Toner has achieved plenty of success with Narre Warren in recent times but he added a feather in the cap last week when he won the Ellis Medal with 19 votes.
It was an incredible effort from the Magpie star, who won the Southern Division 1 medal despite missing five games during the season with a syndesmosis ankle injury.
To say the award caught him by surprise is an understatement, Toner was asleep and never even considered himself a chance.
“I had no idea it was even on, I have been doing some really early hours at work, so I was in bed and asleep before 9pm,” he said.
“My partner Chloe woke me up and said ‘Tom, I think you’re about to win the league medal’, and I was thinking nah, that can’t be right, I missed half of the year – then my phone started blowing up.
“It was also a shock to be named around some pretty good talent who I played against.”
There is no doubt that Toner is a barometer for his side, it is not uncommon to see him burst out of the midfield, take a few bounces, sell some candy and finish with a goal.
He is incredibly versatile and can play in any position, also spending some time forward this year to kick 19 goals in his 13 games.
Toner has already won three flags with the Magpies, also receiving a best on ground medal from last year’s winning grand final, but this was his first time with league recognition.
“I think I have come second four or five times in league best and fairests, and there is always someone way better than me,” he said.
“This year is probably the same story to be honest, I think I have got a bit lucky there.
“A big thank you has to go to the footy club for starters, they have always looked after me really well, also my family and my partner’s family who have been a great support.”
To win a league medal in the top division of Southern is an incredible achievement in itself, not to mention his early season adversity.
“I hurt myself against Port Melbourne in night game (in round 3), it happened in the last minute of the last quarter where I was tackled and my ankle got caught underneath me,” Toner said.
“It snapped my syndesmosis ligament, and they sort of said you might need to go and get it sorted with surgery.
“I didn’t want to miss the whole season and instead they said it may be 6-8 weeks if I did the right things and rehab.”
Within five weeks, the 27-year-old was back running around and returned in round 9 against St Paul’s McKinnon, being named in the best.
Don’t let his fluro boots, long hair and antagonistic behaviour fool you, Toner isn’t chasing the individual accolades, recognising the other guns of the league.
“There are some real stars in the league, especially in the top teams like Dingley, Cheltenham and St Paul’s,” he said.
“I wouldn’t even say I am half the player some of those guys are and we didn’t win a heck of a lot of games in the end, so it was a shock.
“I tried tagging Jackson Sketcher and learnt so much from that game, despite winning the league medal, I would say he is the best player in the league.”
After running off half back in the Outer East League, Toner spent most of his time between the forward line and midfield this season, but had aspirations for a big pre-season.
“I got a few different roles throughout the year, midfield is where I probably prefer to play, but I’m always happy to do whatever the team needs,” he said.
“I have a lot of family members down at Narre Warren and they know I don’t do a heck of a lot of running in the off-season, but I want to get myself primed and fit for next year.
“I am going to try and get myself super fit and hopefully I can play four quarters in the midfield instead of 10-15 minutes per quarter.”
Looking at the club’s goals, Toner said they wanted to play finals in 2026 and felt the team was in a good place to do so.
“The step up to Southern has been a bit of an eye opener for myself personally, but also the club as well,” he said.
“We didn’t really know what to expect … we have found out where we need to be now and what we need to do to compete with the top end teams.
“I think we strung together a few good games later in the year to show we are thereabouts.”
