AFL Players Association awards

The AFL Players Association (AFLPA) awards are a group of awards given annually, mainly to players in the Australian Football League and AFL Women's, voted for by all AFL and AFL Women's players.

Main awards
The AFLPA nominates the following as their main awards.

Most valuable player
In the VFL/AFL, the most valuable player award is named the Leigh Matthews Trophy. It has been awarded by the players to the best player of the season annually since 1982. It is the AFLPA equivalent of the Brownlow Medal (voted for by umpires), and a variety of media-sponsored MVP awards. Gary Ablett, Jr. (2007–09, 2012–13) is the only player to win the award five times. Greg Williams (1985, 1994), Wayne Carey (1995, 1998), Michael Voss (2002, 2003), Chris Judd (2006, 2011) and Nat Fyfe (2014, 2015) have won the award twice.

In the AFL Women's, it has been awarded since the inaugural season in 2017. Erin Phillips is the only player to have won the award more than once, claiming it in 2017 and 2019.

VFL/AFL (Leigh Matthews Trophy)

AFL Women's

Best captain
In the VFL/AFL, the best captain award was given sporadically from 1986 until 1997, and has been given annually since 1998. Michael Voss won the award four times from 2001 to 2004, the most of any player.

In the AFL Women's, the award has been given since the inaugural season in 2017. Daisy Pearce holds the record for most wins with four, in 2017, 2018, 2020 and 2022 (S6).

VFL/AFL

AFL Women's

Best first-year player
In the AFL, this award has been given annually since 1998. It is awarded to the best adjudged player who is in his first year on an AFL list. The eligibility for the award is different from the AFL's other main award for the best performing young player, the AFL Rising Star, which can be won by any player aged under 21 as of 1 January that year, and who has not played more than ten matches before the start of the season. Michael Barlow, for example, won the award in 2010 but was not eligible for the Rising Star. Brownlow Medallists Adam Goodes and Chris Judd have both won the award in the past.

In the AFL Women's, the award has been given since the second season in 2018. There is a similarly decreased focus on youth—for example, Richmond's Irish convert Eilish Sheerin won the award in 2022 (S7) at the age of 30.

AFL

AFL Women's

Most courageous player
In the AFL, the award for most courageous player is called the Robert Rose Award. It has been awarded annually since 1991 to the most courageous player in the league. The award is named after the Australian sportsman Robert Rose, who became a quadriplegic in 1974 after a car accident. Glenn Archer has won the award most often (with six wins), while Paul Kelly won it five times, including four consecutively from 1994 to 1997. Jonathan Brown won the award in 2007, 2008 and 2011. In 2009, Joel Selwood won the award for the first time, and then won it three consecutive times from 2012 to 2014.

In the AFL Women's, the award has been given since the inaugural season in 2017. Chelsea Randall has won the award five times (in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022 (S7)), the most of any player.

VFL/AFL (Robert Rose Award)

AFL Women's

Other awards
The following awards are also currently or have previously been presented by the AFLPA.

Marn Grook Award
Named after the Indigenous game Marn Grook, the award was presented annually from 2001 to 2007 for the top emerging Indigenous player in the game, who must be within their first three seasons of AFL competition.

Grant Hattam Award
The Grant Hattam Award has been awarded annually since 1999 to the most outstanding piece of football journalism for that year as voted by the players. All forms of media from all around Australia, covering the AFL, AFL Women's or any other football topic, are eligible for the award.

The award was created in honour and memory of the late Grant Hattam, who was a leading sports and media lawyer.

Education and Training Excellence Award
The Education and Training Excellence Award has been given annually since 2001 to the player who displays the best all-round performance in balancing football with external education and training. From 2001 to 2016, it was awarded to AFL players only. Since 2017, the award has been presented to at least one winner from both the AFL and AFL Women's each year.

AFL

AFL Women's

22 Under 22 team
Each season, the AFLPA also names the 22 Under 22 team for both the AFL and AFL Women's. These are full teams of 22 (AFL) or 21 (AFL Women's) players. The AFLPA selects a team of 40, before the final team is selected by fans. To be eligible for selection, players must be aged 22 or under for the entire season (including finals). In the AFL, the first team was named in 2013, with a respective team also named for the 2012 season. In the AFL Women's, the first team was named in 2020, with a respective team named which covered the first three seasons from 2017 to 2019.

Mike Fitzpatrick Scholarships
Awarded annually to young aspiring non-AFL players, attempting to help them balance external study and training with football training.