The AFL Players Association (AFLPA) 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.
The AFLPA nominates the following as their main awards.
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 (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.
In the AFL Women's, it has been awarded since the inaugural season in 2017. Erin Phillips is the only player to have won the award more than once, claiming it in 2017 and 2019.
VFL/AFL (Leigh Matthews Trophy)
See main article: Leigh Matthews Trophy.
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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 (S6).
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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.[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.
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 Irish convert Eilish Sheerin won the award in 2022 (S7) at the age of 30.
AFL
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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 (with six wins), 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 five times (in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022 (S7)), the most of any player.
VFL/AFL (Robert Rose Award)
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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.
| Season | Player | Club |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | ||
| Dean Rioli[4] | Essendon | |
| 2002 | ||
| 2003 | ||
| 2004 | ||
| 2005 | ||
| 2006 | ||
| 2007 | ||
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.
| Year | Winner | Nominated work | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | (The Age) | ||
| 2000 | (Herald Sun) | ||
| 2001 | (The Age) | ||
| 2002 | (Herald Sun) | "The importance of being honest", newspaper article on Essendon's Dean Rioli | |
| 2003 | (Herald Sun) | "Search for Cole comfort", newspaper article on Collingwood's Richard Cole | |
| 2004 | (The Australian) | ||
| 2005 | (Herald Sun) | ||
| 2006 | (Fox Footy Channel) | Headliners: The Peter Crimmins Story, two-part television documentary series on late Hawthorn champion Peter Crimmins | |
| 2007 | (The Age) | ||
| 2008 | (Herald Sun) | "Champ tells how he beat the odds", newspaper article on Adelaide midfielder Simon Goodwin's gambling addiction | |
| 2009 | (The Age) | "A street named desire", newspaper article on then draft hopefuls Chris Yarran, Michael Walters and Nic Naitanui | |
| 2010 | (Herald Sun) | "'I cried for hours'", newspaper article on Geelong forward Mathew Stokes' battle with drugs | |
| 2011 | (Herald Sun) | "The tyranny of distance" / "The red centre's angry boys", two-part newspaper article on the plight of Indigenous footballers | |
| 2012 | (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 | Saturday Night Footy (Seven Sport) |
| |
| 2014 | (The Age) | "On a wing and a prayer with footy's faithful", newspaper article on the professional footballers who regularly practice religion | |
| 2015 | Sons of the West, five-part web documentary series on Robert Murphy and the Western Bulldogs' 2015 season | ||
| 2016 | (The Age) | "'I needed to see what else was in the world'", newspaper article on Essendon forward Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti | |
| 2017 | Fyfe, six-part television documentary series on Fremantle midfielder Nat Fyfe's return from injury | ||
| 2018 | (Fox Footy) | On the Mark with Hugh Greenwood, television feature piece on Adelaide midfielder Hugh Greenwood's ill mother | |
| 2019 | (The Age) | "A feast of footy, family and religion", newspaper article on Essendon defender Adam Saad's practice of religion | |
| 2020 | (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 | |
| 2021 | (The Advertiser)[5] | "It's a journey of discovery for us", newspaper article on North Melbourne players Kaitlyn Ashmore and Mia King's discovery of their Indigenous heritage | |
| 2022 | Thursday Night Football (Seven Sport)[6] | Interview with Carlton player Sam Docherty on his return to football after having cancer | |
| 2023 | (AFL Media)[7] | "'I'm a better mum because of it': Inside Garing's return to footy", web article on Geelong player Renee Garing's return to football after giving birth |
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.
AFL
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| 2022[23] | ||
| 2023[24] | ||
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| 2022 |
See main article: 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 (AFL) or 21 (AFL Women's) 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 (including finals). 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.
Awarded annually to young aspiring non-AFL players, attempting to help them balance external study and training with football training.