![Longford's Liam Davies kicks while under pressure from Rocherlea's Luke Richards on Saturday at Rocherlea. Picture by Paul Scambler Longford's Liam Davies kicks while under pressure from Rocherlea's Luke Richards on Saturday at Rocherlea. Picture by Paul Scambler](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/brian.allen/22f67ef8-7379-415d-ab1f-28f70da8b258.jpg/r0_337_6598_4061_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Longford midfielder Liam Davies has picked up top votes for the The Examiner's NTFA premier player of the year award.
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Davies was named Longford's best player and praised by coach Mitch Stagg for his defensive work after the dramatic 9.5 (59) to 7.13 (55) away victory against Rocherlea.
The 27-year-old had a big influence early as the Country Tigers took a 19-point lead to the first change.
Longford hung on as the City Tigers surged from 33 points down at three-quarter-time.
"It's probably the best win I've been a part of and I played in the grand final (triumph) a couple of years ago," Davies said.
"To hold on against a strong opposition like Rocherlea, they don't get beaten here very often so it's pretty impressive."
He said the team went to another level.
"I've been at the club for four years now and we haven't even looked like playing the footy we did so it's absolutely fantastic," he said.
Davies is one of the competition's smooth movers and is renowned for his booming left-foot kick but it was his tackling that Stagg highlighted post-game.
"A couple of crucial tackles in-between the arcs just really set the tone for the rest of his teammates because we're not used to seeing that from Liam, that's not his game," the coach said.
Davies said it was an area of his game he had wanted to improve as one of the Country Tigers' leaders.
"I really need to set the tone," he said.
"It's probably something I've lacked in the last year or so. I probably felt like my fitness levels went up there but I've done a pretty solid pre-season and my body has been feeling pretty good."
![Longford's Liam Davies and Rocherlea's Luke Richards contest the ball. Longford's Liam Davies and Rocherlea's Luke Richards contest the ball.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/brian.allen/95cb12b5-1acf-4769-82bc-7af8ad641f5b.jpg/r0_219_4278_2634_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
He said he was aware tackling was a team act that could inspire others.
"Just being able to lay tackles builds the team up because I'm not renowned for being that tackler," he said.
It was clear Longford were tackling well from the sidelines and that it had a role to play in the win.
"Especially in the first half, our tackling pressure was phenomenal. We caught them on the back foot and we got a lot of score from turnover," Davies said.
"Just our ability to press up and put that pressure on allowed the likes of me to get a bit of space and get over the top."
Davies provided insight into the intriguing midfield battle.
"It was a bit different. Normally, I'd go to (Jordan) Cousens and Cousens was coming to me there for a little bit so it was a bit different having that head-to-head match up where he was more worried about what I was doing than what he was doing," he said.
Davies, who is originally from Ulverstone, played in North Launceston's 2019 State League premiership before joining Longford for the 2021 season.
He explained he followed a few of his former North teammates to Tigerland, including Kacey Curtis, Dylan Headland and Connor Pearton.
The footballer said he also had a good relationship with former Longford coach Beau Thorp who he played alongside at Devonport in 2016.
Second-placed Longford, who have dropped one game, host fifth-ranked Bridgenorth in round eight at 2pm on Saturday.
Payer of the year award
The Examiner has introduced a NTFA premier player of the year gong to discover the best big-game performer.
Its purpose is to identify the best performances particularly in the most-competitive matches.
Longford's Liam Davies - 3 votes
Rocherlea's Jordan Cousens - 2 votes
Cousens didn't have his best game overall but when the game was on the line he lifted and nearly won the game for the City Tigers.
He gets votes for playing well in the marquee game of the round when it mattered most.
Bridgenorth's Ryan Shipp - 1 vote
Named his team's best, the former Launceston player has hit the ground running at Parrot Park with four appearances in the best from six games. Bridgenorth defeated third-ranked Hillwood by one goal.
Leaderboard:
- Cody Lowe - 5 votes
- Hamish Leedham - 3 votes
- Luke McCarty - 3 votes
- Jake Hinds - 3 votes
- Luke Purdon - 3 votes
- Dakota Bannister - 3 votes
- Liam Davies - 3 votes