Sean Mantell’s first season back at the Stawell Warriors has been topped off with a best and fairest win on Saturday night.
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The midfielder recorded 41 votes to pick up the Warriors’ top footballing honour.
Coach Tom Eckel and forward David Andrivon had 32 votes each to finish as joint runners-up.
It took some time to get used to the different league.
- Sean Mantell
Mantell said the award came as a bit of a shock.
“I was a little bit surprised,” he said.
“I thought I had a fairly consistent year and had a good finish to the season.
“It is unfortunate that as a team we didn’t quite get the results we were after.”
Mantell rejoined his junior club after spending time at cross town rivals Swifts.
He said the move to the Warriors took some adjusting to.
“It took some time to get used to the different league,” he said.
“It has been great to be back at Stawell and playing with some mates.”
Stawell’s senior football team managed to make its way into the finals before bowing out in the first week to the Horsham Saints.
Mantell said he puts his successful season down to hard work off the training track.
“I had a fairly big pre-season,” he said.
“I did a fair bit of running and hit the gym hard before the season so I came into the year in good shape.”
Mantell has recommitted to the Warriors for another season, signing on for 2018.
The Warriors are currently in the process of finding a senior coach for the 2018 season.