Mooroopna AFL export Jy Simpkin continues to go from strength to strength at North Melbourne, with the talent picking up his second club best-and-fairest award in a row.
Simpkin secured the prestigious Syd Barker Medal on Thursday night with 130 votes, ahead of second-placed Luke Davies-Uniacke on 108 votes.
It was a well-rounded year for the Kangaroos’ midfielder, playing 21 out of a possible 22 games in the campaign.
His sixth season in the AFL, the 24-year-old stood up in a challenging year for his club, consistently racking up the disposals and always being involved in the action.
Speaking on stage after receiving his award, Simpkin outlined the bright future ahead for North Melbourne.
“As long as we stick together there is no doubt this club is going places,” Simpkin said.
“You can win one (best-and-fairest) and that’s all well and good, but to win two it’s extremely special."
Averaging 26.6 disposals and 5.3 clearances a game, Simpkin racked up a season high 41 touches against fellow battler Essendon in round 20.
The Mooroopona export saw plenty of involvement up and down the ground, with an average of 4.7 inside 50s, 7.1 ground ball gets, 4.5 tackles and 3.4 marks across the season.
Sure to play a key role as North Melbourne rebuilds its squad going forward, the talent said he was “stoked” to have Hawthorn premiership coach Alastair Clarkson on board for season 2023.
“It has been a tough year as we all know, but to keep fronting up as we did in the midfield and to play consistent for the majority of the year, we can definitely take it forward,” he said.
“It’s on us boys to work hard this off season, we’ve got to come back fitter, we’ve got to come back stronger, this (Clarkson coming in) is a bit of a chance, it’s a refresh, it’s a restart, so we’ve got to give it everything because it’s not going to happen itself.”
The Kangaroos ended season 2022 in 18th place, with two wins.
Yet with a new coach at the helm and plenty of exciting talent coming through the ranks, the future is looking bright for the blue and white side.