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 and was a foundation member of the Victorian Football Association, playing in the league from 1877 to 1896. 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. The inaugural Melbourne best and fairest winner was Allan La Fontaine in 1935, and he retained it the following season. The award was known as the Melbourne best and fairest 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.
Scott Thompson is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Melbourne Football Club and Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was drafted by Melbourne with pick 16 in the 2000 national draft from Port Adelaide in the SANFL, and was traded to Adelaide after the 2004 season.
Bryce Gibbs is a retired professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Carlton Football Club and the Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).
Todd Viney is an Australian rules football executive and former player and coach. He is currently the General Manager of Football of the North Melbourne Football Club. Viney played 13 seasons with Melbourne in the VFL/AFL, and he later served as their caretaker senior coach for the final five games of the 2011 season.
Mark Jamar is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Melbourne Football Club and Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).
Nathan Jones is a former Australian rules footballer known for playing for the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League. He is the older brother of St Kilda player Zak Jones. He served as the captain of Melbourne from 2014 until he stepped down at the end of the 2019 season.
Rory Sloane is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Sloane is a dual Malcolm Blight Medallist and was selected in the All-Australian team in 2016. He also won a Showdown Medal in 2017. Sloane served as Adelaide co-captain in 2019, and has served as the sole captain since the 2020 season.
Jordie McKenzie is an Australian Cricketer with Brighton District Cricket Club and former Australian rules footballer who played for the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). In November 2015, he signed with the North Adelaide Football Club in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL).
Dom Tyson is a former professional Australian rules footballer playing in the Australian Football League (AFL). A midfielder, 1.86 metres tall and weighing 85 kilograms (187 lb), Tyson is capable of contributing as both an inside and outside midfielder. He was recognised as a talented footballer from a young age when he represented Victoria in the under 12 championships. Queries were raised over his versatility as a midfielder after he missed out on selection in the under 16 championships. Despite this, he was recruited by the Oakleigh Chargers in the TAC Cup as a bottom-aged player, and was named their captain the following year. In addition, he represented Vic Metro in the 2011 AFL Under 18 Championships, which earned him All-Australian honours. His improvement towards the end of his junior career saw him recruited by the Greater Western Sydney Giants with the third selection in the 2011 AFL draft. He made his AFL debut in the 2012 season and earned an AFL Rising Star nomination. After two years with Greater Western Sydney and playing in thirteen matches, he was traded to the Melbourne Football Club during the 2013 trade period.
Jack Viney is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). A midfielder, 1.78 metres tall and weighing 86 kilograms (190 lb), Viney is capable of contributing as both an inside and outside midfielder. He played top-level football at a young age playing in the first XVIII at Prince Alfred College at fifteen and was a bottom-aged player in the TAC Cup for the Oakleigh Chargers. His father, Todd Viney, is a former Melbourne captain and Jack followed in his footsteps when he was drafted by Melbourne with the twenty-sixth pick in the 2012 AFL draft under the father–son rule. He made his debut in 2013, receiving a nomination for the AFL Rising Star and was awarded the Harold Ball Memorial Trophy. He was named as Melbourne's best and fairest player in 2016, winning the Keith 'Bluey' Truscott Trophy. In 2017, he became Melbourne co-captain alongside Nathan Jones, captaining the club for three seasons.
Dean Terlich is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was recruited by the club with draft pick 68 in the 2012 national draft. He made his debut in round 2, 2013, against Essendon at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, in the match where Melbourne were defeated by 148 points.
Dean Kent is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Melbourne and St Kilda Football Clubs in the Australian Football League (AFL). A forward, 1.79 metres tall and weighing 86 kilograms (190 lb), Kent played primarily as a small forward with the ability to push into the midfield. He had a successful final junior year in the colts competition in the West Australian Football League (WAFL) in which he won the Jack Clarke Medal as the fairest and best player, the league coaches award and was named in the team of the year. His performances as a junior saw him recruited by the Melbourne Football Club with the forty-eighth selection in the 2012 AFL draft and make his AFL debut during the 2013 season.
Ben Kennedy is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Collingwood Football Club and Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). A small forward, 1.75 metres tall and weighing 78 kilograms (172 lb), Kennedy is able to contribute as a crumbing forward and is also capable of moving into the midfield. He played top-level football from a young age by representing South Australia from fifteen years of age, including as a bottom aged player in the 2011 AFL Under 18 Championships, and playing in Glenelg's senior side in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) at seventeen. His junior achievements included two-time selection in the under 18 All-Australian side, a SANFL star search nomination, and selection in the South Australian under 18 team of the decade. He was recruited by the Collingwood Football Club with the nineteenth selection in the 2012 AFL draft and he made his debut in the 2013 season. He played three seasons with Collingwood for a total of twenty-five matches before he was traded to Melbourne during the 2015 trade period. In October 2017, Kennedy was delisted by Melbourne after managing only 15 games in two seasons.
The 2014 Melbourne Football Club season was the club's 115th year in the VFL/AFL since it began in 1897.
Jesse Hogan is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Greater Western Sydney Giants in the Australian Football League (AFL). A key forward, Hogan is 1.95 metres tall and weighs 100 kilograms (220 lb). He was a standout basketballer and footballer at a young age, representing Western Australia in both sports and played in the West Australian Football League colts competition with the Claremont Football Club. He was rewarded with All-Australian selection as a junior in the 2012 AFL Under 18 Championships and in turn, he was drafted by Melbourne with the second selection in the 2012 mini-draft, meaning he was ineligible to play in the 2013 AFL season. After a back injury ruined his 2014 season, he made his AFL debut in the 2015 season and won the Ron Evans Medal as the AFL Rising Star. In his first two playing years for Melbourne, he was the leading goalkicker in both seasons. In October 2018, he was acquired by Fremantle in a trade that sent him back home to Western Australia, however, after two unsuccessful years at the Dockers, Hogan was traded to Greater Western Sydney.
Billy Stretch is a former professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). A midfielder, Stretch plays predominantly on the wing. Stretch was recognised as a talented footballer from a young age when he represented and captained South Australia at under 14 level, and continued to represent the state until under 18 level. His accolades as a junior include six best and fairest awards, a league best player award, national representation and All-Australian selection. His father, Steven Stretch, is a former player for the Melbourne Football Club and Keith 'Bluey' Truscott Medallist, which saw Billy recruited by the Melbourne Football Club under the father–son rule in the 2014 AFL draft and he made his AFL debut during the 2015 season.
Jake Lever is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). A defender, 1.95 metres tall and weighing 89 kilograms (196 lb), Lever plays primarily as a half-back and is known for his intercept marking and ability to read the play. Originally from Romsey, Victoria, he played top-level football at a young age when he played with the Calder Cannons in the TAC Cup, and represented and captained Victoria in the AFL Under 18 Championships as a bottom-aged player. He suffered a serious knee injury which forced him to miss the entire season in his final junior year.
Clayton Oliver is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). A midfielder, 1.89 metres tall and weighing 87 kilograms (192 lb), Oliver is known for his capabilities on the inside due to his handball and clearance work. He was a late bloomer in his junior career, where he struggled to play in the TAC Cup in 2014 and he missed selection in the 2015 AFL Under 18 Championships. After playing with the Murray Bushrangers in 2015, his achievements included best and fairest wins for the league and the Murray Bushrangers, which resulted in Melbourne drafting him with the fourth selection in the 2015 AFL draft. He made his debut in the 2016 season, which garnered a Rising Star nomination. After his second season in the AFL, he was adjudged the best young player by the AFL coaches.
Jordan Gallucci is a former professional Australian rules footballer, last playing for the Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was drafted by Adelaide with their first selection and fifteenth overall in the 2016 national draft. He made his debut in the eighty point win against the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba in round nine of the 2017 season.
Jack Trengove is a professional Australian rules footballer who most recently played for the Port Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). A midfielder, 1.86 metres tall and weighing 88 kilograms (194 lb), Trengove is capable of contributing as both an inside and outside midfielder. After growing up in Naracoorte, South Australia, he moved to Adelaide to attend Prince Alfred College and played in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) with the Sturt Football Club, in which he played in the 2009 SANFL Grand Final. He represented South Australia in the 2009 AFL Under 18 Championships, in which he captained the side, received All-Australian honours and won the state most valuable player. His achievements as a junior saw him considered as the potential number one draft pick in the 2009 AFL draft alongside Tom Scully, he was ultimately recruited by the Melbourne Football Club with the second selection in the draft.
