Morrish Medal

The Morrish Medal is an award presented to the best and fairest player in the premier Victorian underage Australian rules football competition during the home-and-away season. Boasting an uninterrupted lineage from 1947 onwards, the medal is currently awarded to the highest vote-getter in the Talent League Boys competition.

Morrish Medal
Awarded forThe best and fairest player in the Talent League Boys
CountryAustralia
Presented byAustralian Football League
First awarded1947
Currently held byPatrick Hughes
Colby McKercher
WebsiteMorrish Medal

History

The Morrish Medal was first inaugurated in 1947, the year after the formation of the Victorian Football League's thirds competition.[1] Named in honour of reserve grade treasurer Tom Morrish, who had held the position since 1922, the medal was to be awarded to the best-performing player across the season as adjudged by the field umpires.[2] This continued throughout the history of the League's thirds, which was renamed to the under-19s in 1960. When the under-19s competition was wound up at the conclusion of the 1991 Australian Football League season, to be replaced by the new Victorian State Football League under-18s competition, the decision was made to continue awarding the Morrish Medal.

Voting format

In the style of the Brownlow Medal and Gardiner Medal medals already awarded in the seniors and seconds competitions respectively, the presiding field umpire would cast a 3–2–1 vote at the conclusion of each match. The player with the most votes tallied following the end of the home-and-away season would then be presented with the medal. The initial voting method continues to this day, albeit with multiple field umpires now conferring to present a single set of votes for each match.

Until 1981, a count back rule identical to that of the Brownlow was used to split winners based on the amount of three-vote games they were awarded, followed by two-vote games, etc. until a solitary winner could be found.[3] In 1992, the League recognised three players who initially lost by count back – Jim McGowan (1961), Phillip Friedman (1974) and Jack Dinatale (1976) – and awarded them retrospective medals.[4]

Winners by season
Year Player Team Votes Ref.
1947 Alan Dale Essendon [?] [1]
1948 Ray Harvey Melbourne 22 [5]
1949 Arthur Harbrow St Kilda [?] [2]
1950 Noel Alford North Melbourne 23 [6]
1951 Frank Williams Hawthorn 15 [7]
1952 Peter McPhee Footscray 17 [8]
1953 Dick Pratt Carlton 23 [9]
1954 Alf Clarke Carlton 20 [10]
1955 Dick Job Carlton 18 [2]
1956 Garry Rasmussen Hawthorn 17 [11]
1957 Peter O'Reilly South Melbourne 30 [2]
1958 Norman Bowler North Melbourne 17 [12]
1959 Don Glassenbury Fitzroy 16 [13]
1960 Gerard Ryan Footscray [?] [2]
1961 Terry Johnston Melbourne 15 [14]
Jim McGowan[lower-roman 1] South Melbourne [2]
1962 Kevin Egan Essendon [?] [2]
1963 John Schram Geelong [?] [2]
1964 Peter Gowans North Melbourne 18 [15]
1965 Russell Petherbridge St Kilda [?] [16]
1966 Bruce Wright Fitzroy 16 [17]
1967 Maurie Gale Carlton 17 [2]
1968 Paul Callery Melbourne 25 [18]
1969 Bill Gehling Richmond 17 [19]
1970 Ken Marks Fitzroy 25 [20]
1971 Tim O'Malley Carlton 21 [2]
1972[lower-roman 2] Vin Catoggio Carlton 23 [2]
Ian Kilmartin North Melbourne
1973 Russell Bruerton South Melbourne 20 [2]
1974[lower-roman 3] Russell Bruerton South Melbourne 22 [2]
Jack Dinatale Footscray
Phillip Friedman[lower-roman 1] Melbourne
1975 Brian Jones South Melbourne [?] [21]
1976 Jack Dinatale[lower-roman 1] Footscray 20 [2]
Craig Jamieson Richmond
1977 Darren Williams Essendon 20 [2]
1978[lower-roman 2] Andrew McPhie Fitzroy 19 [2]
Stephen Simpson North Melbourne
1979 Peter Banks Collingwood 30 [2]
1980 Peter Lane Essendon [?] [22]
1981 Adrian Battiston Melbourne 37 [23]
1982 Les Bamblett Melbourne 17 [24]
1983 Greg Healy Melbourne 17 [25]
1984 Tony Liberatore North Melbourne 22 [26]
1985 Frank Zoccali Essendon 25 [27]
1986 David Ross North Melbourne 21 [28]
1987 Wayne Schwass North Melbourne 17 [29]
1988 Tim McGrath North Melbourne 21 [30]
1989 Brad Davies Essendon 18 [31]
1990 Brendan Robertson Carlton 14 [32]
Clinton Watson North Melbourne [32]
1991 Gary Stevens Sydney [?] [33]
1992 Brad Smith Northern Knights 11 [34]
1993 Dean Watson Southern Stingrays 25 [35]
1994 Gary Moorcroft Northern Knights 17 [36]
1995 Paul Hood Geelong Falcons 26 [37]
1996 Nathan Brown Bendigo Pioneers 21 [38]
1997 Derek Murray Murray Bushrangers 20 [39]
1998 Lenny Hayes NSW/ACT Rams 21 [40]
1999 Matthew Stolarczyk Gippsland Power 21 [41]
2000 David Rodan Calder Cannons 25 [42]
2001 David Rodan Calder Cannons 29 [43]
2002 Luke Shackleton Tassie Mariners 22 [44]
2003 Mungara Brown Northern Knights 25 [45]
2004 Matthew Bate Eastern Ranges 21 [46]
2005 Fortunato Caruso Calder Cannons 22 [47]
2006 Fortunato Caruso Calder Cannons 22 [48]
2007 Matthew Kreuzer Northern Knights 19 [49]
2008 Jarryd Blair Gippsland Power 18 [50]
Farran Priest Murray Bushrangers
2009 Anton Woods Northern Knights 24 [51]
2010 Dyson Heppell Gippsland Power 21 [52]
Jackson Sketcher Sandringham Dragons
2011 Alex Benbow Dandenong Stingrays 22 [53]
2012 Nick Graham Gippsland Power 17 [54]
2013 George Cameron Geelong Falcons 17 [55]
Ben Cavarra Eastern Ranges
Jacob Chisari Bendigo Pioneers
Josh Scott Gippsland Power
2014 Alex Carr Gippsland Power 17 [56]
2015 Clayton Oliver Murray Bushrangers 15 [57]
2016 Hugh McCluggage North Ballarat Rebels 16 [58]
2017 Jack Higgins Oakleigh Chargers 22 [59]
2018 Liam Stocker Sandringham Dragons 19 [60]
2019 Lucas Rocci Western Jets 17 [61]
2020 not awarded due to COVID-19 pandemic [62]
2021 Flynn Lakey Calder Cannons 12 [63]
Josh Rentsch Greater Western Victoria Rebels
2022 Taj Campbell-Farrell Dandenong Stingrays 18 [64]
Lachlan Cowan Tasmania Devils
2023 Patrick Hughes Geelong Falcons 18 [65]
Colby McKercher Tasmania Devils
  1. Medal was awarded retrospectively, as a countback rule was applied until 1980.
  2. Medal was adjudged a tie and shared between both players as they could not be split by the countback rule.
  3. Medal was initially adjudged a tie and shared between Bruerton and Dinatale as they could not be split by the countback rule.

Ineligible players who polled the most votes

A player guilty of an offence deemed worthy of a suspension is ineligible to win the Morrish Medal.

Player Team Year Votes Outcome
Daryl Vernon Richmond 1978 19 Suspended; would have been joint winner with McPhie and Simpson, as the trio could not be separated by the countback rule.
Brad Chapman Fitzroy 1990 20 Suspended; would have won outright, beating Robertson and Watson by six votes. Hawthorn's Domenic Berry polled the next highest number of votes (15) and would have otherwise won the award, but he too was suspended throughout the season.[32]

References
  1. "AFL Annual Report 2007" (PDF). Australian Football League. 2008. p. 121. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 December 2021.
  2. "Morrish Medal". AFL.com.au. 14 May 2009. Archived from the original on 14 May 2009. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  3. Grant, Trevor (10 September 1981). "Joint medal". The Age. p. 32.
  4. Crisp, Penny (14 April 1992). "League cool towards coaches' plea on team changes". The Age. p. 36.
  5. "Answers To Correspondents". Football Record. 28 August 1948. p. 18. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  6. "Alford Wins Seconds' Award". The Age. 30 August 1950. p. 24. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  7. "Hawthorn's medal win". The Herald. 22 August 1951. p. 12. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  8. Brown, Alf (20 August 1952). "Best In Thirds". The Herald. p. 18. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  9. "'Best' medal goes to Dick Pratt". The Argus. 19 August 1953. p. 21. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  10. Brown, Alf (18 August 1954). "Medal won by Blues' rover". The Herald. p. 28. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  11. "Morrish Medal to Rasmussen". The Age. 8 August 1956. p. 18.
  12. "North Player Takes Award". The Age. 13 August 1958. p. 20.
  13. "Fitzroy Player Best in Thirds". The Age. 19 August 1959. p. 22.
  14. "Morrish Medal to Johnston". The Age. 23 August 1961. p. 18.
  15. "Arnold Best in Reserves". The Age. 26 August 1964. p. 24.
  16. "Whiskers come before football". Sydney Morning Herald. 21 April 1969. p. 112.
  17. "Fitzroy rover tops poll". The Age. 31 August 1966. p. 18.
  18. "Demon wins U.19 award". The Age. 3 September 1968. p. 24.
  19. "Morrish Medal to Gehling". The Age. 3 September 1969. p. 26.
  20. Carter, Ron (1 September 1970). "Peter Bedford's Brownlow". The Age. p. 32.
  21. Fiddian, Marc (23 June 1979). "Boldness wins the Jones boy". The Age. p. 29.
  22. "Two medals". The Age. 4 September 1980. p. 32.
  23. "Gardiner to Tiger". The Age. 1 September 1981. p. 38.
  24. Carman, Gerry (2 September 1982). "Gardiner to Bomber". The Age. p. 28.
  25. Linnell, Garry (26 September 1983). "Demons top Under 19s". The Age. p. 25.
  26. "Bulldog wins Gardiner". The Age. 4 September 1984. p. 44.
  27. "Hawks share medal". The Age. 3 September 1985. p. 55.
  28. "Bulldog rover Liberatore wins Gardiner Medal". The Age. 2 September 1986. p. 46.
  29. "Morrish to Kangaroo". Football Record. 5 September 1987. p. 5.
  30. Linnell, Garry; Connolly, Rohan (31 August 1988). "Friday is D-day for injured Magpies". The Age. p. 41.
  31. "Morrish". Football Record. 9 September 1989. p. 5.
  32. Johnston, Nicholas (6 September 1990). "Stretch setback worries Demons". The Age. p. 28.
  33. Kogoy, Peter (29 September 1991). "Roos triumph in swansong". Sydney Morning Herald. p. 61.
  34. Browne, Ashley (2 September 1992). "Northern back takes Morrish Medal". The Age. p. 28.
  35. Linnell, Garry; Linnell, Stephen (1 September 1993). "Brewery courts second club". The Age. p. 30.
  36. "Gary wins Morrish Medal". Football Record. 10 September 1994. p. 60.
  37. "Falcon runaway Morrish winner". Football Record. 8 September 1995. p. 60.
  38. Dunn, Adrian (4 September 1996). "Another golden star". Herald Sun. p. 69.
  39. Bresnehan, James (4 September 1997). "Perfect player: Mariner centreman simply has all the answers". The Mercury. p. 42.
  40. Ryan, Melissa (6 September 1998). "Medal win surprises young Ram". The Age. p. 32.
  41. Ryan, Melissa (1 September 1999). "Gippsland rover wins Morrish". The Age. p. 54.
  42. Warner, Michael (9 August 2000). "Fijian snares Morrish prize". Herald Sun. p. 81.
  43. Barry, Evonne (22 September 2001). "Morrish medallist repeats feat". Herald Sun. p. 86.
  44. Stockdale, David (16 September 2002). "Mariner claims Morrish Medal". The Mercury. p. 37.
  45. West, Luke (9 September 2003). "Sylvia lining to medal". Bendigo Advertiser.
  46. Power, Emily (7 September 2004). "Medal win just the draft Bate". Herald Sun. p. 103.
  47. Williams, Rebecca (6 September 2005). "Tiny gun's medal". Herald Sun. p. 91.
  48. Quayle, Emma (12 September 2006). "Un-Fortunato Caruso, the short bloke ignored by AFL". The Age. p. 4.
  49. Quayle, Emma; Walker, Chris (11 September 2007). "Kreuzer stands tall to win Morrish Medal". The Age. p. 5.
  50. Harris, Amelia (15 September 2008). "Heavenly Sunday for young Priest". Herald Sun. p. 53.
  51. Jolly, Laura (23 September 2009). "Woods claims 2009 medal". Whittlesea Leader. p. 46.
  52. Jolly, Laura (13 September 2010). "Umps unable to split this year's Morrish Medal winners". Melbourne Yarra Leader. p. 28.
  53. McGrath, Brad (14 September 2011). "Stingrays' Benbow wins TAC Cup prize". Peninsula Weekly. Metro Media Publishing. p. 44.
  54. Diamond, Brent (10 September 2012). "Gippsland's Graham takes medal: Football". The Age. p. 13.
  55. Wade, Nick (10 September 2013). "By George I've won it". Geelong Advertiser. p. 36.
  56. Twomey, Callum (8 September 2014). "Carr powers home to win Morrish Medal in TAC Cup". afl.com.au. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  57. Twomey, Callum (13 September 2015). "Draft bolter Clayton Oliver clinches Morrish Medal". afl.com.au. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  58. Twomey, Callum (5 September 2016). "Draft prospect McCluggage wins Morrish Medal". afl.com.au. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  59. Olle, Sarah (4 September 2017). "Oakleigh Chargers Jack Higgins firms 2017 draft credentials with Morrish Medal". Fox Sports (Australia). Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  60. Balmer, Matt (2 September 2018). "AFL Draft 2018: Sandringham Dragons' Liam Stocker boosts first round credentials with TAC Cup Morrish Medal". Fox Sports (Australia). Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  61. Balmer, Matt (25 August 2019). "AFL Draft 2019: Western Jets' Lucas Rocci becomes club's first ever Morrish Medal winner". Fox Sports (Australia). Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  62. Twomey, Callum (4 August 2020). "AFL cancels NAB League for 2020". afl.com.au. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  63. Rhodes, Brendan (30 September 2021). "It's a tie: Morrish Medal drama as future stars light up NAB League awards". afl.com.au. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  64. "Cowan, Campbell-Farrell tie for Morrish Medal; Ashcroft named NAB League Boys Team of the Year captain". AFL.com.au. 7 September 2022. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  65. "McKercher and Hughes share Morrish Medal, Howley claims Girls B&F". AFL.com.au. 20 September 2023. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
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