SPRINGBANK junior Kieran Maher has been forced to relinquish the title of Central Highlands Football League under-15 best and fairest after an administrative error saw him incorrectly declared the winner of the award on Monday night.
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The league has confirmed the mistake and that Hepburn’s Ned Johns has now been crowned the competition’s standout player.
CHFL administrator Diane Ryan said the league was alerted to the blue by Hepburn on Tuesday morning, with the subsequent recount identifying three votes had been incorrectly allocated to the Burras’ Harry Johns even though they had been meant for his cousin Ned.
Ryan said she felt horrible about the mistake and admitted the families of both players were disappointed by what had happened.
Springbank president Anthony Simpson admitted he had sympathy for both Maher and Johns.
“It’s disappointing that it has happened and I feel sorry for the young fellow involved,” Simpson said.
“We feel sorry for the Hepburn kid, too. He has missed his 15 minutes of fame as well."
Maher was presented the under-15 trophy after it was calculated his season total of 40 votes had been good enough to secure a two-vote win over Johns. However, Johns’ missed best-on-ground performance in round five against Newlyn meant he claimed a one-vote victory over the young Tiger.
Hepburn president Jason Dooley said it was an unfortunate incident.
“We are only human and people make mistakes,” Dooley said.
“I’d like to see them both keep their trophies. I think anyone who polls 40 votes in a 17-round competition is pretty unlucky not to win it.”
