Judd led the vote count from early in the season and has now won the John Nicholls Medal in his two years of service with the Club. He played all 23 games this season, accumulating over 600 disposals, on top of a season high 102 tackles and 137 inside 50s.
His winning of the prestigious John Nicholls Medal adds to the long list of playing honours Judd has achieved since making his AFL debut in 2002. A second Carlton Best & Fairest adds to the two West Coast Best & Fairest Awards, 2004 Brownlow Medal, 2005 Norm Smith Medal and AFLPA Most Valuable Player Award in 2006.
Runner-up Marc Murphy played all 23 games for the season, amassed a career-high 588 disposals and was Carlton’s third highest goalkicker with 31 for the year.
Bryce Gibbs, who was fifth in the 2008 John Nicholls Medal, also played all 23 games for Carlton in 2009 and led the kicks for the season with 321. He had a season-high 615 disposals and took the third highest number of marks for Carlton with 141.
John Nicholls, Carlton Legend and winner of the Best & Fairest Award a record five times, presented the medal named in his honour to Chris Judd following the counting of votes.
Under the John Nicholls Medal voting system, five members of the Carlton Match Committee independently submit their votes after each round. Each may give votes to a maximum of eight players. The maximum votes a player may receive is ten (maximum of 50 votes per game).
Other Award winners announced prior to the counting of votes in the John Nicholls Medal were:
Best First Year Player - Aaron Joseph
Aaron, who turned 20 in July, played all 23 games after making his debut in round one. Aaron was Carlton’s first selection, number two overall, in the 2008 pre-season draft and was a nominated rookie for the 2009 season. He finished tenth in the John Nicholls Medal.
This Award was presented by 2001 & 2005 Best & Fairest winner Anthony Koutoufides
Best Clubman - David Ellard
This Award was presented by 2001 & 2005 Best & Fairest winner Anthony Koutoufides
Spirit of Carlton Encouragement Award - Jordan Russell
Jordan has played 70 games for Carlton, including 20 in 2009. He made his AFL debut in round 15, 2005 after being Carlton’s first round selection in the 2004 National Draft. He had an excellent finish to the 2009 season and finished 6th in the John Nicholls Medal.
This Award was presented by 1982 Best & Fairest winner Jim Buckley
Women of Carlton - Player Ambassador of the Year Award - Dennis Armfield
The Women of Carlton introduced this Award in 2004 to reward the players for their on field achievements as well as their work within the community and the manner in which they represent the Club on and off the field.
This Award was presented by Club Patron Jeanne Pratt
The Top Ten in the 2009 John Nicholls Medal:
1st Chris Judd 558
2nd Marc Murphy 451
3rd Bryce Gibbs 415
4th Brendan Fevola 390
5th Matthew Kreuzer 311
6th Jordan Russell 281
7th Paul Bower 279
8th Kade Simpson 254
9th Bret Thornton 225
10th Aaron Joseph 202
