Partington Wins R. O Shearman Medal

By ZAC MILBANK

Glenelg midfielder Luke Partington is just the second Tiger to win the R. O Shearman Medal after being presented with the coveted individual award on Monday night.

Joining fellow Bays’ Magarey Medallist Brett Backwell who shared the Shearman Medal in 2003, Partington polled 76 votes to hold off Adelaide’s Patrick Wilson on 72 and Port Adelaide’s Jack Trengove on 69.

Sturt’s Sam Colquhoun (59) and South’s Abe Davis (56) rounded out the top five vote winners, while Panthers co-captain Joel Cross, who has won the Shearman Medal in 2015 and 2017, was placed sixth with 54 votes.

It capped a memorable night for Partington, who became the first Glenelg player since Backwell in 2006 to win the Magarey Medal.

The 22-year-old also won the competition’s other individual trophy this year – the inaugural SANFL Digital Pass Player of the Year as voted by the Digital Pass commentators.

Voted on a 5-4-3-2-1 basis by the SANFL coaches during the minor round, the R. O Shearman Medal voting, including leaderboard, appears weekly in the SANFL Budget.

The medal is named after five-time Sturt premiership player and SA Football Hall of Fame member Bob Shearman.

Triple Magarey Medallist James Allan has dominated the award, claiming a record six R. O Shearman Medals playing for North Adelaide, sharing it with Sturt’s Jade Sheedy in 2008.