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Magarey Medal

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Magarey Medal
The Magarey Medal, currently produced by Evright.
Awarded forThe best and fairest player in the South Australian National Football League
LocationAdelaide Oval
CountryAustralia
Presented bySANFL
First awarded1898; 126 years ago (1898)
Currently held byHarry Boyd Norwood Will Snelling Sturt (2024)

The Magarey Medal is an Australian rules football honour awarded annually since 1898 to the fairest and most brilliant player in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL), as judged by field umpires. The award was created by William Ashley Magarey, then chairman of the league. The current recipients are Harry Boyd from the Norwood Football Club and Will Snelling from the Sturt Football Club.

History

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William Magarey was born in Adelaide, South Australia. A lawyer by vocation, he had an enduring interest in sports, although he did not play football. He was, however, an active sports administrator who, in 1897, became the inaugural Chairman of the South Australian Football Association (later renamed the SANFL). The sport at that time was known for often rough play, and Magarey wanted to help combat this, and help gain more respect for umpires.

In 1898 Magarey presented the first Medal to South Australia’s "fairest and most brilliant player" of that season. Similar best and fairest player awards followed in other state-based competitions, notably the Sandover Medal in Western Australia from 1921 and Brownlow Medal in Victoria from 1924.

The Magarey Medal has been awarded in every year of SANFL competition since 1898, with the exception of 1900, 1904 (no record being extant), when the competition was suspended due to war 1916-1918, and when a restricted competition was held during the war period of 1942-1944.

After each match, the three field umpires (those umpires who control the flow of the game) confer and award 3, 2 and 1 point(s) to the players they regard as the best, second best and third best during the match. Players suspended for a reportable offence during the season are ineligible to win the award though they can continue gaining votes leading to times when an ineligible player would poll the most votes in the medal count but not win the medal. This occurred in 1912, 1968, 1983 and 1987 (see table below).

In the 1990s the awarding of the medal was changed so that players tied on the most votes would share the medal. Prior to this, a countback system was used, whereby the player with the most "best on ground" performances would be awarded the medal. In 1998, ten players who had finished runner-up over prior years owing to the countback rule were retrospectively awarded the Magarey Medal. A single design for the medal was used after this.

Recipients

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The first recipient of the Magarey Medal was Norwood’s Alby Green in 1898.

Year Player Team Votes
1898 Alby Green Norwood none
1899 Stan Malin Port Adelaide none
1900 No Award
1901 Phil Sandland North Adelaide none
1902 Tom MacKenzie West Torrens none
1903 Hendrick Waye Sturt none
1904 No Award
1905 Tom MacKenzie North Adelaide none
1906 Tom MacKenzie North Adelaide none
1907 Jack Mack Port Adelaide none
1908 James Tierney West Adelaide none
1909 Richard Head West Adelaide none
1910 Sampson Hosking Port Adelaide none
1911 Harold Cumberland Sturt none
1912 Dave Low West Torrens none****
1913 Tom Leahy North Adelaide none
1914 Jack Ashley Port Adelaide *
1915 Frank Barry South Adelaide *
Charlie Perry Norwood *
Sampson Hosking Port Adelaide *
Play suspended due to WWI
1919 Dan Moriarty South Adelaide *
1920 Vic Richardson Sturt *
Dan Moriarty South Adelaide *
1921 John Karney West Torrens 5*
Charlie Adams Port Adelaide 5*
Dan Moriarty South Adelaide 5*
Wat Scott Norwood 5*
1922 Robert Barnes West Adelaide 8*
1923 Horrie Riley Sturt *
1924 Wat Scott Norwood *
1925 Alick Lill Norwood 34***
Peter Bampton Port Adelaide 34***
1926 Bruce McGregor West Adelaide ***
1927 Bruce McGregor West Adelaide ***
1928 Jim Handby Glenelg ***
1929 Robert Snell West Adelaide 48***
1930 Wat Scott Norwood 53***
1931 Jack Sexton West Adelaide 44***
1932 Max Pontifex West Torrens 37***
1933 Keith Dunn Sturt 31***
1934 George Johnston Glenelg 46***
1935 Jack Cockburn South Adelaide 42***
1936 Bill McCallum Norwood 31***
1937 Harold Hawke North Adelaide 37***
1938 Bob Quinn Port Adelaide 32***
1939 Jeff Pash North Adelaide 16***
Ray McArthur West Adelaide 16***
1940 Mel Brock Glenelg 19***
1941 Marcus Boyall Glenelg 25***
Play suspended due to WWII
1945 Bob Quinn Port Adelaide 46***
1946 Bob Hank West Torrens 23***
1947 Bob Hank West Torrens 26***
1948 Ron Phillips North Adelaide 15
1949 Ron Phillips North Adelaide 18
Allan Crabb Glenelg 18
1950 Ian McKay North Adelaide 20
1951 John Marriott Norwood 33
1952 Len Fitzgerald Sturt 25
1953 Jim Deane South Adelaide 26
1954 Len Fitzgerald Sturt 22
1955 Lindsay Head West Torrens 20
1956 Dave Boyd Port Adelaide 18
1957 Ron Benton West Adelaide 16
Jim Deane South Adelaide 16
1958 Lindsay Head West Torrens 20
1959 Len Fitzgerald Sturt 18
1960 Barrie Barbary North Adelaide 24
1961 John Halbert Sturt 20
1962 Ken Eustice West Adelaide 22
1963 Lindsay Head West Torrens 26
1964 Geof Motley Port Adelaide 26
1965 Gary Window Central District 16
1966 Ron Kneebone Norwood 22
1967 Trevor Obst Port Adelaide 18
Don Lindner North Adelaide 18
1968 Barrie Robran**** North Adelaide 22
1969 Fred Phillis Glenelg 18
1970 Barrie Robran North Adelaide 24
1971 Russell Ebert Port Adelaide 21
1972 Malcolm Blight Woodville 21
1973 Barrie Robran North Adelaide 29
1974 Russell Ebert Port Adelaide 28
1975 Peter Woite Port Adelaide 20
1976 Russell Ebert Port Adelaide 42
1977 Trevor Grimwood West Adelaide 32
1978 Kym Hodgeman Glenelg 50**
1979 John Duckworth Central District 44**
1980 Russell Ebert Port Adelaide 49**
1981 Michael Aish Norwood 44**
1982 Tony McGuinness Glenelg 44**
1983 Tony Antrobus**** North Adelaide 35**
1984 John Platten Central District 66**
1985 Grantley Fielke West Adelaide 54**
1986 Greg Anderson Port Adelaide 23
1987 Andrew Jarman**** North Adelaide 23
1988 Greg Whittlesea Sturt 28
1989 Gilbert McAdam Central District 23
1990 Scott Hodges Port Adelaide 16
First AFL Season.
1991 Mark Naley South Adelaide 29
1992 Nathan Buckley Port Adelaide 27
1993 Brenton Phillips North Adelaide 20
1994 Garry McIntosh Norwood 22
1995 Glenn Kilpatrick West Adelaide 17
Garry McIntosh Norwood 17
1996 Josh Francou North Adelaide 26
1997 Brodie Atkinson Sturt 23
Andrew Jarman Norwood 23
1998 Andrew Osborn South Adelaide 16
1999 Damian Squire Sturt 21
2000 Damian Squire Sturt 21
2001 Tony Brown Port Adelaide 19
Ryan O'Connor Port Adelaide 19
2002 Tim Weatherald Sturt 16
Jade Sheedy Sturt 16
2003 Brett Ebert Port Adelaide 25
2004 Paul Thomas Central District 22
2005 Jeremy Clayton Port Adelaide 24
2006 Brett Backwell Glenelg 26
2007 James Allan North Adelaide 19
2008 Luke Crane Sturt 22
2009 James Ezard West Adelaide 18
Rhys Archard North Adelaide 18
2010 James Allan North Adelaide 22
2011 James Allan North Adelaide 25
2012 Joel Cross**** South Adelaide 18
Brad Symes**** Central District 18
2013 Matt Thomas Norwood 26
2014 Zane Kirkwood Sturt 29
2015 Joel Cross South Adelaide 25
2016 Zane Kirkwood Sturt 24
2017 Mitch Grigg Norwood 23
2018 Mitch Grigg Norwood 26
2019 Luke Partington Glenelg 26
2020 Campbell Combe North Adelaide 19
2021 Bryce Gibbs South Adelaide 21
James Tsitas Woodville-West Torrens 21
2022 Aaron Young North Adelaide 23
2023 Harry Grant Central District 27
2024 Harry Boyd Norwood 34
Will Snelling Sturt 34
  • (*) signifies that 1 vote was awarded by one umpire each game.
  • (**) signifies two umpires each awarded 3,2,1 votes each game.
  • (***) signifies one umpire awarded 5,3,1 votes each game.[1][better source needed]
  • Those without an asterisk signify a maximum of 3 votes awarded each game along with 2 and 1.
  • (****) Players who polled the most votes but were ineligible due to suspension: Peter Darley (1968, tied for first); Stephen Kernahan (1983, 44 votes); Garry McIntosh (1987, 25 votes); James Boyd (2012, 26 votes).[2] In 1912 votes were not awarded; Harold Oliver was unanimously considered the competitions best player, but was declared ineligible for the award due to a fight with Ed Edwards of Norwood.[3]

Multiple recipients

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The following players have been multiple recipients of the medal.

Years Player Team
Quadruple winner
1971, 1974, 1976, 1980 R Ebert Port Adelaide
Triple winners
1902, 1905, 1906 T D MacKenzie West Torrens / North Adelaide
1921, 1924, 1930 W Scott Norwood
1919, 1920, 1921 D Moriarty South Adelaide
1952, 1954, 1959 L C Fitzgerald Sturt
1955, 1958, 1963 L H Head West Torrens
1968, 1970, 1973 B C Robran North Adelaide
2007, 2010, 2011 J Allan North Adelaide
Double winners
1910, 1915 S Hosking Port Adelaide
1926, 1927 H B McGregor West Adelaide
1938, 1945 R B Quinn Port Adelaide
1946, 1947 R W Hank West Torrens
1948, 1949 H R Phillips North Adelaide
1953, 1957 J Deane South Adelaide
1994, 1995 G McIntosh Norwood
1987, 1997 A N Jarman North Adelaide / Norwood
1999, 2000 D Squire Sturt
2012, 2015 J Cross South Adelaide
2014, 2016 Z Kirkwood Sturt
2017, 2018 M Grigg Norwood

Malcolm Blight (1972), John Platten (1984) and Nathan Buckley (1992) are Magarey Medallists who subsequently won a Brownlow Medal as best and fairest players in AFL/VFL competition.

References

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  1. ^ Big Footy Forum
  2. ^ SA Football Video Archive and Trading Post
  3. ^ "CHAMPION FOOTBALLERS". The Register (Adelaide). South Australia. 5 October 1912. p. 15. Retrieved 24 January 2020 – via Trove.
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