Allan polled nine votes to finish in ninth place, but Payne was a comfortable winner with 22 votes, ahead of Mt Gravatt’s 2004 winner Mick Stinear (17 votes) and Labrador rover Todd Featherstone (14).
Big Suncoast forward Marty Pask, who enjoyed several big hauls during the season, polled just five votes, while Daniel Merrett got six. Both played plenty of senior football around their reserves appearances.
The win completed a remarkable season of domination by Payne of the league’s most prestigious awards.
The 21-year-old, who is in his second season at Zillmere after moving up from Rosebud in Victoria, won the Zane Taylor Medal as clearly Queensland’s best player against the ACT in the June interstate clash in Canberra.
He also claimed the Syd Guildford Trophy as the AFLQ Record Player of the Year. Votes were cast each week by senior AFLQ officials on a 5-4-3-2-1 basis for the award.
Payne only needs the Eagles to win Sunday week’s grand final at Carrara against the winners of this Sunday’s preliminary final between Southport and Morningside to complete on the best individual seasons in the modern era.
Payne’s win was an early birthday present for the dynamic midfielder, who will turn 21 on Friday, and prompted emotional family celebrations.
He is the son of former Morningside player John Payne, who traveled from Rosebud on the Mornington Peninsula to attend the dinner, and the nephew of Brisbane-based former Zillmere and Queensland speedster Jimmy Payne, who is a regular at Eagles games.
Payne, who played 17 of a possible 18 games in which votes were awarded, polled votes in 12 of them. He was judged best afield only once but polled two votes eight times and one vote a further three times.
Stinear led the count after six rounds with 10 votes, one clear of Payne (9) and four clear of Broadbeach’s 2005 winner David Round, Labrador’s Travis Tamburro, Mt.Gravatt’s Tony Van Rooyen and the Suncoast Lions’ Anthony Corrie (5).
But by 12 rounds Payne, with 19, had jumped to an unassailable seven-vote lead from Stinear (12), Vearing (9) and Southport’s Clint Watts (9), Featherstone (8), Van Rooyen (7), Broadbeach’s Warwick Fenner (7) and Morningside’s Jacob Gough (7).
In other major Balfours Cup awards last night, Zillmere coach Murray Davis was named AFLQ Coach of the Year and Morningside’s David Armitage won the AFLQ Rising Star Award.
Maroochy/Northshore captain Ryan White won the Todd/Duncanson Medal as the best and fairest player in AFLQ State League division two.
Payne polled 35 votes to win the Guildford Trophy from Morningside’s Justin Wilson (30), Stinear (28), Fulton (25), Broadbeach’s James Drake (24), Crane and Featherstone (23), Wise (21), Morningside’s David Lillico (20) and Zillmere’s Luke Weller (20).
In the NAB Rising Star Award, decided on the 5-4-3-2-1 votes of the eight AFLQ clubs, two AFLQ executives and five AFL recruiting managers, Armitage (60) won from Broadbeach’s Ricky Petterd (41), Southport’s Kurt Tippett (26), Zillmere’s Ben Warren (26) and Southport’s Brent Renouf (21).
Leading vote-getters in the Grogan Medal were:
22: Matthew Payne (Zillmere)
17: Mick Stinear (Mt Gravatt)
14: Todd Featherstone (Labrador)
13: Danny Wise (Southport)
12: Luke Crane (Zillmere)
12: Korey Fulton (Broadbeach)
11: Tony Van Rooyen (Mt Gravatt)
10: Josh Vearing (Mt Gravatt)
9: Marcus Allan (Suncoast)
9: Warwick Fenner (Broadbeach)
9: Tim Harders (Southport)
9: David James (Southport)
9: Clint Watts (Southport)
