Turner joins elite company with back-to-back Swan Medals

Jesse Turner's stocks continue to rise in the ranks of the Swan Districts Football Club after being rewarded for another outstanding 2023 WAFL season by winning the Swan Medal for the second straight season.

Just five days after the Swan Districts' Reserves team celebrated winning a first premiership since 2006, the club came together on Friday night for the Swan Medal night at Mandoon Estate to appreciate the steps forward taken in all three grades for the 2023 WAFL season.

By the end of the evening, Jesse Turner had joined elite company by winning consecutive Swan Medals as the fairest and best winner in the Swan Districts' league team while Lawson Humphries won the FA Bonney Sweetapple Memorial Award in the reserves, and Chayse Martinson the EJ McManus Award in the colts.

In the 89 seasons that Swan Districts has now competed in the WAFL competition, only 11 players have ever won back-to-back Swan Medals previously highlighting just what an achievement it is by Turner to back up his triumph in 2022 with another victory in 2023.

The last player to do it was Matt Riggio in 2015 and 2016, and prior to that it was Josh Roberts, Travis Edmonds, Joel Cornelius, Gerard Neesham, Keith Narkle, Bill Walker, Haydn Bunton Jr, Keith Slater, Joe Pearce and George Krepp.

That is a remarkable list of players that Turner now joins and among the greatest to ever play for the Swan Districts Football Club, but the longer his career goes, the more and more he deserves to be in that company.

Through nothing but sheer hard work, Turner has turned himself into the fittest and hardest running player in the competition in recent years, and he's made the wing his own at Swan Districts.

He was already the reigning fairest and best winner and made the Team of the Year in four of the previous five seasons, but he continues to find ways to improve.

There was significant improvement in his contested marking and overall contested ball winning ability in 2023, and his kicking especially going inside-50 was at career-best levels.

He ended up the league's leading possession winner with 29.3 a game with 10 matches of 30 or more touches while earning Team of the Week nods 10 times to book in another Team of the Year slot.

Now he has added a second Swan Medal to his collection having collected 133 votes for his performances throughout the season.

He was far from the only standout player for Swan Districts in 2023 either and it was Victorian recruit and key on-baller Jackson McLachlan who was runner-up in Swan Medal voting claiming 98 votes after a stellar first season in the WAFL.

Eight further votes back was last year's runner-up and WAFL Team of the Year member Aidan Clarke who was at his destructive best despite an early hamstring injury in the 2023 season.

Tom Edwards continued his emergence as one of the most exciting and dangerous forwards in the competition to win the Ted Holdsworth Memorial Award by kicking by 31 goals for the 2023 season.

Young gun Lawson Humphries had a year to remember in 2023 and he was named the Rookie of the Year to claim the RA Newbey Award.

That was just the start of his awards for the evening with the 20-year-old not only playing in the reserves premiership triumph, but he was named the fairest and best winner of the reserves team to win the FA Bonney Sweetapple Memorial Award.

Mitch Bain won the competition's fairest and best award in the reserves and to add to his Prendergast Medal and the premiership, he was runner-up for the reserves award to claim the DC Goddard Memorial Award.

Third-place in the reserves went to Max Chipper while Ethyn Kane received the Encouragement Award.

It was a year of development in the colts for 2023 and Chayse Martinson was tremendously impressive and was named the fairest and best for the season to win the EJ McManus Award.

Luke Kelly was runner-up in fairest and best voting followed by Riley Hardeman while Lewis Zolnier-Owens claimed the Encouragement Award.

The Best Club Person for 2023 went to Reg Connors who claimed the PJ Bright Memorial Award while the Joe Pearce Courage Memorial Award was a popular and emotional decision to give it to the late Ken Ball who passed away through the 2023 season.

LEAGUE AWARD WINNERS

Swan Medal winner (Fairest and Best): Jesse Turner

Norm Thomas Memorial Award (Runner-Up): Jackson McLachlan

Mrs N Innes Memorial Award (Third-Place): Aidan Clarke

RA Newbey Award (Rookie of the Year): Lawson Humphries

Ted Holdsworth Memorial Award (Leading Goalkicker): Tom Edwards (31 goals)

RESERVES AWARD WINNERS

FA Bonney Sweetapple Memorial Award (Fairest and Best): Lawson Humphries

DC Goddard Memorial Award (Runner-Up): Mitch Bain

Lew Armstrong Award (Third-Place): Max Chipper

WAFL Combined Past Players and Officials Association Encouragement Award: Ethyn Kane

COLTS AWARD WINNERS

EJ McManus Award (Fairest and Best): Chayse Martinson

Judy Sarich Memorial Award (Runner-Up): Luke Kelly

Cooper Brothers Award (Third-Place): Riley Hardeman

WAFL Combined Past Players and Officials Association Encouragement Award: Lewis Zolnier-Owens

CLUB AWARD WINNERS

PJ Bright Memorial Award (Best Club Person): Reg Connors

Joe Pearce Courage Memorial Award: Ken Ball