J. J. Liston Trophy
| J. J. Liston Trophy | |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | The fairest and best player in the Victorian Football League |
| Country | Australia |
| Presented by | VFL |
| First awarded | 1945 |
| Last awarded | Ongoing |
| Currently held by | Michael Gibbons |
| J. Field Medal | |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | The fairest and best player in the VFA Second Division |
| Country | Australia |
| Presented by | VFA |
| First awarded | 1961 |
| Last awarded | 1988 |
The J. J. Liston Trophy is awarded annually to the best and fairest senior player in the Victorian Football League (formerly the Victorian Football Association).
The first award for the Association best and fairest player was the Woodham Cup, named after North Melbourne committeeman Alf Woodham, which was first awarded in 1923. The Woodham Cup was renamed the Recorder Cup, named after the Association's official match-day publication, in 1926. Starting from 1933, a second award, the V.F.A. Medal (or Association Medal), was awarded concurrently. From 1933 until 1939, both the Recorder Cup and the V.F.A. Medal were presented annually based on the votes of the umpires; but the two awards were given based on different voting systems.
The two best and fairest awards were combined into one in 1940, when the Association dispensed with the Recorder Cup voting system; in 1940 and 1941, both the V.F.A. Medal and the Recorder Cup were awarded as trophies to the same player based on the same set of votes. The Association went into recess from 1942 until 1944 during World War II; upon resumption in 1945, and continuously since, the winning player has received one trophy, the J. J. Liston Trophy, named after long-term Association president John James Liston, who died in 1944.
From 1961 until 1988, when the Association operated in two divisions, the Liston Trophy was awarded to the best and fairest in Division 1. A separate award, known as the J. Field Medal, was awarded for the second division.
The current voting system for the J. J. Liston Trophy is the same as for the Australian Football League's Brownlow Medal. At the conclusion of each game, the field umpires confer, and award three votes to the player deemed best on ground, two votes to the player deemed second-best on ground, and one vote to the player deemed third best on ground. A player is ineligible to win the award if he is suspended for a reportable offence during the season. If more than one player ties for the highest number of votes, each is awarded a Liston Trophy jointly.
Initial voting rules for the Woodham and Recorder cups, used from 1924 until 1932, saw the field umpire award two votes in each game: one to the best player on each team; the player with the most votes at the end of the season won the cup. This was amended in 1933, such that the umpire awarded a single vote to the overall best player on the ground; this voting system was used from 1933 until 1939.
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