Hillberg claims equal best and fairest crown in Gippsland League

The Gippsland League’s Best and Fairest were determined in an online vote count on Sunday, putting an end to a shortened season.

With only 10 rounds this year, it worked out to be a close race for the prized Hutchison medal. The top eight netballers all came within four votes of the winners.

Warragul’s Christie Hillberg took out equal first and collected 15 votes for the netball award, tying with Leongatha’s Nicola Marriott.

Hillberg has built up a star reputation across Gippsland and signed on with Warragul’s A grade team in 2019 as playing coach. While she stepped down from the role last year, Hillberg clearly remains a leader on the court.

The former Korumburra-Bena player performs in a variety of roles, but predominantly plays goal defence and centre for Warragul.

In 2019, Hillberg narrowly missed the Hutchison Medal, but achieved runners up and trailed by a three-vote margin.

While no finals were played, Warragul was in a prime spot for a premiership with seven wins and three losses. The A-grade team finished third on the ladder.

Drouin’s Stacie Gardiner also polled highly, collecting 11 votes and equal seventh. The goal attack was a top goal scorer this season, totalling 244 points out of nine games played.