Proud winner: Bayswater’s Joel Galvin won the Wright Medal as the EFL division 2 best-and-fairest player for the 2012 season. Picture: Rob Carew
BAYSWATER'S Joel Galvin didn't have his hopes too high heading into the Eastern Football League presentation night on Friday.
At least that was until halfway through the Wright Medal count when he was listed in equal-second place and realised his best form had come in the second half of the season.
Galvin polled 24 votes to beat Montrose's Dean Stephen on 23 and Rowville's Matt Stanley on 18 and was named best-and-fairest player in the division 2 competition.
The win was especially important to his family as he follows in the footsteps of his father, Gary Galvin, who won three league best and fairests for Bayswater in the 1980s.
"It's still a bit of blur," he said. "But between the texts and calls I've had from family and friends and blokes from footy, it's becoming clearer. "It's been great; I'm loving it."
The 24-year-old Waters captain was also named skipper of the division 2 team of the season.
Despite having a good season Galvin still considered his win as a shock.
"I didn't expect it. Midway through the year I was equal second and I thought my second half of the season was better than my first, so I only had a few beers and behaved myself. They started reading out the minor placings and after they read out second place I knew I'd got it. I still wasn't expecting to do a speech or anything."
The win was Galvin's first league medal but he is a past winner of the Waters' best and fairest award. Galvin plays alongside his two younger brothers, Bryce and Mitch, at the Waters although Bryce was also on the list for VFL club Casey Scorpions this season.
His brothers didn't attend the count, leaving Galvin to enjoy the win with his teammates. "It was also the first presentation night mum has missed for a while, so she was disappointed."
Galvin has challenged the Waters to improve their consistency in 2013.
"There is definitely room for big improvements in some areas, then we need to consolidate in others," he said. "We need a couple of key recruits and we need to look at our consistency, which wasn't there this season, but that comes with adapting to a new coach."