Josh Mathey wins Wodonga's best and fairest award at 17

The solidly built midfielder polled 69 votes to win from former SANFL forward Cody Szust (60) and Goulburn Valley recruit Charlie Morrison (57).

"It was definitely a surprise, I was just going into the night hoping to poll a few votes and see how I went in my first senior best and fairest, so to win it means everything," he offered.

Although it's difficult to quantify across the league's 10 clubs, it's extremely rare for a 17-year-old to win the top award.

"It's a reward for effort, if you drive past the footy ground any night of the week, he's up there training, he just lives and breathes footy," co-president and uncle Mick Mathey explained.

The Mathey name holds a special place at the Bulldogs, with the youngster joining father Darren and uncles Mick and Graham as best and fairest winners in either seniors or reserves.

Josh also won the top gong in the under 18s in his previous season in 2019.

"First and foremost Josh played every game and he was so consistent," coach Jordan Taylor revealed.

"He's already built like one of those nuggety 25-year-olds and he's got belief in himself, doesn't take a backward step, knows how to find the footy and he works as hard as anyone at the club."

Mathey, who turns 18 next month, is 175cms and a powerful 72kgs and plays with a composure rarely seen at that age.

"That's something I've always tried to pride myself on because I'm not the quickest, so if I can be composed with the footy and make the correct decision all the time, it holds me in good stead," he said.

Mathey was overlooked for the junior representative team, the Murray Bushrangers, but he's just been invited to pre-season training.

"Hopefully I can make it but, if not, I'll be back at Wodonga, we're hoping to play finals, so that would be special."

ALSO IN SPORT:

Meanwhile in the reserves, Harry Kitching (57) pipped Ben McPherson (56), while Gus Jones (65) took out the under 18s from Callum Wilson and Ethan Ritchie (61).

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: