Personal Honours
The Argus Medal, awarded to the Best and Fairest in the Victorian First Division, was first won by Maurice Payne of South Yarra in an era where the game was soon to enjoy an upward trajectory with an influx of new clubs and players from Europe. It would be seventeen years before the Victorian Soccer Federation (VSF) would embrace an award of its own, with referees voting on the best-and-fairest in the 1971 Victorian State League and the inaugural Rothmans Gold Medal awarded to John Gardiner of George Cross. While the cigarette sponsorship may have been lost, the amalgamation between the VSF and Women's Soccer Victoria resulted in the Gold Medal being cut for the Women's Premier League for the first time in 1999, Keilor Park's Sarah Fitzgerald claiming inaugural honours. As the game has expanded, so too has the honour roll for football's highest levels in Victoria, with goalscorers, goalkeepers and the game's finest youngsters sharing honours on Football Victoria's night of nights.
Included below are all the awards that have been struck at the top level (now known as the NPL), with a smattering of historically significant awards which have also been awarded to match officials, football personalities, journalists and photographers. Football Victoria will ultimately expand upon this section as it uncovers the devil in the detail on some of these awards, and will bring together winners of the Best-and-Fairest awards for the Men's and Women's State Leagues as those archives are restored by Tony Persoglia, Football Victoria's History and Heritage Coordinator. If you have any information pertaining to previous best-and-fairest award winners, please forward them to history@footballvictoria.com.au.