The 20 year old last week won the Casey Cardinia Football League's best-and-fairest award in his first year with the Doves after a season with Frankston in the Victorian Football League during which he says it became apparent that AFL clubs had stopped looking at him.

A quick, strong-marking tall with the Dandenong Stingrays, where he was captain, a best-and-fairest winner and considered a definite draft chance, Gabriel said it wasn't a hard decision to give up his dream of playing AFL football.

"I gave up trying to get into the AFL. I was getting too old and they [AFL clubs] had stopped looking at me. After a year in the VFL, if you don't have an AFL club talking to you, you pretty much know it's all over.

"I don't regret the decision - that's life and you move on. Since I was 16, I was training four or five days a week. You give up half your life to try and play AFL and it takes a lot out of you.

"That's why I reckon there's more young blokes coming back to play local footy - to get away from the pressure and intensity of trying to get drafted."

Gabriel won the Norm Walker Medal with 18 votes, one vote ahead of teammate Ryan Hendy who tied for second place with Ryan Jones from Cranbourne.

He said the win was a surprise. "I did my knee early in the season and injured my hip later in the year. I could hardly kick the footy but the trainers and medical people managed me really well so I keep playing."

"I was surprised to win especially when there's guys like Greg Tivendale [former Richmond player and the league's most valuable player award-winner] running around and having such good seasons. Our midfield had a great year. Ryan was a vote behind me and I thought any one of those guys would have won it."