Rounds 11 to 16 of the fan-voted Mazda Excellence Award have been tallied, and the ‘Battle of the Ben’s’ is no more, with a new contender for the title emerging.
Despite trailing leader Ben Cunnington by seven votes at the last count, a near-perfect five weeks of football from Shaun Higgins has propelled him to the top of the leaderboard.
Higgins polled in four of the five games across this period, opening up a five-vote lead at the top.
Ben Cunnington (14 votes) and Ben Brown (11 votes) appear the only serious contenders to Higgins’ title, with seven rounds still to be tallied.
Round 11
3 - Higgins
2 - McDonald
1 – Ahern
Shaun Higgins’ career high 38-disposal effort had him as a lock for the three votes. Luke McDonald’s best game of the season earned him the two, and Paul Ahern’s impressive debut earned him a single vote.
Round 12
3 - Higgins
2 - Jacobs
1 – Goldstein
Higgins was the clear standout in the loss to Geelong at GMBHA Stadium, and this was reflected in the fans’ votes.
Round 14
3 - Higgins
2 - Brown
1 – Cunnington
32 disposals and 2 goals in a two-point win against his old side earned Higgins his third three vote haul in a row. Ben Brown’s five goals landed two votes, while Ben Cunnington’s performance in midfield earned him one.
Round 15
3 - Higgins
2 - Cunnington
1 – Goldstein
Another 30+ disposals, and another three votes from the fans for Higgins. Ben Cunnington again impressed, earning himself two, with Todd Goldstein earning his second vote of the year.
Round 16
3 - Scott Thompson
2 - Majak Daw
1 - Ben Cunnington
Higgins’ run of three vote wins had to come to an end eventually, and it was done in Round 16 by veteran defender Scott Thompson. Thompson’s 31-disposal effort in the backline landed him the maximum votes, with Majak Daw and Ben Cunnington taking the two and one respectively.
Overall
18 - Shaun Higgins
13 - Ben Cunnington
11 - Ben Brown
9 - Ben Jacobs
7 - Jarrad Waite
4 - Majak Daw
3 - Jed Anderson, Jy Simpkin, Robbie Tarrant, Scott Thompson, Jack Ziebell
2 - Todd Goldstein, Luke McDonald, Mason Wood
1 - Paul Ahern, Kayne Turner
Don’t forget to log-on to the NMFC App or NMFC.com.au on the Monday following each round to have your say and go into the draw to win prizes including a signed guernsey and Syd Barker Medal tickets, thanks to Mazda.
