McPhee rejoices in return

Versatile North Albany youngster Jack McPhee ended a whirlwind season by winning the 2016 Alan Barnett Medal for his best afield efforts in the Kangas’ third consecutive Great Southern Football League premiership on Sunday.

McPhee played as a junior with the Kangas where he won three colts premierships before moving to Perth to play four seasons with WAFL club Claremont.

After eight colts games and 55 reserves matches with Claremont, McPhee began this season in the Central Midlands Coastal Football League where he ran out in nine league games with Dandaragan before he moved back to Albany through a work transfer.

In Sunday’s epic grand final, the agile McPhee played a leading hand in the Kangas’ three-point triumph, starting at half-forward before switching to defence when Mt Barker kicked with the breeze.

His influence in the third quarter was telling as he chopped off countless inside-50 entries from the Bulls and marked strongly to help the Kangas limit the home side to just three goals.

Up forward, McPhee presented well all day and made numerous contests in the air which helped create Kangas’ goals.

The 22-year-old is the Kangas’ third successive winner of the medal awarded to the best player in the league grand final and was humbled to receive the honour.

“I was at Dandaragan halfway through the year and starting to think about finals when work just pulled the trigger,” McPhee said.

“I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to play because it was close to the clearance deadline.

“It is just an unbelievable feeling, this is the first league premiership I have played in so I am going to soak this up, it’s just unreal.”

McPhee felt his time with Claremont had made him a better player and praised the Bulls for such a hard-fought contest.

“The forwards knew we had our work cut out for us,” he said.

“I just tried to get up the ground and take some marks.”