By Tara Murray
East Sunbury’s Kamen Ogilvie had a sense of deja vu at the Essendon District Football League awards night last week.
He led the division 2 best and fairest award counting heading into the final round of votes.
It was the exact same position he found himself two years ago.
While on that occasion he was pipped at the post, this year was going to be his year as he was named the league’s best player in the division 2 competition.
It’s the third time Ogilvie has finished in the top five of the voting.
During this year’s count, Ogilvie was the early leader.
He led by eight votes after round 10 and the 10 votes after 17 rounds. He had to hold off a fast finishing Cory McGrath.
Ogilvie thought history was going to repeat itself and that he was going to finish second yet again.
“It’s pretty cool,” he said.
“I thought I was a better chance a few years ago. I thought the same thing was going to happen again.
“I knew I had a decent final round, so I was hopeful of getting votes. It’s nice to be recognised individually, but I’d much rather be talking about winning a premiership.”
Ogilvie, who played a number of different roles across the season, returned to the club this year, after spending a year in the Central Highlands Football League.
Even in his year away from the club, Ogilvie was a regular at training.
The constant travel to Hepburn was one reason he returned. The other was a pesky captain.
“There was two reasons,” he said.
“The traveling to Hepburn to train and play was pretty rough. I was training every Tuesday night [at East Sunbury] and some Thursdays when I worked late.
“I kept in touch with all the boys.
“The other reason was the captain. Lucas Shaw kept hounding me to come back, so coming back meant I could shut him up.”
Ogilvie was a big key to the Thunder’s run to the grand final.
He was full of praise for his side that he said he thought could go far when he returned to the club. It was a bit of a different season for the Thunder, sitting 7-2 and on top of the ladder when Steve Grey quit as coach.
Ogilvie said he has never heard of that happening, let along experienced a coach leaving in those circumstances.
“It has been an exciting year being part of a club that has grown so much in a short period of time,” he said.
“I thought we had the cattle to do it, but some guys left to go overs and the injury toll rose and we lost our coach.
“At that stage even playing finals was a long short. I couldn’t be prouder.”
At 26 and one of the oldest in the playing group, Ogilvie said the future was really bright
He said to make the grand final was phenomenal and something they could build on with such a young group.
Most of the playing group has re-signed and were looking forward to a full preseason under Glenn Hopkins, who had made a positive impact since joining the club mid way through the season.
Ogilvie was one of two Thunder players to finish in the top five of the league votes, with Shaw finishing equal fourth.
Ogilvie said Shaw was one of the those players who really thrived under Hopkins. He said if Shaw had have moved into the middle of the ground earlier in the season he could have won the league best and fairest.
Both were named in the team of the year, along with midfielder Tom Cree.
In the club’s best and fairest, Lachlan Brne won from Cree and Jorden Braddy.
