The Syd Barker Medal is awarded to the North Melbourne Football Club player who has been judged the best and fairest of the footy season. The award has been given out continuously since 1937. Before then it was known as the Syd Barker Memorial Trophy.
The award is named after Syd Barker who was a popular captain of the North Melbourne Football Club in 1915–1919, 1921 & 1927. He was a brilliant ruckmen of his time, starring in North Melbourne's 1910, 1914, 1915 and 1918 premiership sides, and captaining the famous "Invincibles" side that went undefeated in a record 58 games.
The voting system as of the 2017 AFL season, consists of each player earning up to 20 votes in a match, with votes from their best 20 games and finals counting towards their final total.
Recipients ^Denotes current player+Player won Brownlow Medal in same season
Season Recipient(s)Ref. 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 (2) 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 (2) 1950 (3) 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 (2) 1960 (3) 1961 1962 1963 1964 (2) 1965 + (3) 1966 (4) 1967 (2) 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 (2) 1976 (2) 1977 (3) 1978 + 1979 1980 1981 (4) 1982 1983 + (2) 1984 1985 1986 1987 (2) 1988 (3) 1989 1990 1991 (2) 1992 1993 (2) 1994 1995 (2) 1996 (3) 1997 1998 (4) 1999 (2) 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 (2) 2006 (2) 2007 (3) 2008 (4) 2009 2010 (5) (3) 2011 (2) 2012 (3) 2013 (2) 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 (2) 2019 (2) 2020 ^ 2021 ^ 2022 ^ (2) 2023 ^ 2024 ^ 2025 ^ (2) ^ 2026 ^ (3)
Multiple winners ^Denotes current player
Player Medals Seasons 5 2003, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2010 4 1992, 1993, 1996, 1998 1971, 1976, 1977, 1981 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966 3 1958, 1959, 1960 1945, 1949, 1950 1985, 1987, 1988 2004, 2006, 2010^ 2023, 2025, 2026 2009, 2011, 2012 2 1935, 1937 2014, 2019 1961, 1967 1982, 1983 2017, 2018 1989, 1991 1994, 1995^ 2021, 2022 1997, 1999 2011, 2013
References General
Specific