Keith 'Bluey' Truscott Trophy

Keith 'Bluey' Truscott Trophy
Awarded forThe best and fairest player at the Melbourne Football Club
LocationCrown Palladium
CountryAustralia
Presented byMelbourne Football Club
History
First award1935
First winnerAllan La Fontaine
Most winsAllan La Fontaine
Jim Stynes
Clayton Oliver (4 times)
Most recentJack Viney (2024)

The Keith 'Bluey' Truscott Trophy is an Australian rules football award presented annually to the player(s) adjudged the best and fairest at the Melbourne Football Club throughout the Victorian Football League/Australian Football League (VFL/AFL) season. The Melbourne Football Club was established in 1858[1][2] and was a foundation member of the Victorian Football Association, playing in the league from 1877 to 1896.[3] After the formation of the Victorian Football League in 1896, Melbourne joined the league as a foundation club the next year and has competed in the league ever since.[4] The inaugural Melbourne best and fairest winner was Allan La Fontaine in 1935, and he retained it the following season.[5][6] The award was known as the Melbourne best and fairest[5] until it was renamed in 1943 in honour of Keith 'Bluey' Truscott, a former dual premiership player and World War II fighter ace killed in service in 1943.[7]

Allan La Fontaine, Jim Stynes and Clayton Oliver have each won the award on four occasions in 1935, 1936, 1941 and 1942; 1991, 1995, 1996 and 1997 and 2017, 2019, 2021 and 2022 respectively; the most for any recipient of the award.[8] Jim Stynes and Nathan Jones are the only two players to have won the award in three consecutive seasons; in the 1995–1997 seasons and 2012–2014 seasons respectively.[9] Two players have won the Keith 'Bluey' Truscott Trophy in the same season as winning the Brownlow Medal, which is awarded to the fairest and best player in the VFL/AFL, Jim Stynes in 1991 and Shane Woewodin in 2000.[10][11] The voting system as of the 2016 AFL season, consists of four members of the match committee giving each player a ranking out of ten after each game. Players can receive a maximum of 40 votes for a game.[12]

Recipients

A man with dark hair in a suit and tie sits with his hands on his knees
Allan La Fontaine, the winner of four best and fairests
A man with light brown hair wearing a red and blue guernsey
Norm Smith, two-time Keith 'Bluey' Truscott Trophy winner and Melbourne and Australian Football Hall of Fame legend
A man with brown hair in a white shirt
Jim Stynes, the winner of four Keith 'Bluey' Truscott Trophies, including three consecutive from 1995–1997
A bald, tattooed man holding a yellow football on a grassed field
Nathan Jones, the winner of three Keith 'Bluey' Truscott Trophies in consecutive seasons from 2012–2014
A man with brown hair holding a yellow football on a grassed field
Jack Viney, the 2016 Keith 'Bluey' Truscott winner
^ Denotes current player
+ Player won Brownlow Medal in same season
Season Recipient Votes[b] Runner up[a] Votes[b] Ref
1935 Allan La Fontaine — — — [5]
1936 Allan La Fontaine (2) — — — [6]
1937 Jack Mueller — — — [13]
1938 Norm Smith — Don Cordner — [14]
1939 Jack Mueller (2) — — — [13]
1940 Ron Baggott — — — [15]
1941 Allan La Fontaine (3) — — — [6]
1942 Allan La Fontaine (4) — — — [6]
1943 Don Cordner — — — [7]
1944 Norm Smith (2) — Don Cordner — [14]
1945 Fred Fanning — Roy Dowsing — [16]
1946 Jack Mueller (3) — — — [17]
1947 Wally Lock — — — [18]
1948 Alby Rodda — — — [19]
1949 Len Dockett — Denis Cordner — [20]
1950 Denis Cordner — Lance Arnold — [21]
1951 Noel McMahen — Lance Arnold — [22]
1952 Geoff McGivern — Denis Cordner — [23]
1953 Ken Melville — Denis Cordner — [22]
1954 Denis Cordner (2) — Noel McMahen — [22]
1955 Stuart Spencer 69 Denis Cordner 68 [24]
1956 Stuart Spencer (2) 87.5 John Beckwith 87 [25]
1957 John Beckwith — Ron Barassi — [26]
1958 Laurie Mithen — Don Williams — [27]
1959 Laurie Mithen (2) — Ron Barassi — [27]
1960 Brian Dixon — Ian Ridley — [28]
1961 Ron Barassi — Frank Adams — [29]
1962 Hassa Mann — Ron Barassi — [30]
1963 Hassa Mann (2) — Ron Barassi — [30]
1964 Ron Barassi (2) — Hassa Mann — [29]
1965 John Townsend — Hassa Mann — [31]
1966 Terry Leahy — Tassie Johnson — [32]
1967 Hassa Mann (3) — Stan Alves — [30]
1968 Ray Groom — Tassie Johnson — [27]
1969 John Townsend (2) — Greg Parke — [31]
1970 Frank Davis — Barry Bourke — [33]
1971 Greg Wells — Paul Callery — [34]
1972 Stan Alves — Greg Wells — [35]
1973 Carl Ditterich — Greg Wells — [36]
1974 Stan Alves (2) — Carl Ditterich — [35]
1975 Laurie Fowler — Stan Alves — [37]
1976 Greg Wells (2) 132 Laurie Fowler 121 [34]
1977 Robert Flower 104 Shane Grambeau 92 [38]
1978 Garry Baker 126 Greg Wells 96 [39]
1979 Laurie Fowler (2) 118 Robert Flower 105 [37]
1980 Laurie Fowler (3) 43 Robert Flower 41 [37]
1981 Steven Smith 367 Brent Crosswell 250 [40]
1982 Steven Icke 388 Robert Flower 324 [41]
1983 Alan Johnson 402 Robert Flower 361 [42]
1984 Gerard Healy 362 Peter Moore+ 306 [43]
1985 Danny Hughes 279 Gerard Healy 273 [44]
1986 Greg Healy 237 Garry Lyon 172 [45]
1987 Steven Stretch 342 Brian Wilson 320 [46]
1988 Steven O'Dwyer 487 Brett Lovett 427 [47]
1989 Alan Johnson (2) 278 Steven Stretch 207 [42]
1990 Garry Lyon 301 Brett Lovett 271 [48]
1991 Jim Stynes+ 650 Todd Viney 449 [49]
1992 Glenn Lovett 463 Andy Lovell 320 [50]
1993 Todd Viney 394 Glenn Lovett 279 [51]
1994 Garry Lyon (2) 355 Stephen Tingay 319 [48]
1995 Jim Stynes (2) 311 David Neitz 272 [49]
1996 Jim Stynes (3) 444 Alastair Clarkson 284 [49]
1997 Jim Stynes (4) 404 Todd Viney 355 [49]
1998 Todd Viney (2) 347 Adem Yze 323 [52]
1999 David Schwarz 271 Shane Woewodin 270 [53]
2000 Shane Woewodin+ 341.5 Jeff White 328 [54]
2001 Adem Yze 331 David Neitz 228 [55]
2002 David Neitz 336 Cameron Bruce 295 [56]
2003 Russell Robertson 267 James McDonald 240 [57]
2004 Jeff White 287 Nathan Brown 286 [58]
2005 Travis Johnstone 316 Russell Robertson 262 [59]
2006 James McDonald 464 Cameron Bruce 317 [60]
2007 James McDonald (2) 256 Nathan Jones 190 [61]
2008 Cameron Bruce 75 Brock McLean 60 [62]
2009 Aaron Davey 82 Brent Moloney 69 [63]
2010 Brad Green 295 James Frawley 277 [64]
2011 Brent Moloney 227 Jared Rivers 201 [65]
2012 Nathan Jones 368 Jack Grimes 348 [66]
2013 Nathan Jones (2) 365 Colin Garland 360 [67]
2014 Nathan Jones (3) 311 Dom Tyson 293 [68]
2015 Bernie Vince 328 Jack Viney^ 327 [69]
2016 Jack Viney^ 407 Nathan Jones 399 [70]
2017 Clayton Oliver^ 530 Jack Viney^ 346 [71]
2018 Max Gawn^ 657 Clayton Oliver^ 595 [72]
2019 Max Gawn^ (2) 464 Jack Viney^ 323 [73]
Clayton Oliver^ (2)
2020 Christian Petracca^ 385 Steven May^ 362 [74]
2021 Clayton Oliver^ (3) 670 Christian Petracca^ 644 [75]
2022 Clayton Oliver^ (4) 608 Christian Petracca^ 553 [76]
2023 Christian Petracca (2) 607 Jack Viney^ 527 [77]
2024 Jack Viney^ (2) 407 Max Gawn^ 405 [78]

Multiple winners

^ Denotes current player
Player Trophies Seasons
Allan La Fontaine 4 1935, 1936, 1941, 1942
Jim Stynes 4 1991, 1995, 1996, 1997
Clayton Oliver^ 4 2017, 2019, 2021, 2022
Laurie Fowler 3 1975, 1979, 1980
Nathan Jones 3 2012, 2013, 2014
Hassa Mann 3 1962, 1963, 1967
Jack Mueller 3 1937, 1939, 1946
Stan Alves 2 1972, 1974
Ron Barassi 2 1961, 1964
Denis Cordner 2 1950, 1954
Max Gawn^ 2 2018, 2019
Alan Johnson 2 1983, 1989
Garry Lyon 2 1990, 1994
James McDonald 2 2006, 2007
Laurie Mithen 2 1958, 1959
Christian Petracca^ 2 2020, 2023
Norm Smith 2 1938, 1944
Stuart Spencer 2 1955, 1956
John Townsend 2 1965, 1969
Jack Viney^ 2 2016, 2024
Todd Viney 2 1993, 1998
Greg Wells 2 1971, 1976

Footnotes

  • a Records indicating the runners up are unavailable from 1935–1937, 1939–1943 and 1946–1948.
  • b Records indicating the votes the winner and runner up received are unavailable from 1935–1954 and 1957–1975.

References

General
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Specific
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