The Barry Maney Group has won The SE Voice’s 2021 AFL Footy Tipping competition in the business category after leading all year.

Spearheaded by Barry Maney Group Dealer Principal for cars Barry Stafford, the dealership fought off plenty of tough opposition from other local businesses all vying for the inaugural crown.

“There is a lot more pressure when you are at the top. I had to think a lot more in the last month of the competition because we have been leading all year and I did not want to fall over at the last hurdle,” Mr Stafford said.

Mr Stafford credited the business’s success to tipping teams on a Monday he thought would win instead of waiting until the end of the week and “listening to the experts”.

“I took it upon myself to do all the football tipping because I enjoy football and I actually won the football tipping competition here at the Barry Maney Group as well, so I have had a big year,” Mr Stafford said.

“It is pretty cool to be the winner against all the other businesses and everyone likes to win a competition.

“I am looking forward to competing in next year’s competition.

“I might let someone else at the dealership have fun with it but once you are the reigning holder, you probably want to continue that.”

The BMG team has won a full page advert in The SE Voice for their efforts.

The SE Voice’s sales manager Melissa Prior congratulated Mr Stafford and his team.

“Barry Maney Group had been leading for quite some time, but there were other businesses like The Apple Farm and EDI who were jostling throughout the entire season,” she said.

“Our whole team enjoyed the banter that it created among the local businesses and it was such a fun competition to run.

“We would like to thank all of the businesses who supported the competition and we look forward to even more businesses coming on board for the competition next year.”