The Fothergill–Round–Mitchell Medal is an Australian rules football award that is presented to the most promising young player in the Victorian Football League (VFL). The medal was introduced by the VFL – known as the Victorian Football Association (VFA) at the time – in 1989 and has since been awarded annually, excluding in 2020 when the season was cancelled due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. 's Brady Wright is the most recent recipient.
History The award was originally named the Fothergill–Round Medal after Des Fothergill and Barry Round, who were (at the time) the only two players to have won both the J. J. Liston Trophy (or one of its predecessors) as the VFA/VFL's best-and-fairest player and the Brownlow Medal as the VFL/AFL's best-and-fairest player. Fothergill jointly won the Brownlow Medal in 1940 while playing for , before switching to the VFA in 1941 and claiming both the VFA Gold Medal and Recorder Cup in his sole season at . Round was the joint 1981 Brownlow Medallist with and won the Liston Trophy with in 1987.
In 2018, the award was renamed to the Fothergill–Round–Mitchell Medal to recognise Sam Mitchell, who was jointly awarded the 2012 Brownlow Medal after Jobe Watson was ruled ineligible in November 2016 due to his part in the Essendon Football Club supplements saga. Mitchell had won the Brownlow Medal with , having claimed the Liston Trophy in 2002 while playing for the club's reserves affiliate, the Box Hill Hawks.
Every winner of the Fothergill–Round–Mitchell Medal has been drafted to the Australian Football League (AFL) since Jason Davenport in 2006; six winners of the award were also drafted prior to 2006. has had six of its players win the award, more than any other VFL club.
Criteria When the Fothergill–Round Medal was introduced in 1989, it was presented to the player seen as the best young talent in the VFA. After the AFL reserves competition was merged into the VFL in 2000, it was presented to the young player most likely to be drafted to the AFL. The award is sometimes referred to as the "VFL Rising Star" as the competition's equivalent to the AFL Rising Star award.
Players are nominated for the Fothergill–Round–Mitchell Medal by their respective club at the end of the home-and-away season; multiple players can be nominated by the same club. To be eligible for the award, players must be aged 24 or under and cannot have previously been on an AFL club's list.
Winners
Year Player Club Ref 1989 Preston 1990 Oakleigh 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 Springvale 1999 Springvale 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Northern Bullants 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 Not awarded due to season cancelled 2021 Williamstown 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 Brady Wright
References