Medal made in hard yards

Prolific midfielder Theo Adams has paid tribute to his Rockingham Rams teammates after his Ross Elliott Medal win last week.

Adams emerged as a joint recipient of the Peel Football League’s highest individual honour, finishing alongside South Mandurah’s Tom Harper on 21 votes.

The former South Fremantle on-baller has been a vital cog in a Rams side which was unbeaten though 17 rounds of the season. Not one to seek the limelight, Adams was quick to focus attention on Rockingham’s grand-final prospects, while also reserving special praise for his teammates.

‘‘Footy is a team-based thing so at the end of the day, if I didn’t have a good side, who knows what would have happened,’’ Adams said.

‘‘Yeah, it’s enjoyable to win the medal, but the grand final is the most important thing.

‘‘It’s what the whole season is about and we’ve had a pretty good year so it’d be good to win it.

‘‘We’ve worked hard all year to get to where we are and now we want to take it out.’’

Adams’ decision to join Rockingham at the start of the season represented a major coup for Sean Wrigley’s side.

The 27-year-old enjoyed a decorated WAFL career spanning nine years and 149 games.

He played seven seasons for South Fremantle (2003-2006 and 2009-2011) and two at neighbours East Fremantle, where he was crowned club fairest and best in 2007.

Despite such an impressive CV, which also included two matches for WA, Adams was still surprised at his win.

‘‘I’m just honoured to win it,’’ he said .

‘‘Obviously I didn’t think I would so I was quite surprised.’’

On the transition from the WAFL to the Peel Football League, Adams said: ‘‘It’s been really enjoyable. I’ve got mates here I know from Souths so it’s been great.’’