Sebastian Ross has won his second Trevor Barker Award, narrowly beating a multitude of Saints youngsters for the honour.
The ultra-consistent midfielder finished on 170 votes, while a single vote separated second and third place, with ruck revelation Rowan Marshall (152) and tackling machine Jack Steele (151) joining Ross on the podium.
Jack Billings (140) and Saints’ leading goal kicker Tim Membrey (136) rounded out the top five.
“It’s really great to see Seb honoured with his second Trevor Barker Award,” Senior Coach Brett Ratten said.
“He’s shouldered a lot this season, standing in for Jarryn as acting captain for most of the year, but took it all in his stride.
“He’s a consummate professional and is always the first to lend a hand to his teammates.
“Seb’s a pillar of our group and thoroughly deserves this accolade.
“Rowan and Jack have also had outstanding seasons.
“Rowan has really thrived since moving into the ruck. He grabbed the opportunity with both hands and has impressed not only us at the Saints, but many across the competition.
“Similarly, Jack plays on some of the league’s most talented players week-in week-out, rarely lowering his colours.
“They should be extremely proud of themselves and Saints fans should be very excited about their futures.”
Marshall was a regular fixture on stage throughout the night, also walking away with the Best Emerging Player Award and the Lenny Hayes Players’ Player Award.
Saints Captain Jarryn Geary was awarded the Robert Harvey Best Clubman Award.
With a top ten average age of 24.5-years-old, Ratten emphasised the promising next phase of the St Kilda playing group.
“Looking at the top ten is really encouraging,” Ratten said.
“The average games played of that list is just under 92 games.
“We know we have areas to work on over summer and we can’t wait to get to work.”
The Trevor Barker Award sees six coaches independently award votes between zero and four to players throughout the season to determine the best and fairest. Votes are attracted through not only solo on-field contributions, but also how best an individual plays their role, assists their teammates and represents the team agreed upon Saints brand of football.
2019 TREVOR BARKER AWARD TOP TEN
Seb Ross (170 votes)
Rowan Marshall (152 votes)
Jack Steele (151 votes)
Jack Billings (140 votes)
Tim Membrey (136 votes)
Jade Gresham (131 votes)
Callum Wilkie (115 votes)
Luke Dunstan (111 votes)
Josh Bruce (108 votes)
Shane Savage (101 votes)
