VFL/AFL RESERVES - MEDALLISTS

• INTRODUCTION
• GARDINER MEDAL
• RETROSPECTIVE MEDALS
• GARDINER MEDALLISTS BY CLUB
• MULTIPLE WINNERS

• GARDINER + BROWNLOW/MORRISH MEDAL
• GORDON-DOBSON MEDAL
• MURIE CUP
• DISCREPANCIES IN OFFICIAL RECORDS

INTRODUCTION

There were three different awards presented to players in the VFL-AFL Reserves competition:

• GARDINER MEDAL
  
• GORDON-DOBSON MEDAL
  
• MURIE CUP
  

An explanation of each award, a list of winners and top three placings can be found below...

GARDINER MEDAL (1926-99)

Awarded to the Reserve Grade's Best & Fairest player as voted by the field umpire(s). The medal was donated each season by Frank W. Gardiner, who was president of the League Seconds from 1925 until the 1940s. After his death, the VFL continued to award the medal to honour his memory and years of service.

First awarded in 1926, two years after the introduction of the Brownlow Medal, the award initially followed the same voting structure as its senior counterpart; one vote to the best-on-ground player would be awarded by the field umpire in each match. With (at least) two ties for the medal in its first five seasons, this method of voting proved ineffective and the Gardiner Medal would follow the Brownlow's lead by adopting a 3-2-1 system from 1931 onwards. This format remained until the award's demise following the conclusion of the AFL reserves competition ahead of the new millennium.

A player winning the award multiple times was rare, such is the nature of the reserves competition that one was likely to be promoted to the seniors if they played well enough on a consistent basis; this also explains the comparatively lower winning vote tallies compared to the Brownlow. Only Hec Davidson (1932 & 1933), Doug Davies (1950 & 1955), Tony Liberatore (1986 & 1988) and Rod Keogh (1990 & 1993) were multiple winners. In Davidson's case, he has still never been officially recognised for either victory due to oversights in the league's historical records.

Keogh, along with Darryl Schimmelbusch and Bob Heard (tied 1977 winners), shares the record for the most votes polled in a season: 23. Essendon's Peter Filandia also polled 23 votes in the 1992 season, seven votes more than the next best, but was ineligible due to suspension. He was the only player ever to top the Gardiner Medal tally but not win the award (other than those that originally lost on a countback).

The Gardiner Medal faded into obscurity during the later years of the AFL Reserves competition and details are scarce. Hard Ball Get now brings to light a wealth of new information that has never before been seen on the internet, returning the recognition to the players who never fully received it.

YEAR	1ST		2ND		3RD
VFL SECONDS (1926-58)
1926	Albert 'Alby' Jacobsen (SM)	4	Frank Murrells (Geel)	3	unknown	-
	Melville L. 'Roy' James (Ess)
1927	Sam Jamison (Rich)	tbd	unknown	-	unknown	-
1928	Jim Money (Geel)	5	unknown	-	unknown	-
	Norman 'Vince' Driver (Melb)
1929	Bob Ross (Coll)	8	Edward 'Teddy' Briggs (NM)	4	Arthur Cooper (SM) Maurie Connell (Carl)	3
1930	Max Kelly (Geel)	5	unknown	-	unknown	-
	E. Selwyn Baker (Rich)
1931	George Franke (NM)	22	Hec Davidson (Melb)	17	Mick Comber (Melb)	13
1932	Albert 'Dick' Logan (Haw)	13	unknown	-	unknown	-
	Hec Davidson (Melb)*
1933	Ernest 'Tich' Utting (Haw)	15	unknown	-	unknown	-
	Bill Findlay (Foots)*
	Hec Davidson (Melb)*
1934	Richie Saunders (Rich)	18	Percy Streeter (Foots)	12	unknown	-
			Hec Davidson (Melb)
			Frank Gibson (Fitz)
1935	Joe Kinnear (Melb)	18	Ralph Lancaster (Geel)	16	Jack Aitchison (Haw)	13
					Jack Cotter (Rich)
1936	Marcus Boyall (Coll)	21	Norm Honey (Rich)	10	unknown	-
			Stuart Stewart (Haw)
			Keith 'Bluey' Truscott (Melb)
1937	Alec Peak (StK)	tbd	Harry Hickey (Foots)	tbd	unknown	-
			Albert 'Mick' Price (Carl)
1938	Bruce Calverley (Fitz)	17	Ashley Foley (Geel)	11	Kevin Fox (Carl)	10
					Geoff McNaughton (Melb)
					?. Morris (SM)
1939	Noel Smith (Ess)	15	Haydn Sharp (Foots)	14	unknown	-
			E. Joe Tucker (Geel)
1940	Albert 'Mick' Price (Carl)	15	Reg Farrant (Haw)	tbd	unknown	-
1941	Pat McNamara (SM)	15	Danny Guinane (Rich)	13	Bert Clay (Fitz)	12
					Robert 'Bob' Walker (Geel)
1942	Fred Taylor (StK)	tbd	Tom Ferguson (Melb)	tbd	unknown	-
1943	Ernie Hart (Melb)	11	Frank Cahill (Foots)	tbd	unknown	-
1944	Dick Wearmouth (Foots)	14	Jack Henry (Ess)	12	Stan Attenborough (NM)	11
1945	Harold Arthur (NM)	tbd	Noel Smith (Ess)	tbd	unknown	-
1946	Eric 'Jack' McLeod (Foots)	15	George Hams (Coll)	10	unknown	-
1947	Pat Twomey (Coll)	17	Robert 'Bob' Bradley (Ess)	16	Brian Fitzgerald (Geel)	13
					Ron Boys (Carl)
1948	Joe Ryan (Foots)	13	Roy McConnell (Ess)	11	Harry Mears (SM)	tbd
					unknown
1949	Kevin Coghlan (Coll)	18	Jack Hardy (Carl)	14	unknown	-
1950	Doug Davies (Geel)	12	Kevin Coghlan (Coll)	10	unknown	-
	Jack O'Halloran (Ess)*		Joe Ryan (Foots)
1951	Neil Doolan (NM)	14	Don Calder (Carl)	tbd	unknown	-
			Keith McIntosh (Ess)
			Doug Davies (Geel)
1952	Leo O'Halloran (Geel)	12	Joe Murphy (Fitz)	10	Neville Waller (Coll)	9
					Ron Robertson (Carl)
					Jim Rattray (Haw)
					Fred Goldsmith (SM)
1953	Col Austen (Rich)	14	Jim Carstairs (Ess)	10	unknown	-
			Brian 'Barney' Jones (Carl)
1954	Neil Pearson (Haw)	16	Ken Albiston (Melb)	12	unknown	-
1955	Doug Davies (Geel)	15	Ivan Baumgartner (Melb)	13	Jim McColl (Ess)	11
1956	Graham Kerr (Melb)	22	Don Howell (Coll)	tbd	Howard Hawking (Geel)	tbd
1957	Les Pridham (Ess)	13	Bob Watt (StK)	10	unknown	-
			Ben Crameri (Melb)
			Bobby Clark (Foots)
1958	John Fisher (Haw) Chris Pavlou (Carl)*	10	Garry Young (Haw)	9	Graham Fellowes (Coll)	8
					Ken Bennett (Coll)
					Brian Gilmore (Foots)
VFL RESERVES (1959-89)
1959	William 'Bill' Shelton (Haw)	16	Ken Peucker (Ess)	14	Chris Pavlou (Carl)	13
1960	Neil Trezise (Geel)	20	Ron O’Dwyer (Coll)	14	unknown	-
1961	Jock O'Brien (NM)	12	Bruce McMaster-Smith (Fitz)	10	Graeme Wilkinson (Rich)	9
1962	Jim Gutterson (Foots)	13	Dennis Jones (Melb)	11	unknown	-
1963	Wally Clark (Fitz)	19	William 'Bill' Ryan (Geel)	18	Bob Andrews (NM)	15
1964	Gary Arnold (Rich)	20	Bruce McMaster-Smith (Carl)	17	Noel Raitt (Ess)	11
					Frank Johnson (Foots)
1965	Kevin Jackman (Foots)	13	Paul Wadham (Coll)	12	Kevin Egan (Ess)	11
					Darryl Herrod (Geel)
1966	Darryl Herrod (Geel)	19	Ken Mann (StK)	13	David Rogers (NM)	11
					Glen Parker (SM)
1967	Ricky Graham (Geel)	13	Edward 'Ted' Hopkins (Carl)	11	Darryl Herrod (Geel)	9
					Ray Slocum (Fitz)
					Ross Warner (Rich)
					Bruce Reid (Haw)
					Geoff Cayzer (StK)
					Kevin Billing (StK)
1968	Phil Rhoden (Melb)	17	Ian 'Bluey' Hampshire (Geel)	14	Bruce Waite (Ess)	13
					Derek King (StK)
					Kevin Billing (StK)
1969	Ken Emselle (Melb)	20	Greg Brown (Ess)	13	unknown	-
1970	Mike Redenbach (NM)	16	Sid Catlin (SM)	13	Treva McGregor (Fitz)	11
	Paul Callery (Melb)*		George McInnes (Rich)
1971	Bruce Brown (Melb)	12	Robert 'Bob' Heard (Coll)	11	Cec Rheinberger (Fitz)	10
					Ray Carr (Melb)
					Shane Grambeau (StK)
					Len Halley (Ess)
1972	Mike Pokrovsky (Foots)	14	Charlie Payne (Ess)	13	John Warden (Carl)	12
			Peter Cloke (Rich)
1973	Vin Catoggio (Carl)	21	Trevor O’Hoy (StK)	13	unknown	-
1974	Stephen Clifford (Coll)	14	Vin Catoggio (Carl)	12	Stephen Taubert (Rich)	11
					Lance Taylor (StK)
					Colin Morse (Coll)
1975	Neil Chamberlain (Melb)	18	Gerry Lynn (Haw)	15	Neville Roberts (Rich)	14
1976	Alan Mangels (Carl)	16	Glenn Gingell (Foots)	15	Greg Lambert (SM)	14
1977	Darryl Schimmelbusch (NM)	23	Peter Munro (Foots)	22	Murray Batt (Coll)	21
	Robert 'Bob' Heard (Rich)*				Jeff Gieschen (Foots)
1978	Alan Goad (Haw)	22	Jeff Geischen (Foots)	15	Robert 'Bob' Heard (Rich)	14
					Michael Roach (Rich)
1979	Colin Boyd (Ess)	13	Brian Wilson (Foots)	12	Peter Johnston (Geel)	11
1980	Bill Valli (Ess)	14	Justin Madden (Ess)	12	unknown	-
			Trevor Laughlin (Rich)
			Kevin Sheehan (Geel)
1981	Daryl Vernon (Rich)	17	Peter Keays (Fitz)	15	unknown	-
	Malcolm Reed (Geel)*
1982	Roger Merrett (Ess)	17	Bernie Conlen (Swans)	13	Mario Turco (NM)	12
1983	John Taylor (Foots)	19	Scott Wade (Haw)	18	Doug Smith (NM)	14
1984	Jim Stephenson (Foots)	21	Adrian Battiston (Melb)	15	Rod Waddell (Geel)	13
					Anthony Patraglia (NM)
1985	Greg Dear (Haw) James Bennett (Haw)	15	Alex Marcou (Carl)	14	Brad Shine (Carl)	10
					Neil Gaghan (Carl)
					Mil Hanna (Carl)
					Ray Sarcevic (Geel)
					Daryl Cunningham (StK)
					John Favier (Syd)
1986	Tony Liberatore (Foots)	21	Peter Banfield (Ess)	20	Neil Cordy (Foots)	14
					Anthony McTavish (NM)
1987	Brad Gotch (StK)	17	James Bennett (Haw)	13	unknown	-
			Simon Atkins (Foots)
1988	Tony Liberatore (Foots)	19	Paul Dear (Haw)	17	Mark Cullen (Foots)	11
					Leon Higgins (Syd)
1989	Michael Kol (Geel)	18	John Mrakov (Coll)	16	Tony Liberatore (Foots)	15
AFL RESERVES (1990-91)
1990	Rod Keogh (Melb)	13	Luke Beveridge (Melb)	12	Mark Cullen (Foots)	11
					Paul Hudson (Haw)
1991	Stephen Anderson (Coll)	22	Murray Wrensted (Coll)	13	Colin Alexander (Coll)	12
			David Robertson (Ess)
VICTORIAN STATE FOOTBALL LEAGUE (1992-94)
1992	Peter Filandia (Ess)	23	Michael Gallagher (NM)	14	Joe Cormack (Fitz)	12
	Mick Dwyer (StK)	16	Tony Malakellis (Geel)		Steven Alessio (Ess)
1993	Rod Keogh (Melb)	23	Tim Powell (Carl)	18	Ilija Grgic (Foots)	16
1994	David Bain (Fitz)	17	Glen Nugent (Haw)	14	Peter Somerville (Ess)	13
			Troy Polak (NM)		Brad Sholl (NM)
AFL RESERVES (1995-99)
1995	Simon Crawshay (Haw)	19	Troy Luff (Syd)	17	unknown	-
			Alastair Clarkson (NM)
1996	Trent Nichols (NM)	tbd	unknown	-	unknown	-
1997	Brad Lloyd (Haw)	18	Clinton King (Syd)	17	unknown	-
			Adrian Gleeson (Carl)
1998	Simon Arnott (Syd)	16	Simon Minton-Connell (WB)	14	unknown	-
			Darren Kowal (Melb)
			Peter Walsh (Melb)
1999	Daniel Healy (StK)	tbd	Ben Moore (Rich)	tbd	Jason Torney (Rich)	tbd
					Matthew Collins (Melb)
Since 2000 the AFL Reserves teams have played in the VFA-VFL competition - players are eligible for the J.J. Liston Trophy

 

(details of Liston Trophy winners can be found here)

RETROSPECTIVE MEDALS

In 1928 and 1930 two players finished with the same number of votes and Gardiner decided to present more than one medal. In 1931 a countback system was introduced to prevent a tie for the award. If more than one player topped the voting, the medal was presented to the player with the most best on ground votes (known as "1st votes" in the preference system used in early years, or "3 votes" under the 3-2-1 system used in later years).

Countbacks were required in 1932, 1933, 1950, 1958, 1970, 1977 and 1981. 

In 1981 Malcolm Reed (Geelong) lost under this system to Darryl Vernon (Richmond). The countback system had been scrapped for the Brownlow Medal in the weeks prior,  so the VFL decided to apply the same amendment to the Gardiner and Morrish Medal voting, bringing Best & Fairest voting in all three grades into line. As a result, Reed retrospectively received his Gardiner Medal a week after the count.

In 1985 Hawthorn's Greg Dear tied with teammate James Bennett on 15 votes. Had the pre-1981 system still been in use, Dear (4 best on grounds) would have won the medal and Bennett (2 best on grounds) would have lost on countback.

In 1992 the AFL announced retrospective medals would be presented to all players who originally tallied the same number of votes as the winner but lost on a countback. The following players received their retrospective Gardiner Medals in April, 1992:

1950 - Jack O'Halloran (Essendon)*
1970 - Paul Callery (Melbourne)
1977 - Bob Heard (Richmond)*

However, research for this article has revealed the following players should also have received Gardiner Medals that day but they were somehow overlooked:

1932 - Hec Davidson (Melbourne)
1933 - Bill Findlay (Footscray)
1933 - Hec Davidson (Melbourne)
1958 - Chris Pavlou (Carlton)

*The AFL website and Media/Stats guide note that restrospective medals were awarded to players who lost on countback but O'Halloran is shown as winning in 1951 (instead of 1950) and Heard for 1971 (when he played for Collingwood) instead of 1977 (when he played for Richmond). See the Discrepancies in Official Records section later in this article.

---

1932

Albert Logan (Hawthorn) and Hec Davidson (Melbourne) tied on 13 votes but Logan won on countback on account of playing only 10 reserves games for the year, while Davidson “only missed four”.

The Gippsland Times (12-9-1932)

---

1933

In 1933, Findlay and Davidson tied with Hawthorn's Ernest 'Tich' Utting on 15 votes but Utting received the Gardiner Medal because he had four 1st votes compared to Findlay's three and Davidson's one.

The Argus (6-9-1933)

The Age (6-9-1933)

---

1958

John Fisher (Hawthorn) and Chris Pavlou (Carlton) finished equal on 10 votes, but Fisher received the Gardiner Medal because he had three 1st votes compared to Pavlou's two.
​

The Football Record (1958 Night Series Match 2, p. 6)

GARDINER MEDALLISTS BY CLUB

NOTE - AFL Records have Bob Heard receiving a retrospective medal for a loss on countback in 1971 (when he played for Collingwood).
It was actually for 1977 when he was playing for Richmond - please refer to the Discrepancies section at the base of this page for more info.

SEASON	MEDALLIST	NOTES
CARLTON
1940	Albert 'Mick' Price
1958	Chris Pavlou*	*lost on countback, retrospective medal yet to be awarded
1973	Vin Catoggio
1976	Alan Mangels
COLLINGWOOD
1929	Bob Ross
1936	Marcus Boyall
1947	Pat Twomey
1949	Kevin Coghlan
1974	Stephen Clifford
1991	Stephen Anderson
ESSENDON
1926	Melville L. 'Roy' James
1939	Noel Smith
1950	Jack O'Halloran*	*awarded retrospectively in 1992
1957	Les Pridham
1979	Colin Boyd
1980	Bill Valli
1982	Roger Merrett
1992	Peter Filandia	Ineligible due to suspension, he would have won by 7 votes
FITZROY LIONS
1938	Bruce Calverley
1963	Wally Clark
1994	David Bain
FOOTSCRAY BULLDOGS
1933	Bill Findlay*	*lost on countback, retrospective medal yet to be awarded
1944	Dick Wearmouth
1946	Eric 'Jack' McLeod
1948	Joe Ryan
1962	Jim Gutterson
1965	Kevin Jackman
1972	Mike Pokrovsky
1983	John Taylor
1984	Jim Stephenson
1986	Tony Liberatore
1988	Tony Liberatore
GEELONG
1928	Jim Money
1930	Max Kelly
1950	Doug Davies
1952	Leo O'Halloran
1955	Doug Davies
1960	Neil Trezise
1966	Darryl Herrod
1967	Ricky Graham
1981	Malcolm Reed*	*medal awarded a week after the count (originally lost on countback)
1989	Michael Kol
HAWTHORN
1932	Albert 'Dick' Logan
1933	Ernest 'Tich' Utting
1954	Neil Pearson
1958	John Fisher
1959	William 'Bill' Shelton
1978	Alan Goad
1985	Greg Dear	Dear and Bennett tied for the medal. Under the pre-1981 system Bennett would have lost to Dear on a countback.
	James Bennett
1995	Simon Crawshay
1997	Brad Lloyd
MELBOURNE
1928	Norman 'Vince' Driver
1932	Hec Davidson*	*lost on countback, retrospective medal yet to be awarded
1933	Hec Davidson*	*lost on countback, retrospective medal yet to be awarded
1935	Joe Kinnear
1943	Ernie Hart
1956	Graham Kerr
1968	Phil Rhoden
1969	Ken Emselle
1970	Paul Callery*	*awarded retrospectively in 1992
1971	Bruce Brown
1975	Neil Chamberlain
1990	Rod Keogh
1993	Rod Keogh
NORTH MELBOURNE
1931	George Franke
1945	Harold Arthur
1951	Neil Doolan
1961	Jock O'Brien
1970	Mike Redenbach
1977	Darryl Schimmelbusch
1996	Trent Nichols
RICHMOND
1927	Sam Jamison
1930	Selwyn Baker
1934	Richie Saunders
1953	Col Austen
1964	Gary Arnold
1977	Robert 'Bob' Heard*	*awarded retrospectively in 1992
1981	Daryl Vernon
SOUTH MELBOURNE / SYDNEY SWANS
1926	Albert 'Alby' Jacobsen
1941	Pat McNamara
1998	Simon Arnott
ST KILDA
1937	Alec Peak
1942	Fred Taylor
1987	Brad Gotch
1992	Mick Dwyer
1999	Daniel Healy

 

MULTIPLE WINNERS

The following players have won multiple Gardiner Medals (but only three of them have received their due).

MEDALS	WINNER	CLUB	SEASONS	NOTES
2	Hec Davidson*	Melbourne	1932*, 1933*	Finished equal first in 1932-33 but lost on a countback both years. *Davidson missed out when retrospective medals were awarded in 1992.
	Doug Davies	Geelong	1950, 1955	Also finished 2nd in 1951
	Tony Liberatore	Footscray	1986, 1988	Also finished 3rd in the Gardiner Medal in 1989. Won the Morrish Medal (U'19s) in 1984 and Brownlow Medal in 1990.
	Rod Keogh	Melbourne	1990, 1993	-

 

GARDINER MEDAL + BROWNLOW AND/OR MORRISH

PLAYER	CLUB	SEASONS	MEDAL WON
Col Austen	Hawthorn	1949	Brownlow (Seniors)
	Richmond	1953	Gardiner
Paul Callery	Melbourne	1968	Morrish (U'19s)
		1970	Gardiner
Vin Catoggio	Carlton	1972	Morrish (U'19s)
		1973	Gardiner
Tony Liberatore	Footscray	1984	Morrish (U'19s)
		1986	Gardiner
		1988	Gardiner
		1990	Brownlow (Seniors)

 

GORDON-DOBSON MEDAL (1931-38)

Awarded to the player finishing second in the Gardiner Medal voting.
The medal was donated each season by J. N. Gordon and G. Dobson, who were joint vice-presidents of the League Seconds from 1927 to 1938.

YEAR	WINNER	VOTES	GAP TO 1ST
1926-30	not awarded	-	-
1931	Hec Davidson (Melb)	17	-5
1932	Hec Davidson (Melb)	13	countback
1933	Bill Findlay (Foots)	15	countback
	Hec Davidson (Melb)
1934	Percy Streeter (Foots)	12	-6
	Hec Davidson (Melb)	12	-6
	Frank Gibson (Fitz)
1935	Ralph Lancaster (Geel)	16	-2
1936	Norm Honey (Rich)	10	-11
	Stuart Stewart (Haw)	10	-11
	Keith 'Bluey' Truscott (Melb)
1937	Harry Hickey (Foots)	tbd	tbd
	Albert 'Mick' Price (Carl)
1938	Ashley Foley (Geel)	11	-6

 

1934 - Percy Streeter (Footscray), Hec Davidson (Melbourne) and Frank Gibson (Fitzroy) tied but the Dobson medal was awarded to Streeter as he had played the least number of Seconds matches that season.

1936 - Norm Honey (Richmond), Keith 'Bluey' Truscott (Melbourne) and Stuart Stewart (Hawthorn) tied for 2nd but the medal was awarded to Honey on a countback.

MURIE MEDAL / MURIE CUP

1939-1969

Val Murie was joint vice-president of the League Seconds throughout the 1930s and '40s, and later took over from Frank Gardiner as president. Murie donated an award in 1939 for players finishing second in the Gardiner Medal voting. This replaced the Gordon-Dobson Medal.

Note that between 1939 and 1941 there are numerous reports of this new award being the Murie Medal. The awarding of a cup is confirmed from 1942 onwards.

YEAR	WINNER	VOTES	GAP TO 1ST
1939	Haydn Sharp (Foots)	14	-1
	E. 'Joe' Tucker (Geel)
1940	Reg Farrant (Haw)	tbd	tbd
1941	Danny Guinane (Rich)	13	-2
1942	Tom Ferguson (Melb)	tbd	tbd
1943	Frank Cahill (Foots)	tbd	tbd
1944	Jack Henry (Ess)	12	-2
1945	Noel Smith (Ess)	tbd	tbd
1946	George Hams (Coll)	10	-5
1947	Robert 'Bob' Bradley (Ess)	16	-1
1948	Roy McConnell (Ess)	11	-2
1949	Jack Hardy (Carl)	14	-4
1950	Jack O'Halloran (Ess)	12	countback
1951	Don Calder (Carl)	tbd	tbd
	Keith McIntosh (Ess)
	Doug Davies (Geel)
1952	Joe Murphy (Fitz)	10	-2
1953	Jim Carstairs (Ess)	10	-4
	Brian 'Barney' Jones (Carl)
1954	Ken Albiston (Melb)	12	-4
1955	Ivan Baumgartner (Melb)	13	-2
1956	Don Howell (Coll)	tbd	tbd
1957	Bob Watt (StK)	10	-3
	Ben Crameri (Melb)
	Bobby Clark (Foots)
1958	Chris Pavlou (Carl)	10	countback
1959	Ken Peucker (Ess)	14	-2