By Daniel Atamian
In a night that celebrates the excellence of the state league competition, our very own Jack Maibaum was honoured for a second year in a row after beig selected as the Centre Half Back for the 2022 VFL Team of The Year.
It was the first time the J.J Liston Awards Night was run since 2019 as it was placed on hiatus due to the Covid pandemic, giving both the VFL & VFLW competitions the opportunity to finally recoginise the great achievements and standout talent of both competitions on a more formal platform than the virtual presentations that took place online previously.
Coburg’s first player up for consideration of an award presented on the night came in the form of exciting young prospect Flynn Gentile who was a nominee for the Fothergill-Rounds-Mitchell Medal for the best young talent under the age of 24 with no AFL experience. Flynn would unfortunately come up short however to eventual winner Ethan Phillips from Port Melbourne Borough.
The Lions would gain an accolade however in the form of Jack Maibaum who was the Burgers sole Team of the Year selection after having another strong performance in 2022 to earn his selection as the starting Centre Half Back.
When asked about his thoughts on his inclusion into the 2022 Team of the Year; Maibaum, mentioned that he was humbled by his selection and said he was not expecting to be selected into the side and go on to give praise to fellow key back Harry Nolan who “helped me all year” along with all the other Lions backs and rest of his teammates..
Jack would go on to thank all the staff and players “top to bottom, 1 through to 45”, praising the clubs culture built around the comradery and the sense of teamwork, “the joy this place has brought me, I don’t think words can describe it, it’s made me love football again”.
The night brought along recognition for the club’s hospitality team also as the VFL Rewind Radio Program hosts; Brad and Lauschie, awarded Coburg the show’s Canteen of the Year Award for recognition of the best canteen in the 2022 VFL season.
We would like to congratulate Jack once again for his award on being selected in the 2022 VFL Team of the Year and look forward to seeing all your Lions supporters at our annual Jim Sullivan Medal Awards Night on Thursday 22nd September 2022 at 6:30pm.
#WeAreCoburg
