Richmond’s star rebounding defender, Brett Deledio, has made a habit of being at the business end of Jack Dyer Medal counts.
Deledio already has two Best and Fairests to his name, in what has been a decorated career so far in the Yellow and Black.
His continued excellence over a sustained period has Tiger fans expecting to see him standing on the podium every year.
In seven seasons at Richmond, Deledio has finished in the top five of the Jack Dyer Medal five times, to go with an AFL Rising Star Award, three nominations for All-Australian selection and 32 Brownlow Medal votes.
This year he was pipped for the Jack Dyer Medal by Trent Cotchin, but that took nothing away from his achievement.
“It’s something I’m very proud of. You can’t be upset with finishing behind Trent. He’s had an outstanding season,” Deledio said.
“I thought it was a reasonably consistent year for me, and I was happy with it, but there are always areas for improvement. I’ll be looking to build on it more next year.”
The trademark tricks were all there from Deledio in 2011, including nerves of steel on the last line of defence, dashing runs from half-back, and ‘long bombs’ from outside 50.
And, while Deledio’s on-field deeds have always been visible for the fans, another improving weapon in the 24-year-old’s arsenal is his leadership.
He reached the 150-game milestone in Round 24, becoming the second-most experienced player at Tigerland, behind Chris Newman.
As a senior member of the leadership group in 2011, those skills were called into action more than ever, while an emerging defensive group found its feet.
“When Chris went down (with injury), I had to take over a bit more, because I was the second most experienced bloke out there,” he said.
“I got a lot of enjoyment out of playing with guys like Alex Rance, Dylan Grimes, Bachar Houli and Jake Batchelor, when he was down there. Those sorts of players are coming along and you can actually see them developing.”
As a leader, Deledio admits he has let his mind wander to thoughts of what might be in store for the Tigers when the young playing list matures.
“We can definitely feel that the Club is on the way up. I think we’re really building something special,” he said.
“We just need to make sure everyone keeps playing their role and develops at the same pace.”
