The AFL Players Association (AFLPA) awards are a group of awards given annually to players in the Australian Football League, voted for by all AFL players.
The AFLPA nominates the following four awards as their main awards.
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Main article: Leigh Matthews Trophy |
The Leigh Matthews Trophy 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 (voted for by umpires), and a variety of media-sponsored MVP awards. Gary Ablett, Jr. (2007–09, 2012–13) is the only player to win the award five times. Greg Williams (1985, 1994), Wayne Carey (1995, 1998), Michael Voss (2002, 2003), Chris Judd (2006, 2011) and Nat Fyfe (2014, 2015) have won the award twice.
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 2001–2004, the most of any player.
Awarded annually since 1998, the Best First-Year Player award is awarded to the best adjudged player who is in his first year on an AFL list.[1] 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.[2] 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.
| Year | Player[3] | Club |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Nick Stevens | Port Adelaide |
| 1999 | Adam Goodes | Sydney |
| 2000 | Paul Hasleby | Fremantle |
| 2001 | Daniel Kerr | West Coast |
| 2002 | Chris Judd | West Coast |
| 2003 | Daniel Wells | Kangaroos |
| 2004 | Aaron Davey | Melbourne |
| 2005 | Brett Deledio | Richmond |
| 2006 | Marc Murphy | Carlton |
| 2007 | Joel Selwood | Geelong |
| 2008 | Rhys Palmer | Fremantle |
| 2009 | Daniel Rich | Brisbane Lions |
| 2010 | Michael Barlow | Fremantle |
| 2011 | Dyson Heppell | Essendon |
| 2012 | Jeremy Cameron | Greater Western Sydney |
| 2013 | Jaeger O'Meara | Gold Coast |
| 2014 | Marcus Bontempelli | Western Bulldogs |
| 2015 | Isaac Heeney | Sydney |
| 2016 | Callum Mills | Sydney |
| 2017 | Andrew McGrath | Essendon |
| 2018 | Tim Kelly | Geelong |
| 2019 | Sam Walsh | Carlton |
| 2020 | Caleb Serong | Fremantle |
| 2021 | Errol Gulden | Sydney |
| 2022 | Nick Daicos | Collingwood |
Awarded annually since 1991 to the most courageous player in the league. Glenn Archer has won the award most often (with six wins), while Paul Kelly won it five times, including four consecutively from 1994–1997. 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 2012–2014.
The following awards are also currently or have previously been presented by the AFLPA.
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.
| Year | Player | Club |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Adam Goodes | Sydney |
| Dean Rioli[4] | Essendon | |
| 2002 | Leon Davis | Collingwood |
| 2003 | Graham Johncock | Adelaide |
| 2004 | Daniel Wells | Kangaroos |
| 2005 | Aaron Davey | Melbourne |
| 2006 | Danyle Pearce | Port Adelaide |
| 2007 | Lance Franklin | Hawthorn |
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 are eligible for this award.
The award was created in honour and memory of the late Grant Hattam, who was a leading sports and media lawyer.
| Year | Winner | Nominated work |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Caroline Wilson (The Age) | |
| 2000 | Mark Robinson (Herald Sun) | |
| 2001 | Jake Niall (The Age) | |
| 2002 | Mark Robinson (Herald Sun) | "The importance of being honest", newspaper article on Essendon's Dean Rioli |
| 2003 | Michael Gleeson (Herald Sun) | "Search for Cole comfort", newspaper article on Collingwood's Richard Cole |
| 2004 | Michael Davis (The Australian) | |
| 2005 | Jon Ralph (Herald Sun) | |
| 2006 | Jason Bennett (Fox Footy Channel) | Headliners: The Peter Crimmins Story, two-part television documentary series on late Hawthorn champion Peter Crimmins |
| 2007 | Samantha Lane (The Age) | |
| 2008 | Mike Sheahan (Herald Sun) | "Champ tells how he beat the odds", newspaper article on Adelaide midfielder Simon Goodwin's gambling addiction |
| 2009 | Emma Quayle (The Age) | "A street named desire", newspaper article on then draft hopefuls Chris Yarran, Michael Walters and Nic Naitanui |
| 2010 | Scott Gullan (Herald Sun) | "'I cried for hours'", newspaper article on Geelong forward Mathew Stokes' battle with drugs |
| 2011 | Sam Edmund (Herald Sun) | "The tyranny of distance" / "The red centre's angry boys", two-part newspaper article on the plight of Indigenous footballers |
| 2012 | Emma Quayle (The Age) | "Short stories", newspaper article on the careers of Collingwood's Tom Hunter, St Kilda's Jarryd Allen and Essendon's Darcy Daniher |
| 2013 | Chris Jones, Richard Hughes & Seven Network | #Discovered: Jeremy Cameron, television feature piece on a day in the life of Greater Western Sydney forward Jeremy Cameron |
| 2014 | Michael Gleeson (The Age) | "On a wing and a prayer with footy's faithful", newspaper article on the professional footballers who regularly practice religion |
| 2015 | Adrian Brown & Western Bulldogs | Sons of the West, five-part web documentary series on Robert Murphy and the Western Bulldogs' 2015 season |
| 2016 | Emma Quayle (The Age) | "'I needed to see what else was in the world'", newspaper article on Essendon forward Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti |
| 2017 | Fox Footy | Fyfe, six-part television documentary series on Fremantle midfielder Nat Fyfe's return from injury |
| 2018 | Neroli Meadows (Fox Footy) | On the Mark with Hugh Greenwood, television feature piece on Adelaide midfielder Hugh Greenwood's ill mother |
| 2019 | Michael Gleeson (The Age) | "A feast of footy, family and religion", newspaper article on Essendon defender Adam Saad's practice of religion |
| 2020 | Russell Jackson (ABC News) | "The persecution of Robert Muir is the story football doesn't want to hear", web article on the racial abuse and mistreatment of former St Kilda midfielder Robbie Muir |
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. Since 2017, the award has been presented to a winner from both the male Australian Football League competition, and the female AFL Women's competition.
Awarded annually to young aspiring non-AFL players, attempting to help them balance external study and training with football training.