Richmond midfielder Matt Thomas has fallen just short of taking out the JJ Liston trophy, the VFL’s Best and Fairest award.

Thomas led the count going into the final round, before North Ballarat’s Nick Rippon scored three votes to take out the top prize.

Thomas finish equal runner-up alongside three other players – Myles Sewell (North Ballarat), Clint Jones (Sandringham), Sam Dunnell (Williamstown).

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Thomas played just 12 out of the 20 VFL matches this year, and would have been well placed to win the award had he not been elevated to the AFL team in the latter stages of the season.

With an average of 22 disposals, six clearances, and seven tackles per game, Thomas proved to be a very valuable player for Richmond’s VFL squad, and became renowned for his hard-nosed approach to winning the football.

The near-win comes one week after key forward Liam McBean was crowned joint-winner of the ‘Frosty’ Miller Medal, which is awarded to the VFL’s leading goalkicker.

McBean finished on 42 goals for the 2015 season - an impressive tally seeing he missed several games due to injury and elevation to the AFL squad.

Visit Richmond’s finals hub for all information relating to this week’s elimination final