John Cahill Medal

Last updated

John Cahill Medal
SportAustralian rules football
CompetitionAustralian Football League
Awarded forBest and fairest performance across an AFL season
Location Alberton Oval, Adelaide
Presented byPort Adelaide Football Club
History
First award1870
Editions149
First winner John Wald
Most wins Russell Ebert – 6
Most recent Jason Horne-Francis

The John Cahill Medal is an Australian rules football award presented annually to the player(s) adjudged the best and fairest at the Port Adelaide Football Club throughout the Australian Football League (AFL) season. The Port Adelaide Football Club was established in 1870 and became a founding member of the South Australian Football Association (SAFA), later known as the South Australian National Football League (SANFL), in 1877. The club joined the AFL in 1997, and holds the unique status of being the only pre-existing non-Victorian club to have entered the AFL from another league. [1]

Contents

A best and fairest award has been awarded by the club since 1870, with the winners of the award appearing on the club's honour board. [2] Prior to the club's entry to the AFL, the award was known as the Port Adelaide Best and Fairest. After the club's entry to the AFL the award was renamed in honour of John Cahill, who coached or played in 14 premierships in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) and was the club's inaugural AFL coach. [3]

The inaugural winner of the club's best and fairest award was John Wald in 1870, and the inaugural winner of the AFL best and fairest was Darren Mead in 1997. [2] Russell Ebert has the record for most best and fairest wins, winning on six occasions in 1971, 1972, 1974, 1976, 1977 and 1981, [4] whilst Kane Cornes and Warren Tredrea hold the record for most John Cahill Medals won, both with four. [5] There have been four players to win the award three consecutive times; Thomas Smith (1877–1879), Harry Phillips (1891–1893), Robbie Gray (2014–2016) and Zak Butters (2023–2025). [6]

As of 2025, the voting system for the medal is handled by a panel of three coaching staff members. For each match, the senior coach, club's general manager, and respective line coach each award players between 0 and 5 votes based on their performances, with a maximum of 15 votes attainable. [3] . The club changed to this voting system in 2013, [7] with minor tweaks in 2019 and 2023 to adjust how many coaches award votes. [8] [9] It has previously changed the best and fairest voting system in 2011 and 1997. [10] [11]

Recipients

Section Legend
^Denotes current player
+Player won Magarey Medal in same season
#Player won Brownlow Medal in same season
✪Player won Ken Farmer Medal in same season
(2)Repeat winner of award
Thomas Smith was the club's first multi-time winner of the best and fairest award. Thomas George Smith Port Adelaide 1882.png
Thomas Smith was the club's first multi-time winner of the best and fairest award.
Stan Malin was the first player to win a league best and fairest and club best and fairest in the same year. Stan Malin 1895.png
Stan Malin was the first player to win a league best and fairest and club best and fairest in the same year.
A statue of Russell Ebert located outside of Adelaide Oval. Ebert holds the club record for most best and fairest awards won, with six. Russell Ebert statue, Adelaide Oval, Adelaide.jpg
A statue of Russell Ebert located outside of Adelaide Oval. Ebert holds the club record for most best and fairest awards won, with six.
Kane Cornes.jpg
Warren tredrea.jpg
Kane Cornes and Warren Tredrea both hold the record for the most John Cahill Medals won, with four.
In 2015, Robbie Gray became the first player to win three consecutive best and fairest award since Harry Phillips in 1893. Robbie Gray 2017.jpg
In 2015, Robbie Gray became the first player to win three consecutive best and fairest award since Harry Phillips in 1893.
Zak Butters, winner of the 2025 John Cahill Medal 20260316 Zak Butters 03.jpg
Zak Butters, winner of the 2025 John Cahill Medal
John Cahill Medal - Pre-AFL [2]
SeasonBest and fairestRef
1870 John Wald —
1871Fred Stone—
1872N/a—
1873 Samuel Tyzack—
1874 N/a—
1875 Henry Ford—
1876 Ernest LeMessurier —
1877 Thomas Smith —
1878 Thomas Smith(2)—
1879 Thomas Smith(3)—
1880 John Sidoli —
1881 John Sidoli(2)—
1882 James Munro—
1883 Robert Kirkpatrick—
1884 George Cairns—
Charles Kellett —
1885 Michael Coffee—
1886 Charlie Fry —
1887 William Bushby —
Richard Walsh
1888 Harry Phillips —
1889 Goody Hamilton—
1890 Charlie Fry(2)—
1891 Harry Phillips(2)—
1892 Harry Phillips(3)—
1893 Walter Murray—
Harry Phillips(4)
1894 Alf Miers —
1895 Otway L'Estage —
1896 George Linklater —
1897 Ken McKenzie —
1898 Archibald Hosie —
1899 Stan Malin +—
1900 John Quinn Sr. —
1901 Ted Strawns —
1902 Lewis Corston —
1903 James Tompkins —
1904 Lewis Corston(2)—
1905 John Quinn Sr.(2)—
1906 Ted Strawns(2)—
1907 Jack Mack +—
1908 Sinclair Dickson —
1909 Sinclair Dickson(2)—
1910 Sampson Hosking +—
1911 Harold Oliver —
1912 Harold Oliver(2)—
1913 Harry Eaton —
1914 Jack Ashley +—
1915 Harry Eaton(2)—
1916 [a] N/a—
1917 [a] N/a—
1918 [a] N/a—
1919 Jack Ashley(2)—
1920 Charlie Adams —
1921 Charlie Adams + (2)—
1922 Clem Dayman —
1923 Les Dayman —
1924 Les Dayman(2)—
1925 Peter Bampton +—
1926 Lawrence Hodge —
1927 Clifford Keal —
1928 Les Dayman(3)—
1929 Ernest Mucklow —
1930 Victor Johnson —
1931 Maurice Allingham —
1932 Ernest Mucklow(2)—
1933 Jack Dermody —
1934 Albert Hollingworth —
1935 Jack Dermody(2)—
1936 Albert Hollingworth(2)—
1937 Bob Quinn —
1938 Bob Quinn + (2)—
1939 Allan Reval —
1940 Reginald Schumann —
1941 John Skelley —
1942 [b] N/a—
1943 [b] N/a—
1944 [b] N/a—
1945 Bob Quinn + (3)—
1946 Lew Roberts —
1947 Bob Quinn(4)—
1948 Dick Russell —
1949 Dick Russell(2)—
1950 Fos Williams —
1951 Dick Russell(3)—
1952 Ray Whitaker —
1953 Harold McDonald —
1954 Roger Clift —
1955 Fos Williams(2)—
1956 Edward Whelan —
1957 Neville Hayes —
1958 Geof Motley —
1959 Geof Motley(2)—
1960 Neville Hayes(2)—
1961 Jeff Potter —
1962 Peter Obst —
1963 Geof Motley(3)—
1964 Jeff Potter(2)—
1965 Geof Motley(4)—
1966 John Cahill —
1967 Jeff Potter(3)—
1968 John Cahill(2)—
1969 Jeff Potter(4)—
1970 John Cahill(3)—
1971 Russell Ebert +—
1972 Russell Ebert(2)—
1973 John Cahill(4)—
1974 Russell Ebert + (3)—
1975 Peter Woite +—
1976 Russell Ebert + (4)—
1977 Russell Ebert(5)—
1978 Stephen Clifford —
1979 Milan Faletic —
1980 Stephen Clifford(2)—
1981 Russell Ebert(6)—
1982 Craig Bradley —
1983 Stephen Clifford(3)—
1984 Craig Bradley(2)—
1985 Craig Bradley(3)—
1986 Martin Leslie —
1987 Bruce Abernethy —
1988 Greg Phillips —
1989 Russell Johnston —
1990 Scott Hodges + ✪—
1991 Paul Northeast —
1992 Nathan Buckley +—
1993 Troy Bond —
1994 Tim Ginever —
1995 Robbie West —
1996 Scott Hodges ✪ (2)—
John Cahill Medal - AFL Era
SeasonBest and fairestVotesRunner UpVotesRef
1997 Darren Mead — Matthew Primus — [14]
1998 Adam Kingsley — Donald Dickie — [14]
1999 Stephen Paxman — Warren Tredrea — [14]
2000 Brett Montgomery — Nick Stevens — [14]
2001 Warren Tredrea164 Josh Carr 159 [11]
2002 Matthew Primus150Warren Tredrea(2)145 [15]
2003 Gavin Wanganeen 224Warren Tredrea(3)201 [16]
2004 Warren Tredrea(2)236 Kane Cornes 220 [17]
2005 Warren Tredrea(3)176Kane Cornes(2)173 [18]
2006 Brendon Lade 157 Shaun Burgoyne 148 [19]
2007 Kane Cornes225 Chad Cornes 196 [20]
2008 Kane Cornes(2)135 Domenic Cassisi 115 [21]
2009 Warren Tredrea(4)103Kane Cornes(3)100 [22]
2010 Kane Cornes(3)134 Troy Chaplin 125 [23]
2011 Travis Boak 13 Tom Logan 10 [24]
Jackson Trengove
2012 Kane Cornes(4)18 Matthew Broadbent 16 [25]
Brad Ebert
2013 Chad Wingard 284Travis Boak266 [26]
2014 Robbie Gray 398Travis Boak(2)255 [27]
2015 Robbie Gray(2)243Chad Wingard230 [28]
2016 Robbie Gray(3)230 Ollie Wines ^206 [29]
2017 Paddy Ryder 241 Charlie Dixon 234 [30]
2018 Justin Westhoff 179 Tom Jonas 162 [31]
Ollie Wines^ (2)
2019 Travis Boak(2)179 Darcy Byrne-Jones ^168 [32]
2020 Darcy Byrne-Jones^159Travis Boak(3)136 [33]
2021 Ollie Wines^#229Travis Boak(4)167 [34]
2022 Connor Rozee ^132Travis Boak(5)102 [35]
2023 Zak Butters 190Connor Rozee^170 [36]
2024 Zak Butters(2)159 Jason Horne-Francis ^152 [37]
2025 Zak Butters(3)134 Mitch Georgiades ^118 [38]
2026 Jason Horne-Francis ^88 Zak Butters 83 [39]

Multiple winners

^Denotes current player
RecipientsMedalsSeasons
Russell Ebert 61971, 1972, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1981
John Cahill 41966, 1968, 1970, 1973
Kane Cornes 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012
Geof Motley 1958, 1959, 1963, 1965
Harry Phillips 1888, 1891, 1892, 1893
Jeff Potter 1961, 1964, 1967, 1969
Bob Quinn 1937, 1938, 1945, 1947
Warren Tredrea 2001, 2004, 2005, 2009
Zak Butters 32023, 2024, 2025
Craig Bradley 1982, 1984, 1985
Stephen Clifford 1978, 1980, 1983
Les Dayman 1923, 1924, 1928
Robbie Gray 2014, 2015, 2016
Dick Russell 1948, 1949, 1951
Thomas Smith 1877, 1888, 1889
Charlie Adams 21920, 1921
Jack Ashley 1914, 1919
Travis Boak 2011, 2019
Lewis Corston 1902, 1904
Jack Dermody 1933, 1935
Sinclair Dickson 1908, 1909
Harry Eaton 1913, 1915
Charlie Fry 1886, 1890
Neville Hayes 1957, 1960
Scott Hodges 1990, 1996
Albert Hollingworth 1934, 1936
Ernest Mucklow 1929, 1932
Harold Oliver 1911, 1912
John Quinn Sr. 1900, 1905
John Sidoli 1880, 1881
Ted Strawns 1901, 1906
Fos Williams 1950, 1955

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 The South Australian Football League was in recess from 1916 to 1918 due to World War I. [12]
  2. 1 2 3 The Port Adelaide Football Club was temporarily merged with West Torrens during the 1942, 1943 and 1944 SANFL seasons because of World War II. [13]

References

  1. ↑ Cherny, Daniel (26 June 2014). "Port to lobby for SANFL flags to count in revised AFL tally". The Age. Retrieved 17 April 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 "Honour Board" (PDF). portadelaidefc.com.au. Retrieved 14 April 2026.
  3. 1 2 "Best & Fairest Winners". portadelaidefc.com.au. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  4. ↑ Rucci, Michelangelo (5 November 2021). "Russell Ebert: A life in football". portadelaidefc.com.au. Retrieved 16 April 2026.
  5. ↑ "Kane wins fourth Cahill Medal". portadelaidefc.com.au. 7 September 2012. Retrieved 16 April 2026.
  6. ↑ Slevison, Andrew. "Three in a row: Butters is Port Adelaide's best again". www.sen.com.au. Retrieved 16 April 2026.
  7. ↑ "2013 John Cahill Medal Preview". portadelaidefc.com.au. 18 September 2013. Retrieved 16 April 2026.
  8. ↑ Cranmer, Michael (1 October 2019). "John Cahill contenders - Travis Boak". portadelaidefc.com.au. Retrieved 16 April 2026.
  9. ↑ "John Cahill Medal preview: All the AFL awards". portadelaidefc.com.au. 8 October 2023. Retrieved 16 April 2026.
  10. ↑ "How the Voting Works". portadelaidefc.com.au. 12 September 2011. Retrieved 16 April 2026.
  11. 1 2 Capel, Andrew (6 October 2001). "Tredrea stands tall". www.afl.com.au. Archived from the original on 2 December 2001. Retrieved 14 April 2026.
  12. ↑ "S.A Football League". The Mail (Adelaide) . Vol. 7, no. 350. South Australia. 25 January 1919. p. 3. Retrieved 9 April 2026– via National Library of Australia.
  13. ↑ "Football Season". The Chronicle . 23 April 1942. p. 20. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  14. 1 2 3 4 "Award Winners 1997 – 2008". afl.com.au. 27 October 2008. Retrieved 13 April 2026.
  15. ↑ "It's the captain's medal". portadelaidefc.com.au. Archived from the original on 14 November 2002. Retrieved 14 April 2026.
  16. ↑ "AFL club champions 2003". The Age. 5 October 2003. Retrieved 13 April 2026.
  17. ↑ "Tredrea wins Port B & F". The Sydney Morning Herald. 3 October 2004. Retrieved 16 April 2026.
  18. ↑ "Tredrea voted as Port's best". ABC Online. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 2 October 2005. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
  19. ↑ "Lade named Port's best". ABC Online. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 16 September 2006. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
  20. ↑ "Best and Fairest Results" (PDF). footyindustry. Port Adelaide Football Club. p. 17. Retrieved 16 April 2026.
  21. ↑ "Best and Fairest Leaderboard" (PDF). footyindustry. Port Adelaide Football Club. p. 34. Retrieved 16 April 2026.
  22. ↑ "Tredrea Wins His Fourth John Cahill Medal". portadelaidefc.com.au. 3 October 2009. Retrieved 13 April 2026.
  23. ↑ "John Cahill Medal Final Tally Board". portadelaidefc.com.au. Archived from the original on 10 April 2011. Retrieved 16 April 2026.
  24. ↑ "Historic Tie In Medal". portadelaidefc.com.au. 16 September 2011. Retrieved 13 April 2026.
  25. ↑ "B&F; Round by Round". portadelaidefc.com.au. Archived from the original on 16 October 2012. Retrieved 16 April 2026.
  26. ↑ Agius, Matthew (21 September 2013). "2013 John Cahill Medal - Round by Round voting". portadelaidefc.com.au. Retrieved 16 April 2026.
  27. ↑ Agius, Matthew (3 October 2014). "All shades of Gray as excitement machine takes home first John Cahill Medal". portadelaidefc.com.au. Retrieved 13 April 2026.
  28. ↑ Agius, Matthew (5 December 2015). "Robbie Gray goes back-to-back with second John Cahill Medal". portadelaidefc.com.au. Retrieved 13 April 2026.
  29. ↑ Say, Steph (9 September 2016). "Gray makes history with John Cahill Medal hat trick". portadelaidefc.com.au. Retrieved 13 April 2026.
  30. ↑ Agius, Matthew (6 October 2017). "2017 Best and Fairest winners". portadelaidefc.com.au. Retrieved 13 April 2026.
  31. ↑ Fouten, Loukas (5 October 2018). "B&F | 2018 John Cahill Medallist: Justin Westhoff". portadelaidefc.com.au. Retrieved 13 April 2026.
  32. ↑ Fouten, Loukas (4 October 2019). "Travis Boak awarded the 2019 John Cahill medal". portadelaidefc.com.au. Retrieved 13 April 2026.
  33. ↑ Fouten, Loukas (29 October 2020). "Byrne-Jones takes out the 2020 John Cahill Medal". portadelaidefc.com.au. Retrieved 13 April 2026.
  34. ↑ Fouten, Loukas (30 September 2021). "Wines claims his first John Cahill Medal". portadelaidefc.com.au. Retrieved 13 April 2026.
  35. ↑ Fouten, Loukas (5 December 2022). "2022 Best & Fairest: All the award winners". portadelaidefc.com.au. Retrieved 13 April 2026.
  36. ↑ "Butters takes out first John Cahill Medal". portadelaidefc.com.au. 9 October 2023. Retrieved 13 April 2026.
  37. ↑ Anderson, Jamie (4 October 2024). "Butters takes home second John Cahill Medal". portadelaidefc.com.au. Retrieved 13 April 2026.
  38. ↑ Anderson, Jamie (2 September 2025). "Butters awarded third consecutive John Cahill Medal". portadelaidefc.com.au. Retrieved 13 April 2026.
  39. ↑ Anderson, Jamie (1 September 2025). "Horne-Francis awarded first John Cahill Medal". portadelaidefc.com.au. Retrieved 2 September 2026.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.