Joel Cross and Brede Seccull Claim 2016 Knuckey Cup

Joel Cross and Brede Seccull have taken out the 2016 Knuckey Cup, finishing the count tied on 123 votes.

The midfield maestro's equal points finish is only the second tie since the Knuckey Cup was established in 1923 and the first since George Mulcahy and Jack Dawes shared the Cup in 1936.

Spearhead forward Brett Eddy claimed third best and fairest, receiving 120 votes in his Ken Farmer Medal winning season and recording his best finish since joining South Adelaide in 2013.

Throughout the count several front runners emerged, with cult hero Jake Veide claiming an early lead before emerging midfielder Nic Schwarz climbed atop the leaderboard at the midpoint of the season.

However, on the back of a run of four best on grounds in five games through Rounds 12-17, Seccull soon surged to the top of the count and held a two-point lead at the conclusion of the minor rounds.

Though as he often does in big games, Cross lifted through the Panthers two Finals matches to equal Seccull with one of the final votes of the count.

Seccull becomes the 59th player to claim South Adelaide's highest individual offer, while Cross joins select company with Ray Linke (1950, 52 and 54), Geoff Baynes (1977, 78 and 79) and Nick Liddle (2010, 12 and 13) as the only three-time winners in the Cups history.

Only Frank Tully (1929, 30, 33 and 35), Jim Deane (1948, 49, 51, 53, 56 and 57), Peter Darley (1963, 64, 66, 67, 68, 72 and 73) and David Kappler (1985, 87, 88 and 91) have won more.

Earlier in the evening, Hayden Nichols went one step further than his 2015 Reserves Runner-Up finish to claim his first J.L. Brown Trophy as the Reserves Best and Fairest, while Henry Bruce claimed the Centre of Excellence Under-18s Best and Fairest award.

Senior Award Winners

• Knuckey Cup Joel Cross and Brede Seccull
• Third Best & Fairest Brett Eddy
• J.L. Brown Trophy (Reserves Best & Fairest) Hayden Nichols
• Reserves Runner-Up Best & Fairest Joseph Haines
• The Milestone Chemicals Player's Player Award Brett Eddy
• Most Improved Tyson Brown
• Leading Goalkicker Brett Eddy (74 goals)
• Player Trademark Award Nic Schwarz
• Knuckles Award Brad Crabb
• Dr Jim Harley/Frank Brown Memorial Trophy (Best Clubman) Nathan Daniel
• David Kantilla Memorial Trophy (Best First Year League Player) Rigby Barnes
• Best In Finals Matt Rose

Under-18s Award Winners

• Best & Fairest Henry Bruce
• Runner-Up Best & Fairest Joseph Tyllis
• Third Best & Fairest Jesse Fitzgerald
• Best Team Man Jesse Fitzgerald
• Leading Goalkicker Nick Steele
• Colin & Peter Haines Trophy (Best Junior Clubman) Nick Scanlan
• Fred & Mavis Whitwell Trophy (Rising Star) Sam Draper

Knuckey Cup Top 10

1. Joel Cross 123
1. Brede Seccull - 123
3. Brett Eddy - 120
4. Nick Liddle - 116
5. Tom Fields - 113
6. Adam Gulden - 105
6. Matt Rankine - 105
8. Rigby Barnes - 103
8. Matt Rose - 103
10. Nic Schwarz - 99

Reserves Top 10

1. Hayden Nichols - 110
2. Joseph Haines - 108
3. Rhys Bartram - 101
4. Alex Moyle - 98
5. Cody Szust - 97
6. Ben Heaslip - 96
7. Peter Steffe - 83
7. Josh Trembath - 83
9. Jake Anderson - 81
10. Tom Jolly - 75

Under-18s Top 10

1. Henry Bruce - 45
2. Joseph Tyllis - 36
3. Jesse Fitzgerald - 35
4. Dylan Whimpress - 33
4. Jesse McKinnon - 33
6. Jackson Daniels - 33
7. Liam Fitt - 31
8. Nick Steele - 30
8. Adrian Albanese - 30
10. Nathan Kreuger - 29
10. Sam Draper - 29
10. Coby Helyar - 29