Tallon Smith
Temora’s Hayden Philp has narrowly beaten Wagga Kangaroos half James Smart to take out the Weissel Medal at the Group 9 Awards Night at Wagga RSL on Wednesday evening.
The Temora forward finished on 22 votes, two clear of Kangaroos half Smart to claim the mantle as the competition’s Best and Fairest player for 2025.
Speaking after receiving the award, Philp said it was both a pleasant surprise and a reward for hours of hard work throughout the season.
“It’s unreal, I thought I’d be no chance, particularly with the likes of Smarty involved,” he said.
“It’s just a reward for everything you try to play for, it’s just a shame that we didn’t get a grand final appearance or win with that.”
Philp and Smart were level with two rounds to go, before the Dragons star surged three votes ahead in the penultimate round.
The Kangaroos halfback responded with three votes in round 16, but it was Philp who sealed the deal with two crucial votes in Temora’s final round game against Young.
Despite being adjudged the best player in the competition, Philp said he still believes he has aspects of his game that he can further improve heading into 2026.
“I’ve still got room for my improvement, that’s my goal for next year,” he said
“We’ve underachieved to be honest, we had a fantastic year, we’ve got a good group of young guys.
“Hopefully they can all stick around and we can have a crack at it again next year.”
As for what it means to be back in Group 9, Philp said having his young family around makes it all the more worthwhile.
“It’s great to be back again, my partner and my kids are all involved now, and having a couple of kids now, it’s just making it all that more rewarding when they come up to you after a game and give you some cuddles, it’s unreal.”
In picking up the award, Philp added this season’s Weissel Medal to his three Ray Thorpe Medals in Group 20.
Philp previously took out the Group 20 equivalent in 2019, 2021, and 2022 while playing for the Leeton Greenies in that competition, where he also won the 2022 and 2023 premierships.
Prior to the Weissel Medal count, the Great Northern First Grade Team of the Year was announced, with the following players selected in the competition’s top 13: Hamish Starr (Temora), Charlie Barton (Kangaroos), Dakota Ruta (Kangaroos), Gabriel Gul (Gundagai), Devon Makoare-Boyce (Young), Paul Karaitiana (Albury), James Smart (Kangaroos), Hayden Philp (Temora), Wilson Hamblin (Gundagai), Joel Field (Gundagai), Michael Fenn (Tumut), Shane Hannam (Kangaroos), Zac Masters (Tumut), Coach: Nathan Rose (Kangaroos).
Earlier in the evening, there were three joint best and fairest winners in the lower grades.
Albury’s Kieren Ford and Gundagai’s Caleb Piper shared the honours in Sewell Design Reserve Grade, with both finishing on 18 points as their teams made charges into the finals.
There were also two tied finishes in the women’s competitions, with Tumut’s Brigid Rhynehart and Temora’s Emily Perrot sharing the title in Downer Group League Tag, while Estella pair Milly Lucas and Holly Williams finished as the inaugural Best and Fairest winners in the Reece Group Women’s Tackle Premiership.
Kangaroos’ Tyler Jordan was adjudged the Best and Fairest in the Regional Australia Bank Under 18s competition on a whopping 24 votes, ahead of Cootamundra’s Ollie Hall.
On the referees’ side of things, Scott Muir was again given the honour of the competition’s top whistleblower, while Cody Piper received the Encouragement Award.
Each of the 10 clubs also had a Volunteer of the Year honoured, with the following recipients awarded that title: Mark Daly (Albury), Aaron Vitnell (Cootamundra), Monique Luff (Gundagai), Michael Diggins (Junee), Paul Gilbert (South City), Steve Reardon (Temora), Ken Keenan (Tumut), Jason Carter (Wagga Brothers), Mark Haunold (Wagga Kangaroos), Mark Dal Molin (Young).
To start the night, Wagga Kangaroos were awarded the Club Championship on 90 points.
