Best and Fairest
Encyclopedia
Best and Fairest is the term commonly used in Australia
n sport to describe the player(s) adjudged to have had the best performance in a game or over a season for a given sporting club or competition while not receiving a suspension for misconduct or breaching the rules during that season.
In the Australian Football League
(formerly the VFL), the Brownlow Medal
is awarded to the player who, provided he has not been suspended during the season, receives the most votes from the umpires
for being the Fairest and Best player in games during the home and away season. In each game, the umpires award three votes to the player they judge to be the best afield in that game, two votes to the second-best player and one vote to the third-best player. The votes are counted at a gala function on the Monday preceding the Grand Final
.
Another "best and fairest" honour, the Leigh Matthews Trophy
, is voted on by the AFL's players and awarded by their trade union
, the AFL Players Association
. Unlike the Brownlow, players who have served disciplinary suspensions during the season are still eligible to win this award.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n sport to describe the player(s) adjudged to have had the best performance in a game or over a season for a given sporting club or competition while not receiving a suspension for misconduct or breaching the rules during that season.
In the Australian Football League
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
(formerly the VFL), the Brownlow Medal
Brownlow Medal
The Chas Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal , is awarded to the "fairest and best" player in the Australian Football League during the regular season as determined by votes cast by the officiating field umpires after each game...
is awarded to the player who, provided he has not been suspended during the season, receives the most votes from the umpires
Umpire (Australian rules football)
An umpire is an official in the sport of Australian rules football.-Origins:Unlike many other codes of football, where the official is called a referee, in Australian Football, the officials borrow their title from the game of cricket, which is played on the same types of fields and was an...
for being the Fairest and Best player in games during the home and away season. In each game, the umpires award three votes to the player they judge to be the best afield in that game, two votes to the second-best player and one vote to the third-best player. The votes are counted at a gala function on the Monday preceding the Grand Final
Grand Final
Grand Final is a predominantly Australian sport term used to describe a match that decides a league champion.It originated in Victoria and South Australia and has become specifically significant Australian culture...
.
Another "best and fairest" honour, the Leigh Matthews Trophy
Leigh Matthews Trophy
The Leigh Matthews Trophy is an annual award given by the AFL Players Association to the Most Valuable Player in the Australian Football League. It is named in honour of Leigh Matthews, who won the first MVP award in 1982, when the league was still known as the Victorian Football League...
, is voted on by the AFL's players and awarded by their trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
, the AFL Players Association
AFL Players Association
The AFL Players Association, or AFLPA, is the representative body for all current and past professional Australian Football League players....
. Unlike the Brownlow, players who have served disciplinary suspensions during the season are still eligible to win this award.
| Medal | League | First awarded | Award criteria | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brownlow Medal Brownlow Medal The Chas Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal , is awarded to the "fairest and best" player in the Australian Football League during the regular season as determined by votes cast by the officiating field umpires after each game... |
Australian Football League Australian Football League The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football... |
1924 | Fairest and best | Awarded by the league |
| Leigh Matthews Trophy Leigh Matthews Trophy The Leigh Matthews Trophy is an annual award given by the AFL Players Association to the Most Valuable Player in the Australian Football League. It is named in honour of Leigh Matthews, who won the first MVP award in 1982, when the league was still known as the Victorian Football League... |
Australian Football League Australian Football League The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football... |
1982 | Most valuable | Awarded by the AFL Players Association AFL Players Association The AFL Players Association, or AFLPA, is the representative body for all current and past professional Australian Football League players.... |
| Sandover Medal Sandover Medal The Sandover Medal is an Australian rules football award, given annually since 1921 to the fairest and best player in the West Australian Football League... |
West Australian Football League West Australian Football League The West Australian Football League is an Australian rules football league based in Perth, Western Australia. The WAFL is the second-most popular in the state, behind the nation-wide Australian Football League... |
1921 | Fairest and best | |
| Magarey Medal Magarey Medal For the biography award of the same name, see Magarey Medal for biography. For a list of winners, see List of Magarey Medallists.The Magarey Medal is an Australian rules football honour awarded annually since 1898 to the fairest and most brilliant player in the South Australian National Football... |
South Australian National Football League South Australian National Football League The South Australian National Football League is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the governing body for the sport of Australian rules football in South Australia.... |
1898 | Fairest and most brilliant | |
| J. J. Liston Trophy J. J. Liston Trophy The J. J. Liston Trophy is awarded to the best and fairest senior player in the Victorian Football League .-History:The VFA awarded the Recorder Cup from 1923 to 1941, and also ran a different award known as the VFA Medal .After a hiatus in 1942 to 1944 due to World War II, a best and fairest award... |
Victorian Football League Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League which evolved from the former Victorian Football Association , taking its new name as from the 1996 season, is the premier Australian rules football league in Victoria The Victorian Football League (VFL) which evolved from the former Victorian Football Association... |
1945 | Best and fairest | Between 1923 and the 1941 the Recorder Cup was awarded, and between 1933 and 1940 the VFA Medal was also awarded |
| Grogan Medal Grogan Medal The Grogan Medal is an Australian rules football award given to the best and fairest player in home and away rounds of each season's QAFL/Queensland State League competition. It was first awarded in 1946, previously the league's best player won the De Little Medal.-Winners:-External links:*... |
Queensland AFL | 1946 | Best and fairest | The De Little Medal was awarded earlier |
| William Leitch Medal William Leitch Medal The William Leitch Medal was an annual award which was presented to the Best and Fairest player in the TANFL/TFL Statewide League.At various times prior to 1930 and between 1935 and 1939 the TFL award was known by other names.... |
Tasmanian State League | 1930 | Best and fairest | A previous award also existed |
| Morrish Medal Morrish Medal The Morrish Medal is an Australian rules football award.Formerly awarded to the Best and Fairest player in the VFL Under 19 competition , since 1992 the award has been given to the best player in the Victorian TAC Cup Under 18 competition.The Morrish Medal was named in honour of Tom Morrish, a... |
TAC Cup TAC Cup The TAC Cup is an under 18 Australian rules football representative competition held in Victoria, Australia. It is based on geographic regions throughout country Victoria and metropolitan Melbourne with each team representing 12 Victorian regions.... |
1947 | Best and fairest | The Morrish Medal was also the best and fairest award in the VFL/AFL Under-19s competition which was superseded by the TAC Cup in 1992 |
| Larke Medal | AFL National Under 18 Championships AFL National Under 18 Championships The NAB AFL Under 18 Championships are the annual national Australian rules football championships for players aged 18 years or younger. The competition is seen as one of the main pathways towards being drafted into a team in the fully professional Australian Football League... , Division 1 |
1976 | Best | |
| Hunter Harrison Medal | AFL National Under 18 Championships AFL National Under 18 Championships The NAB AFL Under 18 Championships are the annual national Australian rules football championships for players aged 18 years or younger. The competition is seen as one of the main pathways towards being drafted into a team in the fully professional Australian Football League... , Division 2 |
1992 | Best | |
| Phelan Medal | Sydney AFL Sydney AFL The "AFL Sydney" is an Australian rules football League, based in metropolitan Sydney, Australia.The AFL Sydney competition comprises 21 clubs playing across 5 senior divisions with 2 under 18 competitions.-History:... |
Best and fairest | ||
| Baldock Medal | Northern Tasmanian Football League Northern Tasmanian Football League The Northern Tasmanian Football League is an Australian rules football competition in northern Tasmania.-History:The Northern Tasmanian Football League was founded in 1987 to replace the former Northern Tasmanian Football Association - no relation to the current NTFA - and the North Western... |
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| Nichols Medal | Northern Territory Football League Northern Territory Football League The Northern Territory Football League is an 8 team Australian rules football semi-professional league operating in Darwin in the Northern Territory.The premier grade is the largest Australian rules football league in the Northern Territory... |