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6. Major Awards (as of '98... will be updated for '04 shortly!)The Brownlow MedalThe Charles Brownlow Trophy was instituted in 1924 for the "Fairest and Best" player in the VFL home and away season. The trophy itself is an ornate lacquered medallion, no larger than an American silver dollar coin. It has been awarded every year since except the Second World War years of 1942-1945. It perpetuates the memory of Charles Brownlow, a veteran of over forty years with the Geelong Football Club and the VFL, who died in 1924. Brownlow was playing with Geelong when the original VFL clubs broke with the VFA in 1896; once his playing days were over, he became club secretary there until the year before his death, and also served two years as the League's caretaker president. The medal is awarded as follows: the field umpires in consultation after each game award six votes; three votes to the best player, two to the second best and one to the third best. These votes are collected and kept by the AFL until the week of the Grand Final, where the votes are counted at a televised reception before viewers from across Australia. The player gaining the most votes from the season is awarded the Brownlow medal. Should two or more players have the same number of votes then two or more medals are awarded. This replaced a countback system used in 1931-1981, in which ties were broken by counting numbers of "three" votes among the tied players, then "two" votes, etc. The 1998 Brownlow Medal was won for the second consecutive year by on-baller Robert Harvey of St. Kilda with 32 votes, which ties him for the highest total ever awarded. His winning margin of eight votes over midfielder Nathan Buckley of Collingwood was also one of the highest ever. Since 1991, players who have been reported during a game or suspended during the home-and-away season (not the finals) have been able to receive Brownlow Medal votes from the umpires for that game; however, in keeping with the notion of a "best and fairest" award, a player who has been reported and subsequently found guilty by the Tribunal (except for time wasting) is ineligible to win the Medal. Should such a player receive the most votes, then the player with the most number of votes who is eligible (not having been reported and found guilty) receives the medal. For example, Chris Grant of the Western Bulldogs received 27 votes in 1997, but was rendered ineligible by a week's suspension earlier in the season, and Robert Harvey won the Brownlow instead with 26 votes. This was the first time in Brownlow history an outright winner actually lost his medal to the Tribunal. Three players tied for the 1996 Brownlow Medal with 22 votes. James Hird of Essendon and Michael Voss of Brisbane were awarded their medals; Corey McKernan of North Melbourne lost his to the Tribunal. The John Coleman MedalThe Coleman Medal was instituted in 1981, and is awarded to the player who kicks the most goals during the Home and Away Season. The Medal honors John Coleman, a spectacular forward player for Essendon (and later a dual premiership coach of the same club), who many feel would have been the game's greatest ever player, prior to a serious knee injury prematurely ending his playing career. Coleman kicked 537 goals in only 98 games. The 1999 Coleman Medal was awarded to Scott Cummings of West Coast, who kicked 92 goals during the regular season and 4 more thus far during the finals series for a total of 96. The Norm Smith MedalThe Norm Smith Medal is awarded to the player voted best on ground during that season's Grand Final. Norm Smith was a player for Melbourne and Fitzroy, and coached South Melbourne as well as the previous two teams. He coached Melbourne to an incredible 6 Premierships between 1955 and 1964. The Medal was first instituted in 1979. The Norm Smith Medal was awarded to Andrew McLeod of Adelaide as the best player in the 1998 Grand Final. It was his second consecutive best-on-ground and premiership. The Sandover and Magarey MedalsThe Sandover and Magarey Medals are the equivalent "Fairest and Best" medals from the Westar Rules (WAFL) and SANFL competitions respectively. The Magarey Medal for 1998 was won by Andrew Osborn of South Adelaide, with 16 votes. Most remarkably, he may be the first player ever to win such a medal without a single best-on-ground vote. The Dr. William C. McClelland TrophyThe McClelland trophy was inaugurated in 1951. It was awarded to the club accumulating the highest number of points over three levels of competition (Senior, Reserves and Under-19). This was maintained until 1990, when the move to a one team national competition was undertaken. The McClelland Trophy is now awarded to the Minor Premier (i.e., the team finishing on top of the ladder after the Home and Away season.) The trophy was instituted to recognise the service of Dr. McClelland as a player, club delegate for Melbourne and VFL President from 1926 - 1955. The Essendon Football Club won the McClelland Trophy in 1999 for finishing the Home and Away season on top of the ladder with 18 wins from 22 starts. State Of Origin FootballState of Origin Football was instituted in 1977. Games between the different states had been played since the early origins of football; however, the situation arose where the VFL had acquired many of the star players from other states as these players were attracted to Victorian teams and their higher salaries. State of Origin was born out of the intense interstate rivalries, and allowed footballers to play for their "home" state. Players were allowed to come from anywhere in Australia to play for their home state as opposed to the previous system where the State team was chosen from the players in the respective state league regardless of where the player originally came from. This now meant that WA and SA could challenge Victoria to interstate football games and field their best players, who were likely to be playing over in the VFL. The definition of where a players home state was changed almost yearly however, meaning some players were forced to play for different states according to the rule changes (e.g., where you were born, where you played your first Senior football game, where you were at age 16, etc.) This was seen to undermine the credibility of State of Origin Football. An additional factor has been the creation of the National Competition, where WA and SA, the two main instigators of State of Origin football, are now seen to have had practically State of Origin teams in the Adelaide and West Coast football clubs (an altogether incorrect idea, however). In its prime, State of Origin football has seen games of the highest quality, and in front of large crowds, it is the closest to an All-Star game that Australian Football has. The AFL, wishing to regenerate enthusiasm for State of Origin Football, moved in 1995 to set one weekend aside during the middle of the season for two State of Origin Games, involving Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia, and a composite "rest of Australia" side known as the Allies which allows some of the big name stars not originating from the Big Three footballing states to play at that level in a legitimate way (as opposed to playing for one of the Big Three or missing out altogether). Presently, which State of Origin team a player plays for depends on the State or Territory in which the player lived for the majority of the years between the ages of 10 and 17. Five medals can be awarded during a State of Origin game.
For 1999, only one State of Origin game was played between Victoria and South Australia. State of Origin games are being suspended for the foreseeable future, to ease AFL scheduling during the Olympic year of 2000 and to give the AFL time to reevaluate the concept. Top players would rather rehab minor injuries than play for their state mid-season, and public enthusiasm for State of Origin is still declining. On May 29th at the MCG in Melbourne:
E.
J. Whitten Medalist: Brent Harvey (Kangaroos) Victoria: South
Australia: The All-Australian TeamThis team is selected yearly, since 1991, and selects the 18 best players by position for the year (as well as 3 interchange players and coach and umpire of the year). It is determined by a panel after the Home and Away season, and is merely a tribute to some of the better players for that year. Unlike the Brownlow, players that have been reported and found guilty are still eligible to be included in the team. All-Australian selections for 1999 were:
The 1999 team will actually compete together in two "International Rules" matches against a representative team of Gaelic football players in October; the Australians will be the hosts this time, at the MCG and at Football Park in Adelaide. The Australian team coach will be Dermott Brereton, assisted by Jim Stynes. For 1999, the Players Association selected a "team of the last 25 years." Those honored were:
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| Adelaide | Andrew McLeod |
| Brisbane | Matthew Clarke |
| Carlton | Brett Ratten |
| Collingwood | Gavin Brown |
| Essendon | Sean Denham |
| Fremantle | Dale Kickett |
| Geelong | Liam Pickering |
| Hawthorn | Paul Salmon |
| Melbourne | Jim Stynes |
| North Melbourne | Anthony Stevens |
| Port Adelaide | Darren Mead |
| Richmond | Wayne Campbell |
| St. Kilda | Robert Harvey |
| Sydney | Paul Kelly |
| West Coast | Peter Matera |
| Western Bulldogs | Scott West |
Named for a commercial sponsor, the Rising Star Award is given to the best rookie for the past season. "Rookie" is defined as a player under the age of 21 who has been selected for less than ten games prior to the season in question.
The 1999 Norwich Rising Star Award went to ruckman Adam Goodes of Sydney. Previous winners since the trophy was created in 1993:
| 1993 | Nathan Buckley | Collingwood |
| 1994 | Chris Scott | Brisbane |
| 1995 | Nick Holland | Hawthorn |
| 1996 | Ben Cousins | West Coast |
| 1997 | Michael Wilson | Port Adelaide |
| 1998 | Byron Pickett | North Melbourne |
The club that wins the Grand Final are referred to as the Premiers. The winners get the right to fly a pennant, much as winning baseball clubs do in America. Since 1959, a silver Premiership Cup has been awarded, which the club keeps in perpetuity. (A notable exception was the Centenary Cup of 1996, which was plated in gold).
Premiership medallions are awarded to each of the team's players that played in the Grand Final; this is similar to the awarding of championship rings here, except that no non-participant may be voted a medal, which magnifies the pain of late-season injuries and form slumps.
The Ansett Australia Cup is the event of the pre-season. It is an annual practice tournament involving every AFL club, with all matches played at night , and throughout Australia; the winners are referred to as "night premiers." The grand final is played at Waverley Park outside Melbourne on the Saturday night before the first home-and-away matches. The Michael Tuck Medal is awarded to the best on ground during the grand final.
The tournament is employed by the AFL as a means of experimenting with proposed rule changes, just as America's National Football League does during its pre-season. For instance, in a recent year, kicking into the goal posts scored three points, not one.
The 1999 Ansett Australia Cup went to the Hawthorn Football Club, and Hawk ruckman Paul Salmon was awarded the Michael Tuck Medal.
An annual Under-18 football tournament, with representative teams from each state (including country and city Victoria) selected from the best teenage footballers in the local leagues. The tournament is meant to be a showcase of the young talent available, and attendance is considered mandatory by AFL scouts. This was originally known as the Teal Cup. The name was changed most recently due to a sponsorship offer from the Traffic Accident Commission of Victoria, a state agency which investigates accidents, offers collision insurance, and sells safe driving through attention-getting commercials and two AFL club sponsorships.
The Hall was established at the MCG in 1996 to honor exceptional players of Australian football, wherever or whenever they played. The first class numbered 100 inductees, and ten Legends of the Game, the "greatest of the great."
1998 inductees included:
Jack
Clarke - 206 games for East Fremantle (WAFL); 26 appearances for Western
Australia; four times All-Australian; 1957 Sandover Medalist
Terry Daniher - 1976-92; 19 games for South Melbourne, 294 for Essendon;
Essendon captain for 1984-85 premierships; twice captain of Victorian
state team
Ken Farmer - 224 games for North Adelaide (SANFL) over 13 seasons; 1419
goals (most ever anywhere); dual premiership coach and media figure
Fred Flanagan - 1946-55; 163 games for Geelong; represented Victoria 8
times in his first 8 years, once as playing coach
Allan Ruthven - 222 games and 442 goals for Fitzroy; medal from Fitzroy's
last premiership in 1944; 1950 Brownlow Medalist
Len Thompson - 1965-80; 301 games for Collingwood, Fitzroy and South Melbourne;
Collingwood and Victorian captain; 1972 Brownlow Medalist
The Legends of the Game are:
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