The Phelan Medal is an annual award given in the Sydney AFL. It is awarded to best and fairest player of the Premier Division competition each year and is named after former NSW League official James (Jim) E. Phelan (1860–1939). It is seen to be the Sydney AFL equivalent to the Brownlow Medal.
The best and fairest player in the Sydney League was first presented an unnamed award in 1926. In 1932, Mr Aub D.S. Provan, the NSW Australian National Football League president donated a trophy titled the "Provan Trophy" to the winner.[1] The name was changed to the Phelan Medal in 1937.[2]
Due to the cancellation of the 2021 AFL Sydney season due to the COVID-19 outbreak across Greater Sydney, the medal was not awarded in 2021.[3]
| 1926 | Bobby Powers | Sydney | 0 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1927 | Gordon Knott | Western Suburbs | 0 |
| 1928 | Billy McKoy (1) | Sydney | 0 |
| 1929 | Billy McKoy (2) | Sydney | 0 |
| 1930 | David Elliman | North Shore | 0 |
| 1931 | George Jenner | St George | 0 |
| 1932 | Len Harris | St George | 0 |
| 1933 | Jack Williamson (1) | Eastern Suburbs | 0 |
| 1934 | Frank Smith | South Sydney | 0 |
| 1935 | Jack Williamson (2) | Eastern Suburbs | 0 |
| 1936 | Reg Garvin | Newtown | 0 |
| 1937 | Jack Williamson (3) | Eastern Suburbs | 0 |
| 1938 | Jack Williamson (4) | Eastern Suburbs | 0 |
| 1939 | Jack Guthrie | North Shore | 23 |
| 1940 | Cliff Barnsley (1) | Sydney | 37 |
| 1941 | Cliff Barnsley (2) | Sydney | 27 |
| 1942 | Not Awarded | ||
| 1943 | |||
| 1944 | |||
| 1945 | |||
| 1946 | Billy Cottis | Newtown | 5 |
| 1947 | Ken Champion (1) | North Shore | 0 |
| 1948 | Ken Champion (2) | Western Suburbs | 21 |
| 1949 | Ken Gilbert (1) | Illawarra | 0 |
| 1950 | Ken Gilbert (2) | Illawarra | 0 |
| 1951 | John Hardy | North Shore | 34 |
| 1952 | Frank Gascoigne | South Sydney | 23 |
| 1953 | Geoff Davidson | Sydney University | 28 |
| 1954 | Wally Bryce (1) | Liverpool | 19 |
| 1955 | Wally Bryce (2) | Liverpool | 20 |
| 1956 | Ray Moore | Balmain | 0 |
| 1957 | Colin Waller | Liverpool | 17 |
| 1958 | Kevin Batchelor | South Sydney | 0 |
| 1959 | Ralph Turner (1) | South Sydney | 37 |
| 1960 | Tony Whish-Wilson | Bankstown | 20 |
| 1961 | Ralph Turner (2) | Sydney Naval | 24 |
| 1962 | Arthur Crisp | North Shore | 3 |
| 1963 | Ray Sharrock | Western Suburbs | 0 |
| 1964 | Ray Gwilliam | South Sydney | 24 |
| 1965 | Noel Reading | St George | 15 |
| 1966 | Norm Tuxford | Sydney Naval | 20 |
| 1967 | Peter Body | Sydney Naval | 21 |
| 1968 | Graham Hodge | Southern Districts | 15 |
| 1969 | Brian Tyler (1) | Eastern Suburbs | 22 |
| 1970 | Bob Mcdonald | Balmain | 21 |
| 1971 | Noel Stewart | Southern Districts | 22 |
| 1972 | Paul Bouchier | Newtown | 23 |
| 1973 | George Allen (1) | Western Suburbs | 22 |
| 1974 | Brian Tyler (2) | South Sydney | 20 |
| 1975 | George Allen (2) | Western Suburbs | 30 |
| 1976 | Max Hodgson | Balmain | 29 |
| 1977 | Dale Dalton | St George | 21 |
| 1978 | Jack McCormick | Southern Districts | 26 |
| 1979 | Rob Claridge | East Sydney | 21 |
| 1980 | John Pilkington (1) | Newtown | 20 |
| 1981 | Laurie Axford | East Sydney | 23 |
| 1982 | John Pilkington (2) | Newtown | 19 |
| 1983 | Michael Toy | 16 | |
| Rod Podbury (1) | Bankstown | ||
| 1984 | Graham Jones (1) | Western Suburbs | 15 |
| 1985 | Frank Gleeson | Balmain | 24 |
| 1986 | Rod Podbury (2) | 16 | |
| 1987 | Rod Podbury (3) | 18 | |
| 1988 | Garry Spillane | 21 | |
| 1989 | Michael Porta | Holroyd-Parramatta | 19 |
| 1990 | Michael Davis | Sydney University | 17 |
| Rod Podbury (4) | |||
| 1991 | David West | St George | 22 |
| 1992 | Darren Oates | St George | 19 |
| Lee Campbell | |||
| 1993 | Tony Quinn | St George | 20 |
| 1994 | Chris O'Dwyer | East Sydney | 28 |
| 1995 | Graham Jones (2) | Baulkham Hills | 22 |
| 1996 | Joe Cormack | Western Suburbs | 21 |
| 1997 | Simon Wilson | St George | 16 |
| 1998 | Jarrod Crosby | Baulkham Hills | 22 |
| 1999 | Trevor Burnett | 34 | |
| 2000 | Mark Mackenzie | Balmain | 19 |
| 2001 | Jason McPherson | UNSW-ES | 16 |
| 2002 | Troy Luff (1) | Balmain | 20 |
| 2003 | Jason Turner | 15 | |
| 2004 | Stephen Pech | UNSW-ES | 19 |
| 2005 | Dean Davies | North Shore | 22 |
| 2006 | Troy Luff (2) | UNSW-ES | 21 |
| 2007 | Charlie Richardson | 16 | |
| 2008 | Matt Carey | 17 | |
| 2009 | Brydon Coles | Sydney University | 19 |
| 2010 | Alex Lee | Sydney University | 19 |
| 2011 | Kieran Wright | 20 | |
| 2012 | Dane Rampe | UNSW-ES | 26 |
| 2013 | Tyrone Armitage | Manly Warringah | 23 |
| 2014 | Alex Goodall | 28 | |
| 2015 | Connor Pettersson | Manly Warringah | 24 |
| 2016 | Jack Dimery | East Coast Eagles | 17 |
| 2017 | Shaun Crane (1) | North Shore | 15 |
| 2018 | Shaun Crane (2) | North Shore | 29 |
| 2019 | Ranga Ediriwickrama | Pennant Hills | 16 |
| 2020 | Jake Bartholomeaus | Sydney University | 16 |
| 2021 | Not Awarded[4] | ||
| 2022 | Noah Casalini | St George | 11 |
| Mitchell Conn | UNSW-ES | ||
| Jake Veale | North Shore | ||
| Stephen Wray | Pennant Hills | ||
| 2023 | Harry Maguire | Pennant Hills | 18 |
| Ned Campbell | North Shore | ||
| Kale Gabila | Manly Warringah | ||
The following players have won the Phelan Medal multiple times.
| Medals | Player | Team | Seasons |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 1933, 1935, 1937, 1938 | ||
| Rod Podbury | 1983, 1986, 1987, 1990 | ||
| 2 | Billy McKoy | Sydney | 1928, 1929 |
| Cliff Barnsley | Sydney | 1940, 1941 | |
| Ken Champion | North Shore/Western Suburbs | 1947, 1948 | |
| Wally Bryce | Liverpool | 1954, 1955 | |
| Ralph Turner | South Sydney/Sydney Naval | 1959, 1961 | |
| Brian Tyler | Eastern Suburbs/South Sydney | 1969, 1974 | |
| George Allen | Western Suburbs | 1973, 1975 | |
| John Pilkington | Newtown | 1980, 1982 | |
| Graham Jones | Western Suburbs/Baulkham Hills | 1984, 1995 | |
| Troy Luff | Balmain /UNSW-ES | 2002, 2006 | |
| Shaun Crane | North Shore | 2017, 2018 |
| Club | Total Wins | Years | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Balmain | 6 | 1956, 1970, 1976, 1985, 2000, 2002 | |
| Bankstown | 2 | 1960, 1983 | |
| Baulkham Hills/East Coast Eagles | 3 | 1995, 1998, 2016 | |
| Campbelltown | 6 | 1986, 1987, 1990, 1992, 1999, 2003 | |
| East Sydney/Eastern Suburbs/UNSW-ES | 13 | 1933, 1935, 1937, 1938, 1969, 1979, 1981, 1994, 2001, 2004, 2006, 2012, 2022 | |
| Holroyd-Parramatta | 1 | 1989 | |
| Illawarra | 2 | 1949, 1950 | |
| Liverpool/Southern Districts | 6 | 1954, 1955, 1957, 1968, 1971, 1978 | |
| Manly Warringah | 3 | 2013, 2015, 2023 | |
| Newtown | 5 | 1936, 1946, 1972, 1980, 1982 | |
| North Shore | 10 | 1930, 1939, 1947, 1951, 1962, 2005, 2017, 2018, 2022, 2023 | |
| 9 | 1983, 1988, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2014, 2019, 2022, 2023 | ||
| South Sydney | 6 | 1934, 1952, 1958, 1959, 1964, 1974 | |
| St George | 9 | 1931, 1932, 1965, 1977, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1997, 2022 | |
| Sydney | 5 | 1926, 1928, 1929, 1940, 1941 | |
| Sydney Naval | 3 | 1961, 1966, 1967 | |
| Sydney University | 5 | 1953, 1990, 2009, 2010, 2020 | |
| Western Suburbs/Inner-West | 7 | 1927, 1948, 1963, 1973, 1975, 1984, 1996 |