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.
History The Morrish Medal was first inaugurated in 1947, the year after the formation of the Victorian Football League's thirds competition. 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. 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 in that new competition.
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. 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.
Winners by season YearPlayerClubVotesRef.1947194822194919502319511519521719532319542019551819561719573019581719591619601961151962196319641819651966161967171968251969171970251971211972231973201974221975197620197720197819197930198019813719821719831719842219852519862119871719882119891819901419911992Northern Knights111993Southern Stingrays251994Northern Knights171995Geelong Falcons261996Bendigo Pioneers211997Murray Bushrangers201998NSW/ACT Rams211999Gippsland Power212000Calder Cannons252001Calder Cannons292002Tassie Mariners222003Northern Knights252004Eastern Ranges212005Calder Cannons222006Calder Cannons222007Northern Knights192008Gippsland Power18Murray Bushrangers2009Northern Knights242010Gippsland Power21Sandringham Dragons2011Dandenong Stingrays222012Gippsland Power172013Geelong Falcons17Eastern RangesBendigo PioneersGippsland Power2014Gippsland Power172015Murray Bushrangers152016North Ballarat Rebels162017Oakleigh Chargers222018Sandringham Dragons192019Western Jets172020not awarded due to COVID-19 pandemic2021Calder Cannons12Greater Western Victoria Rebels2022Dandenong Stingrays18Tasmania Devils2023Geelong Falcons18Tasmania Devils2024Gippsland Power212025Gippsland Power20https://www.afl.com.au/news/1422043/atkins-bown-take-out-coates-talent-league-top-honours 2026Northern Knights23
Ineligible players who polled more votes than winner A player guilty of an offence deemed worthy of a suspension is ineligible to win the Morrish Medal.
PlayerClubYearVotesOutcomeDaryl Vernon197819Suspended; would have been joint winner with McPhie and Simpson, as the trio could not be separated by the countback rule.Brad Chapman199020Suspended; would have won outright, beating Robertson and Watson by six votes.Domenic Berry15Polled second-highest number of votes and would have won had he not been suspended. References