North Melbourne midfielder Jy Simpkin has been crowned the Syd Barker Medallist for the second consecutive year after an outstanding 2022 season.

Simpkin finished tonight’s best and fairest count with 130 votes ahead of second-placed Luke Davies-Uniacke (108) and Bailey Scott (98) in third position. Veteran ruckman Todd Goldstein (93) and co-vice captain Luke McDonald (88) rounded out the top five.

In his sixth AFL season, the ever-reliable Simpkin played 21 out of a possible 22 games. The 24-year-old led from the front, galvanising his team from the centre of the ground during a challenging year.

In a stellar season, Simpkin averaged 26 disposals and five clearances per game, highlighted by a 41-disposal game against Essendon in round 20.

After a fifth-place finish in 2021, Davies-Uniacke enjoyed a breakout season to claim runner-up in tonight’s count.

Davies-Uniacke teamed up with Simpkin to make the midfield their own in the absence of club veteran Ben Cunnington. Amongst his season highlights was a starring role in his side’s Round 17 loss to Collingwood, collecting 33 disposals, 12 clearances and recording 11 tackles. 

The 23-year-old also collected the Glenn Archer Shinboner of the Year Award and the Mazda Excellence Award for his contributions on and off the field.

Scott finished in third position, the first time the young Roo has placed inside the top 10 of the Syd Barker Medal.

After a strong finish to his 2021 campaign, Scott continued his fine form. The 22-year-old averaged 18 disposals in his fourth season at the top level.

First-year Roo Jason Horne-Francis was named Best Young Player in his debut season and McDonald received the highly respected Harold Henderson Best Clubman Award.

Charlie Lazzaro was the recipient of the Peter Scanlon Community Award for his voluntary work within The Huddle’s program, Huddle Up!

Voting system

The voting system consists of each player earning up to 20 votes in a match, with votes from all home and away games counting towards the final total. The senior and assistant coaches provide separate votes for each player per round, ranging from 0-10. One vote means a player played their role, and 10 votes denotes an exceptional performance.

Award winners

Best Young Player Award – Jason Horne-Francis
Glenn Archer Shinboner of the Year Award – Luke Davies-Uniacke
Mazda Excellence Award – Luke Davies-Uniacke
Harold Henderson Best Clubman Award – Luke McDonald
Peter Scanlon Community Award – Charlie Lazzaro
VFL Best Clubman – Jack Watkins
John Law Medal (VFL Best & Fairest) – Dom Tyson
Life Memberships – James Brayshaw, Frank Goode, Jona Segal