AFL Players Association awards


The AFL Players Association awards are a group of awards given annually, mainly to players in the Australian Football League and AFL Women's, voted for by all AFL and AFL Women's players.

Main awards

The AFLPA nominates the following as their main awards.

Most valuable player

In the VFL/AFL, the most valuable player award is named the Leigh Matthews Trophy. It has been awarded by the players to the best player of the season annually since 1982. It is the AFLPA equivalent of the Brownlow Medal, and a variety of media-sponsored MVP awards. Gary Ablett, Jr. is the only player to win the award five times, while Marcus Bontempelli has won the award three times. Greg Williams, Wayne Carey, Michael Voss, Chris Judd and Nat Fyfe have won the award twice.
In the AFL Women's, it has been awarded since the inaugural season in 2017. Erin Phillips and Jasmine Garner are the only two players to win the award on multiple occasions.
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AFL Women's
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Best captain

In the VFL/AFL, the best captain award was given sporadically from 1986 until 1997, and has been given annually since 1998. Michael Voss won the award four times from 2001 to 2004, the most of any player.
In the AFL Women's, the award has been given since the inaugural season in 2017. Daisy Pearce holds the record for most wins with four, in 2017, 2018, 2020 and 2022.
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Best first-year player

In the AFL, this award has been given annually since 1998. It is awarded to the best adjudged player who is in his first year on an AFL list. The eligibility for the award is different from the AFL's other main award for the best performing young player, the AFL Rising Star, which can be won by any player aged under 21 as of 1 January that year, and who has not played more than ten matches before the start of the season. Michael Barlow, for example, won the award in 2010 but was not eligible for the Rising Star. Brownlow Medallists Adam Goodes and Chris Judd have both won the award in the past.
In the AFL Women's, the award has been given since the second season in 2018. There is a similarly decreased focus on youth—for example, Richmond's Eilish Sheerin won the award in 2022 at the age of 30.
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AFL Women's
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Most courageous player

In the AFL, the award for most courageous player is called the Robert Rose Award. It has been awarded annually since 1991 to the most courageous player in the league. The award is named after the Australian sportsman Robert Rose, who became a quadriplegic in 1974 after a car accident. Glenn Archer has won the award most often, while Paul Kelly won it five times, including four consecutively from 1994 to 1997. Jonathan Brown won the award in 2007, 2008 and 2011. In 2009, Joel Selwood won the award for the first time, and then won it three consecutive times from 2012 to 2014.
In the AFL Women's, the award has been given since the inaugural season in 2017. Chelsea Randall has won the award six times, the most of any player.
VFL/AFL
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Other awards

The following awards are also currently or have previously been presented by the AFLPA.

Marn Grook Award

Named after the Indigenous game Marn Grook, the award was presented annually from 2001 to 2007 for the top emerging Indigenous player in the game, who must be within their first three seasons of AFL competition.

Grant Hattam Award

The Grant Hattam Award has been awarded annually since 1999 to the most outstanding piece of football journalism for that year as voted by the players. All forms of media from all around Australia, covering the AFL, AFL Women's or any other football topic, are eligible for the award.
The award was created in honour and memory of the late Grant Hattam, who was a leading sports and media lawyer.

Education and Training Excellence Award

The Education and Training Excellence Award has been given annually since 2001 to the player who displays the best all-round performance in balancing football with external education and training. From 2001 to 2016, it was awarded to AFL players only. Since 2017, the award has been presented to at least one winner from both the AFL and AFL Women's each year.
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22 Under 22 team

Each season, the AFLPA also names the 22 Under 22 team for both the AFL and AFL Women's. These are full teams of 22 or 21 players. The AFLPA selects a team of 40, before the final team is selected by fans. To be eligible for selection, players must be aged 22 or under for the entire season. In the AFL, the first team was named in 2013, with a respective team also named for the 2012 season. In the AFL Women's, the first team was named in 2020, with a respective team named which covered the first three seasons from 2017 to 2019.

Mike Fitzpatrick Scholarships

Awarded annually to young aspiring non-AFL players, attempting to help them balance external study and training with football training.