Only four votes ended up separating Rockliff from Runner-Up Daye Zorko – both of whom were late withdrawals from the team’s Round 23 clash against Geelong at Simonds Stadium.
Had Zorko taken his place in the team’s final match of the season, chances are that he would have surpassed his Vice-Captain – particularly considering he averaged more than six votes per game.
Zorko was also hampered by illness in Round 9, which forced him to be subbed out of the match at half-time with just one kick to his name.
That performance earned him a single vote – clearly his lowest return for the season.
That said, you can’t ignore the fact that Rockliff missed four matches, and in doing so, became the first ever Lions player to claim the Merrett-Murray Medal having played less than 20 matches in a season.
It was an enormous effort from the 24-year-old, who reach double-figure votes five times in 2014 – in Round 1 (vs Hawthorn), Round 3 (vs Gold Coast), Round 11 (vs Carlton), Round 18 (vs Gold Coast), and in his 100-game milestone match against Collingwood in Round 21.
Rockliff averaged 7.6 votes per game, and would have enjoyed a bigger lead had he not missed those four games.
Ruckman Stefan Martin might have finished 11th overall, but he ranked second in terms of votes per game with 85 votes from his 12 outings (an average of seven per game).
It was a remarkable result for Martin, who also boasted the equal highest-rated individual performance of the season (11 votes) for his effort against the Magpies in Round 21.
In fact, Martin and Zorko produced equal season-high totals of 11 votes in the same match.
Two-time Club Champion Joel Patfull, meanwhile, was a model of consistency as always, scoring no lower than three and no higher than eight votes in every match he played.
Fourth-placed Pearce Hanley was a little more erratic, twice reaching double figures for performances against Gold Coast (Round 18) and Collingwood (Round 21), but at the same time managing just four votes in total from his two clashes with Fremantle.
Newly crowned AFL Rising Star, Lewy Taylor, also mirrored Daniel Rich’s feat of finishing sixth in his maiden Merrett-Murray Medal vote count – to now share a place in the Club’s history books as the best finish by a player in his first year.
Fellow young gun James Aish finished in ninth spot, making it the first time in Club history that two first year players have featured in the Top 10.
A list of the personal best results on the night included:
Tom Rockliff – 1st (also finished 1st in 2010)
Dayne Zorko – 2nd (previous best was equal 4th in 2013)
Justin Clarke – 7th (previous best was 15th in 2013)
Josh Green – 8th (previous best was 19th in 2012)
Stefan Martin – 11th (didn’t poll in 2013)
Rohan Bewick – equal 14th (previous best was equal 15th in 2012)
Ryan Harwood – equal 14th (previous best was 18th in 2013)
Marco Paparone – 16th (previous best was 28th in 2013)
Claye Beams – equal 22nd (previous best was 30th in 2011)
Jack Crisp – 26th (previous best was equal 28th in 2012)
CLICK HERE for the full 2014 Merrett-Murray Medal voting sheet
