Mitta United midfielder Jarrod Hodgkin romps in club's best and fairest award

Hodgkin won the Blues' highest individual award on Saturday night by a comfortable margin over Joel Wilson.

Hodgkin returned to his junior club this season in one of the biggest signings of the off-season after having previously won best and fairests at Wodonga and Wodonga Raiders.

He also won the Morris medal in 2019 when playing coach of Wodonga Raiders.

Hodgkin also missed four matches mid-season with a shoulder complaint, adding further merit to the win.

"I was happy with my season but it would have been a lot better if we had got the chance to play some football out at Sandy Creek," Hodgkin said.

"We had a few things go wrong and a bit of bad luck with injuries which was unfortunate.

"But we improved a fair bit from the previous season to miss finals by percentage which was a positive."

Hodgkin who was regarded as one of the premier midfielders during his time in the O&M was pleasantly surprised by the standard of the TDFL.

"The TDFL is still a strong standard of footy but obviously a big drop from the O&M," Hodgkin said.

"But you still have to perform at a high level and it's not a walk in the park.

"There is some really good talent running around in the competition.

"It's a lot tougher than I expected as well and it's fairly physical with the smaller grounds.

"So it's a bit more contested but I don't mind playing that sort of footy as well."

Hodgkin said two former Wodonga Raiders in Scott Meyer and Mark Doolan were just two players to catch his eye throughout the season.

"Both big Scotty and Doogs (Doolan) are still playing to a high standard and also performed on the big stage in the grand final," Hodgkin said.

"Kyle Cooper is one of the best young talents running around in the league as well.

"Ben McIntosh is capable of playing at a higher standard and Jack Haugen is also one of the best players in the competition."

Luke Hodgkin is set to coach the Blues for a third season as the club strives to play finals for the first time since 2018.

Star forward Ethan Redcliffe easily won the Blues goalkicking award after also winning the league goalkicking with 110 goals from 17-matches.

Redcliffe is the first player to reach the magical milestone since Chiltern spearhead Rick Whitehead in 2019.

Despite receiving a host of offers from other clubs, the goalkicking ace has re-signed for the Blues for next season.

The former league heavyweight last played finals in 2018.

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