Defender Cale Hooker has won Essendon’s best and fairest award in a count that went down to the wire.

Hooker polled 456 votes to win the Crichton Medal on Wednesday night from Michael Hurley (402) and Dyson Heppell (360).

The 26-year-old West Australian played every game this season and polled votes in 20 of the 22 matches.

Despite being the Bombers’ most reliable defender, Hooker also managed to boot 21 goals up forward in 2015.

“It was a tight count but Cale is certainly a deserving winner of this year’s Crichton Medal,” interim coach Matthew Egan said in a club statement.