It was do-or-die for Baxter as the Saints met Cooper’s United in the last game of the season, but he proved to be more than up to the task by pulling three votes in an 86-point victory for his side to lift him to the top of the podium.
Picola United’s talent pool was on show as youngster Kyle Saunders blitzed ahead of a throng of candidates to scoop the rising star award.
The under-17 jet featured heavily for United’s senior side during the year and displayed a class far beyond his years to beat off the likes of Katunga’s Trent Baker and Rennie’s Jack Kennedy for the accolade.
Mathoura was also represented on the night, with Darcy Robinson named the Senior Coach of the Year award for his efforts at the helm, while Deniliquin Rovers’ Alex Way was handed the prize for best junior coach.
And rounding out the celebrations was the recognition of this year’s Administrator of the Year, which went to Yarroweyah’s Bill Jones.
After being recognised for a stellar season in the black and yellow, Katamatite gun John Woodcock is the latest recipient of the Picola Distict Football League’s most coveted prize, the Pearce Medal.
The Tigers’ season was bolstered by Woodcock’s presence, with the classy big man earning a maximum three votes for three consecutive weeks to fly up the leaderboard midway through the campaign to finish the year on 20 votes.
However, the Katamatite man’s prize comes as somewhat of a consolation after the side was forced out of the competition by runner-up Ash Thompson’s Waaia in the second round of finals.
After sharing the medal with Mark Ryan last year, another strong year from Thompson put the Bomber in a game of cat and mouse with Woodcock towards the tail end of the season with Picola United’s Blake Jorgensen and Berrigan’s Adam Way in tow.
Thompson won the battle when Waaia met with Katamatite earlier in the year, grabbing all three votes, but fell short towards the back end of the season to end on 18 votes as Woodcock broke away on the home stretch to be crowned the league’s best.
