Peel Thunder rising star Michael Humble was left “extremely proud” after he became the club’s first ever Jack Clarke medal winner on Wednesday night.
The medal recognises the best and fairest player in the WAFL colts division.
Humble said the win was satisfying after a nerve-racking medal count, which saw him earn three votes for his best on ground effort in the final match of the season to claim the win.
“Going into the last game I knew I’d played a good one, but I was so nervous waiting to hear the result,” he said.
“When they called my name out for three votes was just pure relief – I was absolutely stoked.”
Humble went into the final round tied with Claremont’s Jacob Sideris and South Fremantle's Shai Bolton on 40 votes.
Both of his opponents did not poll a vote in the final round, resulting in Humble taking out the medal.
The win is made more impressive by the fact Humble missed five games for Peel Thunder’s colts side; two to league selection, two to reserves selection and one to a thumb injury.
Humble admitted his absent games helped to pile up his nerves on the night of the count.
“I knew I’d had a consistent season but was wondering if those games I’d missed were going to come back to haunt me,” he said.
“Luckily I was able to hang on and get the votes I needed in the final round.”
WATCH: Michael Humble 2016 highlights.
A consistent season could be considered an understatement. In his 15 games for Peel’s colts, Humble averaged 25 disposals and booted seven goals, seven behinds.
But the South Mandurah Falcons product said the highlight of his season came in the form of his league debut, when he helped Peel overcome East Fremantle in round 11.
“To pull the boots on for the league team was something special – we also got the win which will stick in my mind for a long time,” he said.
“That was easily the best moment of the season for me.”
Humble was full of praise for league mentor’s like Rory O’Brien and Gerald Ugle, saying the senior players set the standard for him to live up to.
“It’s great to be around players like that who just keep pushing and working and set the tone for everyone on the training track and on game days,” he said.
“I did my whole pre-season with the league team which I think really helped me. When you see blokes like Rory training the house down and then going for a gym session afterwards it shows you what’s required to play at a higher level.”
When asked if the AFL was his complete aspiration, Humble said he simply wanted to play the best football he could.
“I really want to crack into the league team full time next season and play some high level footy,” he said.
“If I can do that and it leads somewhere else like the AFL I’ll take that as it comes, but for now it’s all about playing good footy for Peel.”