Malcolm Blight Medal

Malcolm Blight Medal

Malcolm Blight, the namesake of the award, coached Adelaide's first two premierships.
Sport	Australian rules football
Awarded for	The best and fairest player at the Adelaide Football Club
Location	Adelaide Convention Centre
Country	Australia
Presented by	Adelaide Football Club
History
First award	1991
First winner	Mark Mickan
Most wins	Jordan Dawson, Simon Goodwin, Rory Laird, Andrew McLeod, Mark Ricciuto (3 times)
Most recent	Jordan Dawson (3rd award)

Andrew McLeod won his first of three Malcolm Blight Medals in a premiership year.

Jordan Dawson is the first player to win the Malcolm Blight Medal three years in a row.

Rory Laird has won the award three times.

The Malcolm Blight Medal is a post-season award given to the best and fairest player for the Adelaide Football Club. The medal was first awarded in 1991, and later named after former Adelaide Crows coach Malcolm Blight. The voting system as of the 2017 AFL season, consists of five coaches giving each player a ranking from zero to four after each match. Players can receive a maximum of 20 votes for a game. ^[1]

The current holder of the award is Jordan Dawson, who in 2025 became the first player to win the award three times in a row. ^[2]

Recipients

^	Denotes current player
+	Player won Brownlow Medal in same season
#	Played in that season's premiership team

Season	Recipient(s)	Runner up	Ref.
1991	Mark Mickan	Tony McGuinness	[3]
1992	Chris McDermott	Tony McGuinness	[4]
1993	Tony McGuinness	Mark Bickley	[5]
1994	Shaun Rehn	Tony McGuinness	[6]
1995	Matthew Connell	Andrew Jarman	[5]
1996	Matthew Liptak	Nigel Smart	[7]
1997#	Andrew McLeod	Darren Jarman	[8]
1998#	Mark Ricciuto	Nigel Smart	[9]
1999	Ben Hart	Andrew McLeod	[10]
2000	Simon Goodwin	Andrew McLeod	[11]
2001	Andrew McLeod (2)	Mark Stevens	[8]
2002	Ben Hart (2)	Tyson Edwards	[12]
2003	Mark Ricciuto + (2)	Tyson Edwards	[13]
2004	Mark Ricciuto (3)	Tyson Stenglein	[9]
2005	Simon Goodwin (2)	Nathan Bassett	[11]
2006	Simon Goodwin (3)	Tyson Edwards	[14]
2007	Andrew McLeod (3)	Simon Goodwin	[15]
2008	Nathan Bock	Simon Goodwin	[16]
2009	Bernie Vince	Jason Porplyzia	[17]
2010	Richard Douglas	Scott Thompson	[18]
2011	Scott Thompson	Nathan van Berlo	[19]
2012	Scott Thompson (2)	Patrick Dangerfield	[20]
2013	Rory Sloane	Richard Douglas	[21]
2014	Daniel Talia	Rory Sloane	[22]
2015	Patrick Dangerfield	Rory Laird ^	[23]
2016	Rory Sloane (2)	Eddie Betts	[24]
2017	Matt Crouch	Rory Sloane	[25]
2018	Rory Laird ^	Matt Crouch	[26]
2019	Brad Crouch	Rory Sloane	[27]
2020	Reilly O'Brien ^	Rory Laird ^	[28]
2021	Rory Laird ^ (2)	Ben Keays ^	[29]
2022	Rory Laird ^ (3)	Jordan Dawson ^	[30]
2023	Jordan Dawson ^	Rory Laird ^	[31]
2024	Jordan Dawson ^ (2)	Jake Soligo ^	[32]
	Ben Keays ^
2025	Jordan Dawson ^ (3)	Riley Thilthorpe ^	[2]

Multiple winners

^	Denotes current player

Player	Medals	Seasons
Jordan Dawson ^	3	2023, 2024, 2025
Simon Goodwin		2000, 2005, 2006
Rory Laird ^		2018, 2021, 2022
Andrew McLeod		1997, 2001, 2007
Mark Ricciuto		1998, 2003, 2004
Ben Hart	2	1999, 2002
Rory Sloane		2013, 2016
Scott Thompson		2011, 2012

Other awards

Below is a list of other awards given at the Malcolm Blight Medal ceremony and the recipients of these awards.

The Players' Trademark Award, formerly known as the Coach's Award and the Chelsea Phillis Coaches’ Award, now recognises the player who has best upheld the core values of the team on and off the field. ^[33]

Year	Recipient
1995	Andrew Jarman
1996	Mark Bickley
1997	Mark Bickley (2)
1998	Simon Goodwin
1999	Ben Hart
2000	Mark Ricciuto
2001	Mark Bickley (3)
2002	Tyson Stenglein
2003	Robert Shirley
2004	Mark Ricciuto (2)
2005	Robert Shirley (2)
2006	Matthew Bode
2007	Robert Shirley (3)
2008	Richard Douglas
2009	Jason Porplyzia
2010	Richard Douglas (2)
2011	Scott Thompson
2012	Rory Sloane
2013	Andy Otten
2014	Eddie Betts
2015	Rory Sloane (2)
2016	Rory Sloane (3)
2017	Brad Crouch
2018	Tom Doedee
2019	Rory Sloane (4)
2020	Ben Keays ^
2021	Rory Laird ^
2022	Rory Laird ^ (2)
2023	Jordan Dawson ^
2024	Jordan Dawson ^ (2)
2025	Jordan Dawson ^ (3)

The Members' MVP Award, formerly known as the 19th Man Award, is voted by members of the football club. ^[34]

Year	Recipient
1998	Nigel Smart
1999	Ben Hart
2000	Mark Ricciuto
2001	Andrew McLeod
2002	Tyson Edwards
2003	Mark Ricciuto (2)
2004	Tyson Edwards (2)
2005	Simon Goodwin
2006	Tyson Edwards (3)
2007	Andrew McLeod (2)
2008	Nathan Bock
2009	Bernie Vince
2010	Graham Johncock
2011	Scott Thompson
2012	Patrick Dangerfield
2013	Rory Sloane
2014	Rory Sloane (2)
2015	Rory Laird ^
2016	Rory Sloane (3)
2017	Matt Crouch
2018	Rory Laird ^ (2)
2019	Daniel Talia
2020	Reilly O'Brien ^
2021	Rory Laird ^ (3)
2022	Jordan Dawson ^
2023	Taylor Walker ^
2024	Ben Keays ^
2025	Jordan Dawson ^ (2)

The Phil Walsh Best Team Man Award was renamed in 2015 to honour the late Phil Walsh. It recognises the most selfless player who lives and breathes ‘team first’. ^[35]

Year	Recipient
1991	Rodney Maynard
1992	Mark Bickley
1993	Mark Bickley (2)
1994	Mark Ricciuto
1995	Rod Jameson
1996	Matthew Robran
1997	Kym Koster
1998	Peter Caven
1999	Mark Stevens
2000	Mark Bickley (3)
2001	Tyson Stenglein
2002	Mark Stevens (2)
2003	Mark Ricciuto (2)
2004	Matthew Clarke
2005	Nathan Bassett
2006	Simon Goodwin
2007	Scott Stevens
2008	Michael Doughty
2009	Brad Symes
2010	Scott Stevens (2)
2011	Michael Doughty (2)
2012	Sam Jacobs
2013	Richard Douglas
2014	Taylor Walker ^
2015	James Podsiadly
2016	Eddie Betts
2017	Richard Douglas (2)
2018	Richard Douglas (3)
2019	Kyle Hartigan
2020	Tom Lynch
2021	Tom Lynch (2)
2022	Reilly O'Brien ^
2023	Reilly O'Brien ^ (2)
2024	Reilly O'Brien ^ (3)
2025	Alex Neal-Bullen ^

The Dr. Brian Sando, OAM Trophy is awarded to the player who shows professionalism and preparation to play at the highest level. ^[36]

Year	Recipient
2012	Daniel Talia
2013	Daniel Talia (2)
2014	Nathan van Berlo
2015	Jake Lever
2016	David Mackay
2017	Rory Sloane
2018	Tom Doedee
2019	Reilly O'Brien ^
2020	Andrew McPherson
2021	Ned McHenry
2022	Ben Keays ^
2023	Andrew McPherson (2)
2024	Ben Keays ^ (2)
2025	Ben Keays ^ (3)

The current Mark Bickley Emerging Talent Award is an amalgamation of two awards from the Club’s history – the Emerging Talent Award and the M.A. Bickley Award. The Mark Bickley Emerging Talent Award now recognises the achievements of a player under the age of 21 as the best ‘all round’ emerging talent. ^[37]

Year	Recipient
	Emerging Talent Award	Mark Bickley Award
1995	Andrew McLeod	—
1996	Peter Vardy	—
1997	Kane Johnson	—
1998	Andrew Eccles	—
1999	Brett Burton	—
2000	Tyson Stenglein	—
2001	Chris Ladhams	—
2002	Graham Johncock	—
2003	Brent Reilly	—
2004	Ben Rutten	—
2005	Nathan van Berlo	Chris Knights
2006	Jason Porplyzia	Nathan van Berlo
2007	Jonathon Griffin	Jason Porplyzia
2008	Kurt Tippett	David Mackay
2009	Andy Otten	Patrick Dangerfield
2010	Rory Sloane	Phil Davis
2011	Daniel Talia	Matthew Jaensch
2012	Brodie Smith	Sam Kerridge
2013	Brad Crouch	Luke Brown
2014	Charlie Cameron
2015	Matt Crouch
2016	Jake Lever
2017	Wayne Milera ^
2018	Tom Doedee
2019	Chayce Jones ^
2020	Andrew McPherson
2021	Harry Schoenberg
2022	Sam Berry ^
2023	Max Michalanney ^
2023	Jake Soligo ^
2025	Daniel Curtin ^

The Foundation Community Leadership Award recognises a player who made a significant contribution to the community outside of football. ^[38]

Year	Recipient
2015	Taylor Walker ^
2016	Charlie Cameron
	Kyle Hartigan
2017	Eddie Betts
2018	Hugh Greenwood
2019	Tom Doedee
2020	—
2021	—
2022	Tom Doedee (2)
2023	Reilly O'Brien ^
2024	Reilly O'Brien ^ (2)
2025	Nick Murray ^

See also

• Sports portal
• Australia portal

• Adelaide Club Champion (AFL Women's) (list of Adelaide Football Club best and fairest winners in the AFL Women's)

References

General

• "Club Awards". AFC.com.au. Bigpond . Retrieved 7 August 2016.

Specific

1. "AFL Best and Fairest winners 2017: Who won your team's club champion award?". Fox Sports Australia. News Corp Australia. 3 September 2017. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
2. Schmook, Nathan (4 October 2025). "Crows captain makes history with third straight B&F". afl.com.au.
3. Capel, Andrew (23 June 2011). "'Blindsided' Mickan to stay in footy". The Advertiser . News Corp Australia . Retrieved 8 October 2016.
4. Morgan, Kym (2 June 2015). "Chris McDermott urges Crows to draft more local talent". The Advertiser . News Corp Australia . Retrieved 8 October 2016.
5. Rucci, Michelangelo (14 October 2014). "Adelaide Football Club's greatest team of its first 25 AFL seasons". The Advertiser . News Corp Australia . Retrieved 8 October 2016.
6. Hanlon, Peter (29 August 2002). "Grateful Rehn calls it a day". The Age . Fairfax Media . Retrieved 8 October 2016.
7. Willis, Belinda (29 January 2016). "How Netball SA is fighting sexism in sport". The Advertiser . News Corp Australia . Retrieved 8 October 2016.
8. "Andrew McLeod retires". The Sydney Morning Herald . Fairfax Media. 23 August 2010. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
9. Burtenshaw, David (29 April 2015). "Hall of Fame: Mark Ricciuto". AFC.com.au. Bigpond . Retrieved 8 October 2016.
10. Rucci, Michelangelo (15 June 2016). "Ben Hart's rise from a 17-year-old schoolboy to Adelaide Crows poster boy". The Advertiser . News Corp Australia . Retrieved 8 October 2016.
11. "Hall of Fame: Simon Goodwin". AFC.com.au. Bigpond. 29 April 2015. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
12. "How the best was won". The Age . Fairfax Media. 7 October 2002. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
13. "AFL club champions 2003". The Age . Fairfax Media. 5 October 2003. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
14. Shiell, Alan (6 October 2006). "Goodwin's good win". AFC.com.au. Bigpond . Retrieved 7 August 2016.
15. Rucci, Michelangelo (5 October 2007). "Nathan Bock takes Blight honour". The Advertiser . News Corp Australia . Retrieved 7 August 2016.
16. Rucci, Michelangelo (3 October 2008). "McLeod proves his value". The Advertiser . News Corp Australia . Retrieved 7 August 2016.
17. Rucci, Michelangelo (2 October 2009). "Vince joins Adelaide club greats". The Advertiser . News Corp Australia . Retrieved 7 August 2016.
18. O'Connell, James (4 September 2010). "Douglas claims Adelaide's B&F". AFL.com.au. Bigpond . Retrieved 7 August 2016.
19. Australian Associated Press (10 September 2011). "Thompson claims Malcolm Blight Medal". ABC Online. Australian Broadcasting Corporation . Retrieved 7 August 2016.
20. "Scott Thompson regains Blight Medal". News.com.au . News Corp Australia. 6 October 2012. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
21. Rucci, Michelangelo (7 September 2013). "Soul of Crows line-up Rory Sloane wins his first best-and-fairest title". The Advertiser . News Corp Australia . Retrieved 7 August 2016.
22. Thring, Harry (5 September 2014). "Crows defender grabs first Malcolm Blight Medal". AFL.com.au. Bigpond . Retrieved 7 August 2016.
23. Fjeldstad, Jesper (27 September 2015). "Patrick Dangerfield wins Malcolm Blight Medal as Adelaide Crows best and fairest". The Advertiser . News Corp Australia . Retrieved 7 August 2016.
24. Gaskin, Lee (23 September 2016). "Sloane joins Adelaide greats with second club champion award". AFL.com.au. Bigpond . Retrieved 23 September 2016.
25. Gaskin, Lee (6 October 2017). "Crows ball magnet romps to first B&F win". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
26. Fjeldstad, Jesper (1 September 2018). "All-Australian defender Rory Laird takes out first Malcolm Blight Medal in a canter". The Advertiser . News Corp Australia . Retrieved 21 September 2018.
27. "Brad Crouch wins first Club Champion". afc.com.au. Telstra. 3 October 2019. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
28. "O'Brien wins Malcolm Blight Medal". afc.com.au. Telstra. 25 September 2020. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
29. "Rory Laird named 2021 Club Champion". afc.com.au. Telstra. 28 August 2021. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
30. "Rory Laird crowned 2022 AFC Club Champion". afc.com.au. Telstra. 29 September 2022. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
31. "Dawson crowned 2023 AFC Malcolm Blight Medallist". afc.com.au. 7 October 2023. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
32. Harvey, Daniela (5 October 2024). "Dawson, Keays dual winners of 2024 Malcolm Blight Medal".
33. "Players' Trademark award" . Retrieved 6 October 2025.
34. "Members' Most Valuable Player award" . Retrieved 5 October 2025.
35. "Phil Walsh Best Team Man award" . Retrieved 6 October 2025.
36. "Dr Brian Sando, OAM Award" . Retrieved 5 October 2025.
37. "Mark Bickley Emerging Talent Award" . Retrieved 5 October 2025.
38. "Foundation Community Leadership Award" . Retrieved 5 October 2025.