VFA-VFL - BEST & FAIREST AWARDS
INTRODUCTION
RECORDER CUP (1923-41) - known as the Woodham Cup 1923-25
VFA MEDAL (1933-41) - a separate award that ran parallel to the Recorder Cup
In 1961 the senior competition was split into two divisions. The Best & Fairest player in First Division continued to receive the J.J. Liston Trophy and a new award, the J. FIELD MEDAL, was presented to the top player in Second Division. This award has not been presented since 1988 when the final season of divisional football was played.
Pictured at left: the original J.J. Liston Trophy (presented 1945-60)
Below are details of each award along with a full list of winners.
VFA BEST & FAIREST (1923-1932)
YEAR |
WOODHAM
CUP |
VOTES |
|||
1923 |
|
John 'Con' McCarthy |
Footscray |
|
tbd |
1924 |
|
Bob C. Johnson |
Northcote |
|
16 |
1925 |
|
Tommy Downs |
Northcote |
|
5 |
YEAR |
RECORDER
CUP |
VOTES |
|||
1926 |
|
William 'Bluey'
Summers |
Preston |
|
8 |
1927 |
|
Ernie Martin |
Coburg |
|
8 |
1928 |
|
Frank Smith |
Prahran |
|
7 |
1929 |
|
Ted Bourke |
Sandringham |
|
9 |
1930 |
|
Edward Hyde |
Port Melbourne |
|
9 |
1931 |
|
Bill Koop |
Prahran |
|
10 |
1932 |
|
Bob Ross |
Northcote |
|
9 |
VFA BEST & FAIREST (1945-60)
|
VFA BEST & FAIREST (1961-1988)
The Liston Medal was awarded for First Division and the Field Medal for Second Division.
YEAR |
|
J.J. LISTON MEDAL (1st Division) |
VOTES |
|
J. FIELD MEDAL (2nd Division) |
VOTES |
||
1961 |
|
Doug Beasy |
Box Hill |
39 |
|
Pat
Fitzgerald |
Sunshine |
32 |
1962 |
|
Keith Burns |
Sandringham |
41 |
|
Garry
Butler |
Prahran |
34 |
1963 |
|
John Clegg |
Yarraville |
46 |
|
Dick Perry |
Geelong
West |
45 |
1964 |
|
Bill Jones |
Oakleigh |
32 |
|
M.J.
'Shaun' Crosbie |
Sunshine |
43 |
1965 |
|
Alan Poore |
Waverley |
28 |
|
John
Bradbury |
Mordialloc |
37 |
1966 |
|
Alan Poore |
Waverley |
39 |
|
Ian
Williams |
Geelong
West |
48 |
1967 |
|
Jim
Sullivan |
Coburg |
38 |
|
Larry Rowe |
Caulfield |
22 |
|
|
Colin
Sleep* |
Northcote |
|||||
1968 |
|
Dick
Telford |
Preston |
31 |
|
Ian
Nankervis |
Williamstown |
30 |
1969 |
|
Laurie Hill |
Preston |
33 |
|
Jim
Sullivan |
Coburg |
44 |
1970 |
|
Fred Cook |
Yarraville |
41 |
|
Greg Smith |
Mordialloc |
39 |
1971 |
|
Laurie Hill |
Preston |
29 |
|
Rod Evans |
Camberwell |
45 |
1972 |
|
Don
McKenzie |
Sunshine |
34 |
|
Wayne Schimmelbusch |
Brunswick |
39 |
1973 |
|
Ray Shaw |
Preston |
39 |
|
Geoff
Bryant |
Box Hill |
57 |
1974 |
|
Ray Goold |
Sunshine |
33 |
|
Ron Allan |
Waverley |
45 |
1975 |
|
Derek King |
Oakleigh |
32 |
|
Geoff
Bryant |
Box Hill |
49 |
1976 |
|
Danny Hibbert |
Dandenong |
34 |
|
Colin Boyd |
Williamstown |
34 |
1977 |
|
Bill
Thompson |
Dandenong |
56 |
|
Derek King |
Oakleigh |
67 |
1978 |
|
Barry Nolan |
Brunswick |
32 |
|
Lance
Styles |
Waverley |
39 |
|
Trevor Durward |
Preston |
|
|||||
1979 |
|
Vic Aanensen |
Port
Melbourne |
38 |
|
Jeff
Edwards |
Northcote |
58 |
1980 |
|
Stephen Allender |
Port
Melbourne |
32 |
|
Kevin Sait |
Yarraville |
33 |
1981 |
|
Vic Aanensen |
Port
Melbourne |
24 |
|
Brian
Matthey |
Oakleigh |
36 |
1982 |
|
Geoff
Austen |
Preston |
20 |
|
Mark
Williams |
Sunshine |
25 |
|
Bill Swan* |
Port
Melbourne |
|
|||||
|
David Wenn* |
Dandenong |
|
|||||
1983 |
|
Bill Swan |
Port
Melbourne |
19 |
|
Terry Walsh |
Mordialloc |
23 |
1984 |
|
Peter
Geddes |
Frankston |
18 |
|
Peter
Nicholson |
Box Hill |
20 |
|
|
David Callender* |
Brunswick |
|||||
1985 |
|
Neil
MacLeod |
Sandringham |
22 |
|
Darren Hall |
Dandenong |
31 |
1986 |
|
Tony West |
Brunswick |
18 |
|
Darren Hall |
Dandenong |
30 |
1987 |
|
Barry Round |
Williamstown |
19 |
|
Peter Rogerson |
Waverley |
19 |
1988 |
|
Gary
Sheldon |
Coburg |
19 |
|
Stephen
Sells |
Werribee |
23 |
|
Brett McTaggart |
Williamstown |
|
The new system lasted only a season, replaced in 1982 by the same system used for the Brownlow Medal with players receiving a single set of votes on a 3-2-1 basis, agreed upon on by all field umpires in charge of the match. This system remains in use today.
VFA/VFL BEST & FAIREST (1989-)
YEAR |
|
J.J.
LISTON TROPHY |
VOTES |
|
1989 |
|
Saade Ghazi |
Williamstown |
22 |
1990 |
|
Joe Garbuio |
Oakleigh |
14 |
|
Steven Harkins |
Port Melbourne |
||
|
Matthew Burrows |
Preston |
||
|
Stuart Nicol |
Springvale |
||
1991 |
|
Anthony Eames |
Werribee |
22 |
1992 |
|
Joe Rugolo |
Sandringham |
19 |
1993 |
|
Michael Sinni |
Prahran |
19 |
1994 |
|
Cory Young |
Oakleigh |
20 |
1995 |
|
Paul Satterley |
Werribee |
18 |
1996 |
|
Paul Dooley |
Williamstown |
19 |
1997 |
|
Justin Crough |
Sandringham |
20 |
1998 |
|
Michael Frost |
Werribee |
32 |
1999 |
|
John Georgiou |
Frankston |
21 |
2000 |
|
David Robbins |
Springvale |
23 |
2001 |
|
Brett Backwell |
Carlton |
19 |
|
Ezra Poyas |
Coburg |
||
2002 |
|
Sam Mitchell |
Box Hill |
31 |
2003 |
|
David Robbins |
Sandringham |
16 |
2004 |
|
Julian Field |
North Ballarat |
16 |
2005 |
|
Ian Callinan |
Tasmania |
16 |
|
Paul Johnson |
Sandringham |
||
2006 |
|
Aaron Edwards |
Frankston |
18 |
2007 |
|
James Byrne |
Geelong |
22 |
2008 |
|
James Podsiadly |
Werribee |
16 |
2009 |
|
Myles Sewell |
North Ballarat |
18 |
2010 |
|
Steve Clifton |
North Ballarat |
20 |
|
Shane Valenti |
Port Melbourne |
||
2011 |
|
Shane Valenti |
Port Melbourne |
25 |
2012 |
|
Ben Ross |
Werribee |
20 |
2013 |
|
Steve Clifton |
North Ballarat |
17 |
|
Jordan Schroder |
Geelong |
||
|
Mitch Hallahan |
Box Hill |
||
2014 |
|
Alex Woodward |
Box Hill |
20 |
2015 |
|
Nick Rippon |
North Ballarat |
15 |
2016 |
|
Michael Gibbons |
Williamstown |
17 |
2017 |
|
Jacob Townsend |
Richmond Res. |
18 |
2018 |
|
Michael Gibbons |
Williamstown |
19 |
|
Anthony Miles |
Richmond Res. |
||
2019 |
|
Tom Gribble |
Werribee |
25 |
WOODHAM CUP (1923-25)
RECORDER CUP (1926-41)
In 1926 the Association renamed the award the Recorder Cup in recognition of this annual donation.
From 1923 to 1932 the field umpire awarded two votes per match (one to the best player on each team) and the player with the most votes at the end of the season won the Cup. The most votes received under this system was 16 by Northcote's Bob C. Johnson in 1924.
From 1933 to 1939 the field umpire awarded a single vote per match to the overall best player on the ground, and the player with the most best on ground votes for the season won the award. The most votes received under this system was 7 by Williamstown's Charles Stanbridge in 1933.
In 1940-41 the Recorder Cup was no longer voted on by the umpires, and was automatically awarded to the winner of the VFA Medal instead. [The Argus 16-9-1940 & 15-9-1941]
YEAR |
WOODHAM
CUP |
VOTES |
|||
1923 |
|
John 'Con' McCarthy |
Footscray |
|
tbd |
1924 |
|
Bob C. Johnson |
Northcote |
|
16 |
1925 |
|
Tommy Downs |
Northcote |
|
5 |
YEAR |
RECORDER
CUP |
VOTES |
|||
1926 |
|
William 'Bluey'
Summers |
Preston |
|
8 |
1927 |
|
Ernie Martin |
Coburg |
|
8 |
1928 |
|
Frank Smith |
Prahran |
|
7 |
1929 |
|
Ted Bourke |
Sandringham |
|
9 |
1930 |
|
Edward Hyde |
Port Melbourne |
|
9 |
1931 |
|
Bill Koop |
Prahran |
|
10 |
1932 |
|
Bob Ross |
Northcote |
|
9 |
1933 |
|
Charles Stanbridge* |
Williamstown |
|
7 |
1934 |
|
Danny Warr |
Preston |
|
5 |
1935 |
|
Les White |
Prahran |
|
6 |
1936 |
|
Bert Hyde |
Preston |
|
5 |
|
H. Peter Reville |
Coburg |
|
||
1937 |
|
Neville Huggins* |
Williamstown |
|
6 |
1938 |
|
Arthur Cutting* |
Williamstown |
|
4 |
|
Bill Downie |
Northcote |
|
||
1939 |
|
Pat Hartnett |
Brighton |
|
5 |
1940 |
|
Jack Davis** |
Brighton |
|
- |
1941 |
|
Des Fothergill** |
Williamstown |
|
- |
1942-44 |
Competition
went into recess during WWII |
In the seven years when the Recorder Cup and VFA Medal were voted on, three players won both awards in the same season:
- Charlie Stanbridge (1933)
- Neville Huggins (1937)
- Arthur Cutting (1938)
VFA MEDAL (1933-41)
The maximum number of votes a player could receive per match was six and the highest number of votes ever received was 62 by Williamstown's Des Fothergill in 1941 (to fully understand how well Fothergill played that season it should be noted that no player had previously received over 39 votes!).
In 1940 the VFA Medal became the primary award and the Recorder Cup was no longer voted on by the umpires, being automatically awarded to the winner of the VFA Medal instead. [The Argus 16-9-1940 / 15-9-1941]
Note - some sources have incorrectly stated that the VFA Medal was not awarded in 1940/41 and list the Recorder Cup as the sole award but this was not the case.
YEAR |
VFA
MEDAL |
VOTES |
|||
1933 |
|
Charles Stanbridge* |
Williamstown |
|
36 |
|
Dave Withers |
Oakleigh |
|
||
1934 |
|
Jim Dowling |
Brunswick |
|
37 |
1935 |
|
Fred Brooks |
Williamstown |
|
32 |
|
Jim Dowling |
Prahran |
|
||
1936 |
|
Neville Huggins |
Williamstown |
|
33 |
1937 |
|
Neville Huggins* |
Williamstown |
|
24 |
|
Jack Lowry |
Prahran |
|
||
1938 |
|
Arthur Cutting* |
Williamstown |
|
26 |
1939 |
|
Arthur Cutting |
Williamstown |
|
32.5 |
1940 |
|
Jack Davis** |
Brighton |
|
38.5 |
1941 |
|
Des Fothergill** |
Williamstown |
|
62 |
1942-44 |
Competition
went into recess during WWII |
**indicates the player automatically received the Recorder Cup that season
J.J. LISTON TROPHY (1945-60)
The voting system was the same used for the VFA Medal and winners received a silver-plated trophy
J.J LISTON MEDAL (1961-88)
The official name of the award remained the Liston Trophy but most sources, including the VFA's own matchday programme, the Football Recorder, now referred to it as the Liston Medal.
J.J. LISTON TROPHY (1989-)
Today, it continues to be the most prized individual award in VFA/VFL football and - despite being a medal - is once again referred to by its traditional name, the J.J. Liston Trophy.
J. FIELD MEDAL (1961-1988)
The Field Medal has not been presented since 1988, the final season of divisional football.
YEAR |
|
J.
FIELD MEDAL (2nd Division) |
VOTES |
|
1961 |
|
Pat Fitzgerald |
Sunshine |
32 |
1962 |
|
Garry Butler |
Prahran |
34 |
1963 |
|
Dick Perry |
Geelong West |
45 |
1964 |
|
M.J. 'Shaun' Crosbie |
Sunshine |
43 |
1965 |
|
John Bradbury |
Mordialloc |
37 |
1966 |
|
Ian Williams |
Geelong West |
48 |
1967 |
|
Larry Rowe |
Caulfield |
22 |
|
Colin Sleep* |
Northcote |
||
1968 |
|
Ian Nankervis |
Williamstown |
30 |
1969 |
|
Jim Sullivan |
Coburg |
44 |
1970 |
|
Greg Smith |
Mordialloc |
39 |
1971 |
|
Rod Evans |
Camberwell |
45 |
1972 |
|
Wayne Schimmelbusch |
Brunswick |
39 |
1973 |
|
Geoff Bryant |
Box Hill |
57 |
1974 |
|
Ron Allan |
Waverley |
45 |
1975 |
|
Geoff Bryant |
Box Hill |
49 |
1976 |
|
Colin Boyd |
Williamstown |
34 |
1977 |
|
Derek King |
Oakleigh |
67 |
1978 |
|
Lance Styles |
Waverley |
39 |
1979 |
|
Jeff Edwards |
Northcote |
58 |
1980 |
|
Kevin Sait |
Yarraville |
33 |
1981 |
|
Brian Matthey |
Oakleigh |
36 |
1982 |
|
Mark Williams |
Sunshine |
25 |
|
Russell Hodges* |
Kilsyth |
||
1983 |
|
Terry Walsh |
Mordialloc |
23 |
1984 |
|
Peter Nicholson |
Box Hill |
20 |
|
David Callender* |
Brunswick |
||
1985 |
|
Darren Hall |
Dandenong |
31 |
1986 |
|
Darren Hall |
Dandenong |
30 |
1987 |
|
Peter Rogerson |
Waverley |
19 |
1988 |
|
Stephen Sells |
Werribee |
23 |
(see the RETROSPECTIVE MEDALS tab for more information).
RETROSPECTIVE MEDALS
A countback system was subsequently introduced for the Liston Trophy (1945-87) and the Field Medal (1961-87). If two or more players finished on the same number of votes, the player with the most best on grounds (also known as "first preferences") claimed the award. If this failed to break the deadlock, the players were declared joint winners (this occurred just once, when Brunswick's Barry Nolan and Preston's Trevor Durward tied for the Liston Trophy in 1978).
From 1982 an additional tiebreaker was added with players who had received an equal number of best on ground votes, split by the number of second best-on-ground votes they received. Players would only be declared joint winners of the award if they could not be split after that stage.
In 1988 the VFA Commission decided to scrap the countback system and this decision had an immediate effect with a tie that season between Coburg's Gary Sheldon and Williamstown's Brett McTaggart, followed by an unprecedented four-way tie in 1990.
In April 1989 the VFL commission announced they would award retrospective Brownlow Medals to players who had lost on a countback. The VFA followed suit in September 1989, announcing retrospective Liston Trophies and Field Medals for five players who had originally lost on a countback:
LISTON TROPHY:
1982 - BILL SWAN (Port Melbourne) 1982 - DAVID WENN (Dandenong) |
|
MULTIPLE WINNERS
VFA MEDAL:
JIM DOWLING (Brunswick/Prahran) - 1934, 1935 NEVILLE HUGGINS (Williamstown) - 1936, 1937* ARTHUR CUTTING (Williamstown) - 1938*, 1939 *player also won the Recorder Cup that season (see right) |
VFA MEDAL and RECORDER CUP:
CHARLES STANBRIDGE (W'town) - 1933 VFA, 1933 Recorder NEVILLE HUGGINS (W'town) - 1936/37 VFA, 1936 Recorder ARTHUR CUTTING (W'town) - 1938/39 VFA, 1938 Recorder JACK DAVIS (Brighton) - 1940 VFA, 1940 Recorder DES FOTHERGILL (W'town) - 1941 VFA, 1941 Recorder |
LISTON TROPHY:
ALAN POORE (Waverley) - 1965, 1966 LAURIE HILL (Preston) - 1969, 1971 VIC AANENSEN (Port Melbourne) - 1979, 1981 BILL SWAN (Port Melbourne) - 1982, 1983 DAVID ROBBINS (Springvale/Sandringham) - 2000, 2003 SHANE VALENTI (Port Melbourne) - 2010, 2011 STEVE CLIFTON (North Ballarat) - 2010, 2013 MICHAEL GIBBONS (Williamstown) - 2016, 2018 |
FIELD MEDAL (Div.2)
GEOFF BRYANT (Box Hill) - 1973, 1975 DARREN HALL (Dandenong) - 1985, 1986 |
JIM SULLIVAN (Coburg) - 1967 Liston, 1969 Field
DEREK KING (Oakleigh) - 1975 Liston, 1977 Field
WINNERS WHO ALSO WON THE BROWNLOW MEDAL (VFL-AFL)
DES FOTHERGILL
1940 - Brownlow Medal (Collingwood)
1941 - VFA Medal and Recorder Cup (Williamstown)
BARRY ROUND
1981 - Brownlow Medal (South Melbourne)
1987 - Liston Trophy (Williamstown)
SAM MITCHELL
2002 - Liston Trophy (Box Hill)
2012 - Brownlow Medal (Hawthorn)*
The Fothergill-Round-Mitchell Medal, named in honour of these three joint winners, is presented each season to the VFA/VFL's best player under the age of 23.
However, Watson was later found guilty of breaching WADA's anti-doping code in the 2012 season (along with 33 of his teammates from that season), and in November 2016 was retrospectively ruled ineligible by the AFL Commission. Mitchell and Cotchin were subsequently announced as joint winners of the 2012 Brownlow Medal.
NOTE - the triple-Brownlow Medallist, Bob Skilton came close to joining this trio, finishing 2nd in the 1972 Liston Medal while playing for Port Melbourne.
WINNERS WHO ALSO WON THE MAGAREY MEDAL (SANFL)
BRETT BACKWELL
2001 - Liston Trophy (Carlton Reserves)
2006 - Magarey Medal (Glenelg)
WINNERS WHO ALSO WON THE LEITCH MEDAL (TFL)
PAT HARTNETT
1932 - Leitch Medal (Cananore)
1939 - Recorder Cup (Brighton)
OTHER STATE LEAGUES
Written and researched by David Eastman
|
First published 27/6/2014
Last updated 9/10/2019 |