VFA-VFL - BEST & FAIREST AWARDS

INTRODUCTION

WINNERS

RECORDER CUP

VFA MEDAL

LISTON TROPHY

J.FIELD MEDAL (2ND DIV.)

RETROSPECTIVE MEDALS

MULTIPLE WINS

LISTON + Brownlow/Magarey/Sandover etc.

INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION

Since 1923 the VFA has presented four different Best & Fairest awards to senior players. The most well-known is the J.J. LISTON TROPHY, which commenced in 1945 and continues to be awarded today. However, prior to 1945 there were two other awards:

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.

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

 

NOTE: Umpires did not vote on the Recorder Cup in 1940-41, it was automatically awarded to the player who won the VFA Medal.

VFA BEST & FAIREST (1945-60)

YEAR		J.J. LISTON TROPHY		VOTES
1945		Eric Beard	Oakleigh	51
1946		Bill Findlay	Port Melbourne	47
1947		Stan Tomlins	Sandringham	48
1948		Russ McIndoe	Brighton	44
1949		Jack Blackman	Preston	58
1950		Frank Stubbs	Camberwell	38
1951		Cec Hiscox	Northcote	40
1952		Frank Johnson	Port Melbourne	47
1953		Ted Henrys	Preston	37
1954		Edward Turner	Brighton	39
1955		Les Moroney	Moorabbin	37
1956		Johnny Martin	Williamstown	41
1957		Ken Ross	Camberwell	32
1958		Keith Woolnough	Northcote	35
1959		Bryan Waters	Dandenong	49
1960		Don Brown	Box Hill	45

 

Oakleigh's Eric Beard - winner of the inaugural Liston Trophy

VFA BEST & FAIREST (1961-1988)

Between 1961 and 1988 the senior competition was split into two divisions, requiring two separate best and fairest awards.
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 Russell Hodges*	Sunshine Kilsyth	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

 

NOTE - the voting system for the award had remained unchanged since the VFA Medal commenced in 1933 but was altered in 1981 due to the introduction of the two-field umpire system. Instead of 9 votes per game (3 from the field umpire, 3 each from the goal umpires) there were now six votes on offer (3 votes from each field umpire: 2 for their best-on-ground, 1 for the second best-on-ground).

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

 

RECORDER CUP

WOODHAM CUP (1923-25)

RECORDER CUP (1926-41)

In 1923 the VFA inaugurated an award for the best and fairest player of the season (a year before the VFL presented their first Brownlow Medal). The award was initially named in honour of long-serving North Melbourne official, Alf Woodham and the trophy was donated each season by the proprietor of the VFA's matchday programme, the Football Recorder.

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

VFA MEDAL (1933-41)

In 1933 the Association introduced another best and fairest player award, the VFA Medal (also known as the Association Medal) which ran parallel to the Recorder Cup. Voting was conducted on a preferential basis with the field umpire and both goal umpires each awarding 2 votes for their best player of the match and 1 vote for their second preference.

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 also won the Recorder Cup that season
**indicates the player automatically received the Recorder Cup that season

LISTON TROPHY

J.J. LISTON TROPHY (1945-60)

When the VFA resumed in 1945 after a two year hiatus due to World War II, the Association's best and fairest award was renamed in honour of John James Liston, who had served as Williamstown's president 1923-30 and as VFA president 1929-43.

The voting system was the same used for the VFA Medal and winners received a silver-plated trophy

The original Liston trophy (Carter's)

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J.J LISTON MEDAL (1961-88)

Between 1961 and 1988 the senior competition was split into two divisions, requiring two separate best and fairest awards.

In First Division players continued to receive an award named after J.J. Liston but the silver plated trophy was replaced by a newly designed medal.

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.

The Liston Medal (1961-88)

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J.J. LISTON TROPHY (1989-)

The J.J. Liston Medal survived the demise of divisional football in 1988, and the change of governing bodies which resulted in the VFA being renamed the VFL after the 1995 season.

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.

The Liston "Trophy" (1989-)

J.FIELD MEDAL (2ND DIV.)

J. FIELD MEDAL (1961-1988)

In Second Division players received a new award named in honour of Jack Field, who served as VFA Treasurer for thirty-two years (1943-74). Although the winners were always presented with a medal, the award is sometimes referred to as the Field Trophy.

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

 

  NOTE: an asterisk (*) indicates a player who originally lost on a countback, but later received a retrospective medal in 1989
(see the RETROSPECTIVE MEDALS tab for more information).

RETROSPECTIVE MEDALS

RETROSPECTIVE MEDALS

During the VFA Medal era (1933-41) no tie-breaking system was in place, allowing multiple players to win the award if they received the same number of votes.

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)

FIELD MEDAL:

1967 - COLIN SLEEP (Northcote)
1982 - RUSSELL HODGES (Kilsyth)
1984 - DAVID CALLENDER (Brunswick)

MULTIPLE WINS

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

LISTON TROPHY (Div.1) and FIELD MEDAL (Div.2)

JIM SULLIVAN (Coburg) - 1967 Liston, 1969 Field
DEREK KING (Oakleigh) - 1975 Liston, 1977 Field

LISTON + Brownlow/Magarey/Sandover etc.

WINNERS WHO ALSO WON THE BROWNLOW MEDAL (VFL-AFL)

Three VFA/VFL players have also won the AFL's best and fairest award:

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.

*Mitchell originally finished tied for second with Trent Cotchin (Richmond), four votes behind Essendon's Jobe Watson.

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)

One VFA/VFL player has also won the SANFL's best and fairest award:

BRETT BACKWELL
2001 - Liston Trophy (Carlton Reserves)
2006 - Magarey Medal (Glenelg)

WINNERS WHO ALSO WON THE LEITCH MEDAL (TFL)

One VFA player has also won the Tasmanian Football League's best and fairest award:

PAT HARTNETT
1932 - Leitch Medal (Cananore)
1939 - Recorder Cup (Brighton)

OTHER STATE LEAGUES

As of 2019, no Liston Trophy winners have also won the best and fairest awards of the major state leagues in WA, Northern Tasmania, Queensland, NSW, ACT or the Northern Territory.

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Written and researched by David Eastman

First published 27/6/2014
Last updated 9/10/2019

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