More midfield time and a chance to silence the critics motivation behind Jayson Ford’s brilliant performance

An increased midfield role and the opportunity to silence critics of his game has spurred Royals star Jayson Ford on to win the Alan Barnett Medal with a stellar grand-final performance on Saturday afternoon. Ford received the Barnett Medal after he was adjudged the best player on the ground in the Great Southern Football League grand final by the central umpires. The 26-year-old was at his damaging best in the decider, playing a large chunk of the match in the middle while also spending time up forward, where he kicked four vital goals. His form leading into the grand final was excellent, having played more as a midfielder, and he was the thorn in Denmark-Walpole’s side as they mounted a comeback in the third term. The Magpies were goalless in the opening half but kicked six goals in the third and would have been even closer if not for the efforts of Ford. Ford ended a run of three Magpies goals to halt their momentum and then, after Dionne Woods soccered a goal at one end, Ford responded again to get the margin back to 29 points. His work between the two arcs by hand and foot was outstanding and rewarded with his first Alan Barnett Medal and second league premiership with the Lions. “It was a personal thing for me today,” Ford said. “A lot of people think I’m soft and I can only kick goals, so I used that as motivation to play well. When I won the Rod Gillies Medal as a colt, I was playing as a midfielder. “This season, I really wanted to expand my game, be versatile and I’ve loved being in the middle and from the get-go, I really felt it. I really focused on my defensive pressure and laid those couple of big tackles.” Ford finished the game with 22 disposals and 4.2 as the Lions won back-to-back flags. “It was the perfect result, to go the whole season undefeated and win was cream on top,” he said. “When we won the premiership last year, we knew it was not going to be easy this year but we wanted to go back-to-back.”