ST KILDA midfielder Seb Ross has held off a fast-finishing Rowan Marshall to claim his second Trevor Barker Award.

On an emotion-filled night where the Saints honoured club legend Danny Frawley, Ross (170 votes) backed up his efforts from 2017 ahead of Marshall (152) and Jack Steele (151).

Marshall joined Jack Billings (4th), Tim Membrey (5th) and Luke Dunstan (8th) in career-best finishes, while Steele finished on the podium for a second consecutive year.

>> SCROLL DOWN FOR TOP 10

Mature-age rookie defender Callum Wilkie (7th) was the bolter in the top-10 after featuring in every match in his debut season.

In receiving his award, Ross quipped on stage that he expected to finish behind Marshall who enjoyed a breakout season single-handedly leading the club's ruck division.


In his typically selfless manner, Ross also paid tribute to Frawley who formed a close bond with the vice-captain and his teammates as a specialist coach in 2016 and 2017.

"Tonight's not about me, I think the night and rightly so has to be about Danny and what he brought to the footy club and the whole footy fraternity," Ross said.

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"He's extended his olive branch a long way and he's influenced so many lives and he'll be sorely missed by many of us and he'll leave an everlasting impression on all of us."

Ross, who averaged 26 disposals this year, captained 17 matches in the absence of injured skipper Jarryn Geary.

The 26-year-old also took great motivation in new coach Brett Ratten's call to arms to the St Kilda players about the importance of improving this pre-season.

He's a consummate professional and is always the first to lend a hand to his teammates - Brett Ratten on Seb Ross


"I love that, I really love that," Ross said.

"I think the group got a great sense of where we could potentially be this year.

"I just finished off my speech by saying no one expected us to win nine games this year and that may even (have) been a couple of players at the footy club."

Ratten, who received the biggest cheer from Saints fans at Crown Palladium, praised Ross' consistent season.

"It's really great to see Seb honoured with his second Trevor Barker Award," Ratten said.

"He's shouldered a lot this season, standing in for Jarryn (Geary) as acting captain for most of the year, but took it all in his stride.

"He's a consummate professional and is always the first to lend a hand to his teammates.

"Seb's a pillar of our group and thoroughly deserves this accolade."

Marshall's breakthrough season at No.1 ruckman was capped with the Best Emerging Player Award and Lenny Hayes Players' Award.

Geary, who battled various injury setbacks, was voted the Robert Harvey Best Clubman Award.

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The Trevor Barker Award is voted on independently by six coaches, awarding between zero and four votes to players across the season to determine the best and fairest.

Votes are scaled based on performance, how an individual plays their role, assists their teammates and represents team values.

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Trevor Barker Award top 10

1. Seb Ross (170 votes)
2. Rowan Marshall (152 votes)
3. Jack Steele (151 votes)
4. Jack Billings (140 votes)
5. Tim Membrey (136 votes)
6. Jade Gresham (131 votes)
7. Callum Wilkie (115 votes)
8. Luke Dunstan (111 votes)
9. Josh Bruce (108 votes)
10. Shane Savage (101 votes)