Sandover Medal 2024: Nik Rokahr breaks second-place curse after stunning run home for Swan Districts star

Nik Rokahr joked to his Swan Districts teammates that he should go home after polling only three votes halfway through Monday night’s Sandover Medal count. If he’d been more than light-hearted, he’d have missed one of the biggest footballing moments of his life. Rokahr, 29, would storm home in the second half of the count, polling 16 votes in the final 11 rounds to join classy Claremont speedster Callan England as the joint 2024 Sandover Medal winner in one of the most thrilling counts in recent memory. Heading into the night Rokahr was one of the men to watch, having led the competition for disposals, averaging 30 touches and six score involvements in his first WAFL season. “Going into it I looked back at my season, I was confident I had a pretty good year, and it might stack up with some of the best players,” Rokahr said. “At round 10 I only had three votes and I was thinking ‘oh, wowee, I thought I might have had a couple more than that’ and was ready to go home. In the second half I turned it around.” A star for Norwood in the SANFL, Rokahr made the move to WA to be closer to Blaine’s family who lived in WA. Established as a midfield gun and a premiership player in South Australia, Rokahr admitted moving to Swan Districts was one of the toughest decisions of his life. “I was in a settled state over there, I really enjoyed my time in SA and I loved that club Norwood so much,” the Victorian native said. “Life gets in the way sometimes and my beautiful partner is from this way, and she felt she needed to get home which I was so supportive of that. “We both made the decision to come over here and the rest is history.” Rokahr is no newcomer to the pressures of a league fairest and best night. In his past two seasons at Norwood he’s been runner-up in the SANFL’s Sandover Medal equivalent the Magarey Medal. Rokahr led the count for much of 2022 before a foot injury led to him falling one vote short, before he was again second last year by three votes. “It’s a funny one. The first time I came runner-up there was a bit more expectation. We won a lot of games and ended up winning the grand final that year,” Rokahr said. “I didn’t enjoy my night because I was so anxious. And I was leading for a fair chunk of it, got injured and overtaken. “The following year there was a bit less expectation and polled better than I did the first year. “You don’t play for the awards, it’s a nice credential to have. I would much prefer to come third rather than second at the moment. I was over coming second.” Rokahr was an inside midfield star on the smaller grounds of the SANFL but once he came to WA where there was more open spaces, he knew he had to adapt his game. Partnering with fellow recruit Jye Chalcraft and co-captain Jesse Turner, Rokahr has become a lethal fleet-footed midfielder that is as dangerous with ball in hand as any in the competition. “I’ve always valued by running abilities but there’s more exposure to the grounds over here in regard to how big they are,” Rokahr said. “I knew I probably had to tweak a few things. Over in the SANFL I was more of an inside type player. “I did like getting on the inside but over here there’s more opportunities to get on the outside and there’s more one on ones in that situation. “I got my tank a bit bigger for the WAFL season.” Rokahr will now turn his attention to the preliminary final against Peel Thunder on Sunday, as he looked to accomplish the main goal of his move to Swans – winning a premiership. “I’ve had a bit of experience in South Australia with a bit of experience and I’ve seen where Swan District have been for a few years,” Rokahr said. “I wanted to make sure that I could do everything to help up prepare for a possible premiership.” “I want to pass down what I’ve learnt from previous coaches and teammates. Just add some on-field class to the team but also leadership.”