2026 Neil Bencraft Best and Fairest Recap
07/09/2026
Nathan Philactides is crowned the 2026 Neil Bencraft Best & Fairest in Sandringham’s first year as a standalone VFL side since 1999.
In his first year at Sandringham after two seasons at Box Hill, Nathan Philactides concludes the 2026 VFL season by taking home the Neil Bencraft Best & Fairest with 128 votes.
Philactides averaged 23.8 disposals with an impressive 76.9 percent disposal efficiency through all 18 games. Despite his quality efforts throughout the season, Philactides’ best performances were on show during our wins against Werribee in Round Two and Footscray in Round 12. The Zebras’ first win of 2026 saw the midfielder with 28 disposals, four marks, six tackles and a goal, earning him 19 votes. Backing this up with his performance against the reigning Premiers, Philactides collected 34 disposals at 79.4 percent efficiency for 18 votes. His ability to excel no matter what position he was in, whether that was playing full midfield or running off at half-back, proved why he was the top voted Zebra.
2026 First Place, Nathan Philactides
Darcy Chirgwin finished Runner Up with 124 votes in his first full VFL season. Chirgwin consistently performed at an extraordinary level, averaging 23.7 disposals, 12.6 contested possessions and 5.4 tackles in all 18 games. One of his standout performances was a 29-disposal, 13-tackle and a goal scoring game against the GIANTS in Round Eight, earning him 17 votes. Chirgwin also stood tall with 18 votes in the draw against Southport in Round 17 with two goals, 30 disposals and nine inside 50s.
2026 Second Place, Darcy Chirgwin
21-year-old Daniel Pinter had the perfect start to his maiden VFL season, finishing third in the vote count with 120 votes. The young ruckman also took home the Ray Patmore Trophy, an award for the Best First Year Player, with an average of 16.8 disposals, 21.3 hit-outs and 12.8 contested possessions. Pinter’s highlight game against the Borough in Round 16 exhibited a massive 51 hit-outs, 14 contested possessions and 13 tackles. From being one of the 497 who expressed interest in response to the Zebs’ call for recruits, to placing third in the Neil Bencraft Best & Fairest is a monumental achievement.
2026 Third Place & Best First Year Player, Daniel Pinter
Noah Yze was awarded Sandringham’s Leading Goal Kicker for 2026 with a season total of 27 goals. The key forward shone against Tasmania, Southport and Werribee, kicking three in each of those games. Yze was a crowd favourite as he undoubtedly brought the momentum in close matchups.
2026 Leading Goal Kicker, Noah Yze
The Greg Lyons Trophy for the Most Courageous Player was awarded to Kyle Cooper. The midfield rover, handy around contests, was superb in our Round 12 win over Footscray. Cooper racked up 35 disposals, 11 contested possession and six score involvements which earned him 13 votes.
2026 Most Courageous Player, Kyle Cooper
Owen Bater was awarded the Zeal Player of the Year, a player-voted award for the Zeb who demonstrated consistent effort, selflessness, teamwork, relentless attitude, confidence and who celebrated and supported teammates throughout all four quarters. The key defender’s full season efforts were well recognised, also winning the Ed Hattam Trophy as the Most Determined Player and placing fifth in the overall vote count.
2026 Most Determined Player & Zeal of the Year, Owen Bater
The summary of the on-field award winners on the night:
Leading Goal Kicker (27 goals) – Noah Yze
Best First Year Player (Ray Patmore Trophy) – Daniel Pinter
Most Courageous Player (Greg Lyons Memorial Trophy) – Kyle Cooper
Most Determined Player (Ed Hattam Memorial Trophy) – Owen Bater
The winners of the off-field awards were:
Extra Mile Award – Stuart Dempster
Best Club Person (Eric Mackenzie Memorial Trophy) – Jim McMillan
President’s Award (Gary Gilchrist Trophy) – Nathan Brown
Zeal Player of the Year – Owen Bater
A big congratulations to all our award winners!
VFL Top Ten
1. Nathan Philactides – 128
2. Darcy Chirgwin – 124
3. Daniel Pinter – 120
4. Andreas Stefanakis – 92
5. Owen Bater – 89
6. Kynan Brown – 77
7. Kyle Cooper – 70
= 8. Mitchell Kirkwood-Scott – 39
= 8. Adrian Cole – 39
= 8. Noah Yze – 39
9. Ben Hopkins – 33
10. Jet Peckett – 32
Photography by Maddie Green
Written by Amelia Tran - Sandringham Football Club Media
