BERNIE Vince says it was “a great honour” to win Melbourne’s 2015 best and fairest award – the Keith ‘Bluey’ Truscott Memorial Trophy – in just his second year with the club.

Looking back on his win, Vince said it was a “pretty special” moment to win his second AFL club best and fairest award – after he won his first with Adelaide in 2009.

“On reflection of my year, I was pretty happy with it. It was a bit of a slow start, but I got going through the middle patch and I probably had a little bit of a quieter finish too,” he told Dee TV.  

“If the coaches are happy with you and the role that you’re playing each week, you’ll finish somewhere up there around the top mark.”

Vince said it was hard to compare his 2015 season with his Malcolm Blight Medal win six years ago. But given he played finals in 2009, when he won the award with the Crows, he said that tilted towards being his better year.

“You always lean towards the year where your team had success,” he said.

“We’ve had some success [at Melbourne], no doubt, and our development’s been great, but in my Adelaide year we finished fifth. We were unlucky not to get in the prelim that year and we missed out by a kick, so I’d always take team success over any individual success.

“I’d love the team to be up there playing finals and that’s how I reflect on an individual performance in a year.”

Despite being a much-loved figure at the Crows, Vince has become a genuine fan favourite with the red and blue faithful.

And although fiercely determined on the field, his laid back persona and wit off it have helped make him the person – and player – he’s become.

“I’ve never been a big goalsetter or driven by [saying] ‘this is what I have to achieve or this is what my plan’s going to be’,” he said.

“I don’t really have a plan even for my life – it probably sounds bad – but that way there is no disappointment when things don’t happen or there is no expectation or pressure, even though I always like to play well in footy.

“Even when I got drafted, it was on the back of playing country footy for most of that year. When it all happened I thought ‘that’s what I’m doing for the next two years’, because you get a two-year contract when you’re drafted. That’s how I basically saw it.

“From then on, when I re-signed, I thought ‘that’s what I’m doing for the next two years’. I always wanted to play well and get the best out of myself, but that’s why I’ve embraced everything.”

Vince said this type of attitude had been with him for his whole life.   

“I just cruise along and whatever happens – happens. I don’t get too worked up when things don’t happen. That’s how I’ve lived my life,” he said.

“When things didn’t work out at Adelaide and I didn’t re-sign there, and I came here, I came with an open mind. I just wanted to fit in and get to know the boys – and hopefully pick this club up to where I think it belongs.

“I saw that as a great challenge and I didn’t really set a plan, where I had to do this by the end of the year or do that. It’s all just part of that journey.”

Although relishing his time in Melbourne, Vince is still a proud and passionate South Australian. He said his native state and former club remains an important part of his life.

“I’ve got a lot of good mates at Adelaide and speak to them quite often. They’ve all got a house to stay at and I’ve got 15 blokes staying at my house in Grand Final week, so I’m not sure where I’m going to put all of them,” he said with a smile.

“I’ve always said throughout my footy career – and I normally say it when I’ve been drinking on a Mad Monday – that footy, if you’re lucky, can last 10 years, and that’s if you’re very lucky, but mates last forever.

“Friendships and mates are the things that you remember for longer than your footy career. That’s been my motto in life – take every day as it comes.

“I don’t really get worked up about too many things. That’s probably helped me and kept the calmness around the footy club, when things aren’t going well. I keep things pretty simple.”

Vince said the bond that he had with his former teammates was highlighted when the Crows experienced the tragic loss of coach Phil Walsh during the season.

“It affected a lot of people a lot more than [you’d expect] … and it is still affecting a lot of people, which people don’t see. I’ve offered my best [wishes and said] if they wanted to speak to someone outside of the footy club … [I was there for them],” he said.

“I went over to the funeral and there was a lot of sadness. I thought it might ruin their season, and not unexpectedly either, but what they’ve done after losing their senior coach [has been remarkable]. They didn’t just lose him, but it was the way he was lost. It’s still hard to believe and hard to comprehend for a lot of people.

“To do what they’ve done and play in the finals – they hit it full steam ahead … and smacked West Coast with two rounds [before the finals] was a fantastic effort.”