The Brisbane Lions Club Champion 2019 event will take place this Saturday, the 5th of October. In what was an amazing turnaround year for the Club, nine key awards will be presented to celebrate the exceptional achievements of the players.

Merrett-Murray Medal

2018 Winner: Dayne Zorko

The Merrett-Murray Medal is the Lions’ highest individual honour and represents first place in the Lions Best and Fairest for the 2019 season. 

Lions skipper Dayne Zorko has won four consecutive Merrett-Murray Medals. The only other person to achieve such a feat was Kevin Murray, who won five straight from 1960-64. Will Dayne Zorko equal the record in 2019?

Nigel Lappin Trophy for Runner Up

2018 Winner: Dayne Beams

The Nigel Lappin trophy has been previously won by a host of legendary Brisbane Lions players, including Simon Black, Jed Adcock, Michael Voss, Luke Power, and more recently Daniel Rich and Mitch Robinson. 

Alastair Lynch Trophy for Third Place

2018 Winner: Stefan Martin

Previous winners of the Alastair Lynch Trophy include Jonathan Brown, Tim Notting and Justin Leppitsch.

2019 Finals Player Award

The 2019 Finals Player Award recognises the Lions player who has polled the most votes across the two AFL Finals Series with the same criteria that the Merrett-Murray Medal is awarded.

Shaun Hart Trademark Player of the Year

2018 Winner: Darcy Gardiner

The Shaun Hart Trademark Player of the Year recognises the Lions player who best exuded competitiveness this season both out on the footy field and in his week-to-week preparation.

Most Professional Player Award

2018 Winner: Harris Andrews

Marcus Ashcroft epitomised what it means to be a ‘professional’ athlete in this business, and set the standard for the team in terms of his preparation, approach to training and overall attitude. 

Neville Fallon Brisbane Lions Reserves Best and Fairest Award

2018 Winners: Ryan Bastinac, Claye Beams, Ben Keays and Corey Lyons

In 2015 the Brisbane Lions were very proud to announce that as a tribute to the late Neville Fallon, past Director of the Brisbane Lions, and his significant contribution to the Club, the Brisbane Lions AFC bestowed the honour of re-naming the Brisbane Lions Reserves Best and Fairest Award as the “Neville Fallon Brisbane Lions Reserves Best and Fairest Award".

Rookie of the Year Award

2018 Winner: Alex Witherden

All players who have completed their first year of AFL football are qualified to receive the honour – regardless of their age.

Previous winners of Rookie of the Year include Eric Hipwood, Harris Andrews and Lewis Taylor. 

Player's Player of the Year Award

2018 Winner: Dayne Beams

The Players’ Player of the Year Award is voted on ‘by’ the players ‘for’ the players.

Each week, the players were asked to vote on who they felt best reflected the values they strive for as a group. There was a great emphasis placed on acts that benefited the team as a whole and not necessarily the individual.

The player with the most votes each week wins, then the player who accumulates the most ‘wins’ over the season is the overall winner of the award – not necessarily the player with the most votes overall.