polling 16 votes. It was Dix’s second top award in a row after sharing the honours with Olivia Bidwell last year. While for Payne, she won the award after her first full season playing back in Geraldton. Neither of the women were expecting to hear their names called. “No not really, obviously there’s a lot of talent and a lot of people who have come back to play this season, just like Andie . . . but I was completely shocked,” Dix said. “The depth in this competition is amazing, it’s a privilege to play back at home and amongst really talented, hard-working girls . . . I think the women in this comp are paving the way for young girls and young boys coming through,” Payne said. “Just shocked and privileged to win this award with Gemma.” The presidents medal for the colts best and fairest went to Mullewa’s Gregg Galby while the reserves top gong was shared between Towns’ Stuart Gaby and Northampton’s Jed Robertson. Attention now turns to the grand finals this weekend at WA Country Builders Stadium on Saturday, culminating in the league decider between Chapman Valley and Brigades. 2024 HONOUR ROLL JJ Clune Medal: Hayden Johnson (Brigades) Women’s Footballer of the Year: Gemma Dix (Towns) and Andie Payne (Chapman Valley) Jim Scott Medal (Reserves B&F): Stuart Gaby (Towns) and Jed Robertson (Northampton) President’s Medal (Colts B&F): Gregg Galby (Mullewa) Rising Star: Lucas Ronan (Brigades) Club Person of the Year: Chris Worthington (Railways) Field Umpire of the Year: Theo Bennett Goal Umpire of the Year: Craig Hams Boundary Umpire of the Year: Zade Colley East Fremantle Most Promising: Charli Bidwell (Towns) & Riaz Mohammad (Brigades) Sports Shed Footballer of the year: Dylan Ralph (Northampton) LEADING GOAL KICKERS League: Trent Simpson (Northampton), Tyrone Papertalk Jr (Chapman Valley) and Damien King (Railways) 39 GNFLW: Lucinda Rouse (Chapman Valley) 36 Reserves: Aaron Thomas (Chapman Valley) 29 Colts: Jack Watters (Brigades) 36 JJ CLUNE COUNT Hayden Johnson (Brigades) 45 Dylan Ralph (Northampton) 43 Flynn Dillon (Northampton) 40 Beau Simpson (Chapman Valley) 26 Lee Hutchins (Chapman Valley) 24