By DAVID NAGEL
(3) Matthew Wade – The Demons’ best midfielder, brave at the contest and brilliant with his run and carry on a long Simonds Stadium.
(5) Josh Tonna – Shock… horror… he actually missed targets early before playing an absolute cracker after quarter time. Top four or five.
(6) Matt Lee – Quality just oozes from his pores. Mixed a hard edge with some absolute quality ball use going forward. Great one-on-one.
(7) Steve O’Bryan – A bull at the stoppages who fought his backside off at every contest. He and Collins were at home in the engine room.
(8) Ben Wragg – Fumbled one or two at ground level early but then hit his stride. Brave and strong in the air. Took some great grabs.
(9) Ryan Morrison – Started nervous but was instrumental in the second and third term charge. Set up a goal with courage in the third term.
(10) Nick Scanlon – Had the first kick and the best run down of the match, cool, calm, collected and a pure class factor off half-back.
(11) Michael Collins – Typically tough in the clinches but unusually inefficient by foot early. Collo’s influence can never be underestimated.
(12) Ben King – Didn’t get a lot of it, but neither did his opponent and that’s his job. Kingy got some brave fists in at crucial times. Solid.
(13) Brandon Osborne – ‘The Shadow’ was magnificent all day. Won many one-on-ones deep in defence and is the best at that going around.
(14) Max Gearon – Like a lot of his mates, struggled early, but was classy and dangerous when the game was there to be won. Has the tricks.
(15) Jake Gains – Is this kid 18? Played like a seasoned veteran in the ruck, running to the right places and as brave as can be. Nailed his debut.
(16) Troy McDermott – Was noticeable with his cleanness under pressure. Hit the contest at speed and was clinical with his decision making.
(18) Marc Holt – Two games for the Demons, two VCFL medals. Wonderful marking and amazing accuracy. We’re just bloody lucky to have him.
(19) Kain Baskaya – An amazing first half where he controlled half-back with his marking. Brave, talented and unlucky not to have a medal.
(20) Dom Paynter – Took a while to get going but was pretty soon unstoppable. Fit, fast and electrifying through the arcs. Supplied the polish.
(28) James Cottrell – Didn’t look out of place despite playing out of position at times up forward. Did some really good things when it mattered.
(29) Jason Fisher – A gut feel from coach Holland paid off. Fish worked hard defensively and opened the game up with some great hits by foot.
(30) Nathan Brown – Sauce’s experience was pivotal in the first term. Bellarine looked dangerous but the game changed when he hit the field.
(32) Kerem Baskaya – Played second fiddle to Holt, but provided the highlight with an Ablettesque snap from a throw in during the second term.
(33) Jordy Andrews – Always dangerous, kicked the Demons’ first and then rattled the hosts with a quality finish on the half-time siren.
(34) Kym Jones – Had control in the ruck but it took until the second quarter before that became a positive. Like his stature… was huge all day.
(35) Russ Lehman – A really good second half. A slick handball in the middle of the ground in the third term was breathtaking to watch.
(Coach) Michael Holland – His simple instruction to go longer by foot in the second quarter turned his team from confused to confident in an instant.
