Competitive beast Darcy Gardiner has been named the Brisbane Lions' Shaun Hart Trademark Player of the Year at the 2018 Club Champion evening. 

Gardiner's never-say-die defensive attitude has seen him take on some of the competition's best full forwards in 2018, including the likes of Lance Franklin and Jeremy Cameron. 

For the first time in his five-year career, Gardiner completely an entire pre-season without injury concerns and reaped the benefits onfield in 2018. 

The 23-year-old was amongst the Lions' most improved players for 2018, consistently proving most reliable within the last line of defence.

Gardiner's aggressive defence was on full display during Round 10 when he kept Sydney's goal-kicking machine, Franklin, to a solitary goal.

One area of Gardiner's game that has seen significant improvement is intercept marks, helping him become more involved offensively through the latter half of this season.

Gardiner's reliability down back could have seen him play every game in 2018, however, a shoulder dislocation saw him miss the final two games of the season.

The Trade Mark Player of the Year award recognises those who play selflessly for their Club and epitomises all that is good about football. Gardiner's performance both on and off the field this season reflects the characteristics of Club legend Shaun Hart, the man in which this award is named after.