The Leigh Matthews Trophy is an annual award given by the AFL Players Association to the Most Valuable Player in the Australian Football League. It is named in honour of Leigh Matthews, who won the first MVP award in 1982, when the league was still known as the Victorian Football League. The trophy was first awarded in 2002, and all previous VFLPA/AFLPA MVPs were retrospectively given the Matthews Trophy in 2005. It is awarded at a special AFLPA Awards ceremony, televised by Fox Footy Channel in Australia, on the eve of the AFL Grand Final. The AFL Players Association is a body that consists of players and former players in the Australian Football League. ... In sports, a Most Valuable Player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon the best performing player or players on a specific team, in an entire league, or for a particular contest or series of contests. ... This article is about the national league in Australian rules football. ... Leigh R. Matthews (born March 1, 1952) is widely regarded as one of the greatest Australian Rules footballers of all time, playing for Hawthorn in the VFL from 1969 to 1985. ... Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of 1982. ... Results and statistics for the Australian Football League season of 2002. ... Results and statistics for the Australian Football League season of 2005. ... The Australian Football League Players Association Awards are a group of awards given annually to players in the Australian Football League, voted for by all AFL players. ... The FOX Footy Channel was a channel exclusively dedicated to Australian rules football. ...

The voting procedure for the award is:

• At the end of the regular season, each team votes for two players to be considered for election.
• Two weeks into the finals, the AFLPA sends a final ballot to all players throughout the league. Players cannot vote for their own teammates; in fact, the ballots sent to each team are redacted to remove that team's nominees. Each player has one vote for the award. The leading vote-getter receives the trophy.

The award is roughly analogous to the Brownlow Medal, the traditional "best and fairest" award in the league. However, "key-position" players have been more likely to win this award than the Brownlow Medal. For example, Wayne Carey, generally regarded as one of the league's all-time greats, never came close to winning the Brownlow, but won this honour twice. Also, a league disciplinary suspension has never automatically excluded a player from contention for the Matthews Trophy. In 1996, Corey McKernan finished tied in the Brownlow voting with that season's winners James Hird and Michael Voss, but was disqualified from the Brownlow because of a disciplinary suspension. However, McKernan won the AFLPA MVP award that season. The Charles Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal and colloquially as Charlie, is the medal awarded to the best and fairest player in the Australian Football League during the regular season (ie not including finals matches) as decided upon by umpires. ... Best and Fairest is the phrase given to players in the Australian Football League (formerly the VFL) that are adjudged to have played the best during the season without being suspended. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... Results and statistics for the Australian Football League season of 1996. ... Corey McKernan is a former Australian Football player. ... James Albert Hird (born February 4, 1973) is a retired Australian rules footballer and former captain of the Essendon Football Club. ... Michael Voss (born July 7, 1975) is an Australian rules footballer, usually playing midfield or in the forward line for Australian Football League team the Brisbane Lions. ...

Winners

Gary Ablett Junior (born May 14, 1984) is an Australian rules footballer currently playing for the Geelong Cats in the AFL. He is the eldest son of Gary Ablett, who was a champion Australian rules football player at Geelong and Hawthorn between 1982 - 1997. ... Geelong Football Club, nicknamed The Cats, is an Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League with a rich history. ... Christopher Dylan Judd (born 8 September 1983) is a midfielder in the Australian Football League. ... West Coast Eagles Football Club is an Australian rules football club competing in the Australian Football League. ... Benjamin Cousins (born 30 June 1978) is an Australian rules footballer for the West Coast Eagles in the Australian Football League from 1996 to present. ... West Coast Eagles Football Club is an Australian rules football club competing in the Australian Football League. ... Nick Riewoldt (born October 17, 1982) was the captain of the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League for the 2005 season before being replaced by Luke Ball in 2006. ... St Kilda Football Club, nicknamed The Saints, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Auue. ... Michael Voss (born July 7, 1975) is an Australian rules footballer, usually playing midfield or in the forward line for Australian Football League team the Brisbane Lions. ... This article is about the AFL club. ... Luke Darcy (born July 12, 1975) is an Australian rules footballer with the Western Bulldogs. ... Michael Voss (born July 7, 1975) is an Australian rules footballer, usually playing midfield or in the forward line for Australian Football League team the Brisbane Lions. ... The Western Bulldogs, formerly known, and occasionally still referred to, as the Footscray Football Club, is an Australian Football League (AFL) club based at the Whitten Oval in Footscray, an inner western suburb of Melbourne. ... This article is about the AFL club. ... Andrew McLeod (born August 4, 1976) is an Australian rules football player in the Australian Football League of Aboriginal descent, and is number 23 of the Adelaide Crows Football Club. ... The Adelaide Football Club, nicknamed the Crows, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League, based in Adelaide, South Australia. ... Anthony Koutoufides (born January 18, 1973) is a former Australian rules footballer with the Carlton Football Club. ... Carlton Football Club, nicknamed The Blues, is the sixth oldest Australian rules football club and the third oldest club in the Australian Football League. ... Shane Crawford (born September 9, 1974 in Mount Barker, South Australia) is an Australian rules football player for the Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League. ... Hawthorn Football Club, nicknamed The Hawks, are an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League (AFL). ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... The Kangaroos Football Club, is an Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League. ... {{Infobox afl player | firstname = Robert | lastname = Harvey | birthdate = August 21, 1971 ) | birthplace = | originalteam = Seaford | heightweight = 181cm / 84kg | dead = alive | deathdate = | deathplace = | debutdate = Round 19, 6 August 1988 | debutteam = St Kilda | debutopponent = Footscray | debutstadium = Western Oval | playingteams = St Kilda (1988-present) 358 games, 208 goals | coach = notcoach | coachingteams = | statsend = round 21... St Kilda Football Club, nicknamed The Saints, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Auue. ... Corey McKernan is a former Australian Football player. ... The Kangaroos Football Club, is an Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... The Kangaroos Football Club, is an Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League. ... Greg Diesel Williams (born September 30, 1963) was a former champion Australian rules footballer with the Sydney Swans, Geelong Football Club and the Carlton Football Club. ... Carlton Football Club, nicknamed The Blues, is the sixth oldest Australian rules football club and the third oldest club in the Australian Football League. ... For his son of the same name, see Gary Ablett, Jr. ... Geelong Football Club, nicknamed The Cats, is an Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League with a rich history. ... Jason Dunstall (born in Brisbane, Queensland on August 14, 1964), is a former Australian rules football player for the Hawthorn Football Club of the AFL. He was widely regarded as one of the greatest full-forwards and the greatest Queensland born player of all time. ... Hawthorn Football Club, nicknamed The Hawks, are an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League (AFL). ... Jim Stynes (born April 23, 1966) is an Irish Australian rules football player. ... Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Demons, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League, based in Melbourne, Victoria. ... // Quick Summary Darren Pants Millane (born 9 August 1965, died 7 October 1991) played Australian rules football in the VFL/AFL for the Collingwood Football Club between 1984 and 1991, before his life was tragically cut short after he was involved in a car accident with a truck. ... Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League. ... Timothy Michael Watson (born July 13, 1961) is a former Australian rules footballer with the Essendon Football Club, a coach of the St Kilda Football Club, and now a media personality. ... Essendon Football Club, nicknamed The Bombers, is an Australian rules football club that is part of the Australian Football League. ... Gerard Healy, (born 1 March 1961) is a former Australian rules footballer and commentator. ... Sydney Swans is an Australian Football League (AFL) club based in Sydney, New South Wales. ... This article is about the Australian rules football player nicknamed Plugger. ... St Kilda Football Club, nicknamed The Saints, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Auue. ... Paul Roos Paul Roos is a player and coach in the Australian Football League. ... Fitzroy Football Club, most recently nicknamed The Lions, was an Australian rules football club formed in 1883 to represent the inner Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy, Victoria and was a foundation member club of the Victorian Football League (now the Australian Football League) on its inception in 1897. ... Greg Diesel Williams (born September 30, 1963) was a former champion Australian rules footballer with the Sydney Swans, Geelong Football Club and the Carlton Football Club. ... Geelong Football Club, nicknamed The Cats, is an Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League with a rich history. ... Russell Greene (born May 30, 1957) is a former Australian rules footballer and member of the prestigous 300 game club. ... Hawthorn Football Club, nicknamed The Hawks, are an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League (AFL). ... Nicknamed T.D he was the first of four brothers to play for Essendon. ... Essendon Football Club, nicknamed The Bombers, is an Australian rules football club that is part of the Australian Football League. ... Leigh R. Matthews (born March 1, 1952) is widely regarded as one of the greatest Australian Rules footballers of all time, playing for Hawthorn in the VFL from 1969 to 1985. ... Hawthorn Football Club, nicknamed The Hawks, are an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League (AFL). ...

External link

• Official overview of AFLPA awards