Leigh Matthews Trophy
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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 given at a special ceremony, televised by Fox Footy Channel in Australia, on the eve of the AFL Grand Final.
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 honor twice. Also, a league disciplinary suspension has never automatically excluded a player from contention for the Matthews Trophy. The Brownlow absolutely barred suspended players until 2005, and still penalises them in the voting count. 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.
[edit] Winners
| Year | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Chris Judd |  West Coast |
| 2005 | Ben Cousins | West Coast |
| 2004 | Nick Riewoldt |  St Kilda |
| 2003 | Michael Voss |  Brisbane |
| 2002 | Luke Darcy Michael Voss |
 Western Bulldogs Brisbane Lions |
| 2001 | Andrew McLeod |  Adelaide |
| 2000 | Anthony Koutoufides |  Carlton |
| 1999 | Shane Crawford |  Hawthorn |
| 1998 | Wayne Carey |  North Melbourne |
| 1997 | Robert Harvey | St Kilda |
| 1996 | Corey McKernan | North Melbourne |
| 1995 | Wayne Carey | North Melbourne |
| 1994 | Greg Williams | Carlton |
| 1993 | Gary Ablett |  Geelong |
| 1992 | Jason Dunstall |  Hawthorn |
| 1991 | Jim Stynes |  Melbourne |
| 1990 | Darren Millane |  Collingwood |
| 1989 | Tim Watson |  Essendon |
| 1988 | Gerard Healy |  Sydney |
| 1987 | Tony Lockett | St Kilda |
| 1986 | Paul Roos |  Fitzroy |
| 1985 | Greg Williams |  Geelong |
| 1984 | Russell Greene | Hawthorn |
| 1983 | Terry Daniher | Essendon |
| 1982 | Leigh Matthews | Hawthorn |
