NPL Victoria Men's Golden Boot
It's difficult to know when the Golden Boot was first officially awarded by the Victorian Soccer Federation, but records are clear enough to identify the top-flight competition's leading scorers as far back as 1965. There were many great forwards prior to this era, with Hall of Fame legend Frank McIver and Alec Forrest likely to have scored in excess of 300 goals between them in their illustrious careers. Jimmy Armstrong scored 152 in his Victorian State League career, finishing leading scorer on three separate occasions with Hakoah and South Melbourne. In the modern era, Sash Becvinovski leads all comers with 205 goals in a durable career which doesn't include his NSL records (14 goals) or his time in the Victorian second tier (20 goals). Becvinovski's four wins are only matched by Milos Lujic who claimed them in successive years between 2013 and 2016.
Season | Player | Club | Goals |
1965 | Peter Laraman | Slavia | 17 |
1966 | Con Nestorides | South Melbourne Hellas | 21 |
1967 | Attila Abonyi | Melbourne | 20 |
1968 | Jimmy Armstrong | Hakoah | 19 |
1969 | Wim Spiekerman | Ringwood City | 18 |
1970 | Steve Clarey | Hakoah | 16 |
1971 | Slobodan Zoraja | Footscray J.U.S.T. | 17 |
1972 | Jimmy Armstrong | South Melbourne Hellas | 17 |
1973 | Joe Cunningham | George Cross | 23 |
1974 | Jimmy Armstrong | South Melbourne Hellas | 22 |
1975 | Frank Donachie | Fitzroy United Alexander | 17 |
1976 | Graham French | Mooroolbark | 21 |
1977 | Ken Reed | George Cross | 24 |
1978 | Jamie Paton | Mooroolbark | 17 |
1979 | Gsry Ward | Preston | 15 |
1980 | Bobby McGuinness | Juventus | 17 |
1981 | Charlie Egan | Frankston City | 22 |
1982 | Paul Lewis | Green Gully | 23 |
1983 | Paul Lewis | Green Gully | 31 |
1984 | Steve Smith 1 | Box Hill | 23 |
1984 | Janusz Przybyla 1 | Polonia | 23 |
1985 | Graham French | Croydon City | 21 |
1986 | Iain Stirton | Morwell Falcons | 19 |
1987 | Dennis Morovic | St Albans | 18 |
1988 | Ivan Kelic | St Albans | 17 |
1989 | Kon Pappas | Caulfield City | 20 |
1990 | Paul Lewis | Heidelberg United | 21 |
1991 | Sash Becvinovski | Green Gully | 17 |
1992 | Sash Becvinovski | Green Gully | 17 |
1993 | Carlos Retre | Fawkner | 22 |
1994 | Peter Psarros | Port Melbourne Sharks | 23 |
1995 | Nick Tsaltas | Port Melbourne Sharks | 18 |
1996 | Bobby Despotovski | Heidelberg United | 25 |
1997 | Sash Markovski | Sunshine Georgies | 25 |
1998 | Sash Becvinovski | Altona Magic | 23 |
1999 | Peter Kakos | Port Melbourne Sharks | 23 |
2000 | Danny Gnjidic | Bulleen Zebras | 18 |
2001 | Peter Psarros 1 | Port Melbourne Sharks | 15 |
2001 | Zoran Todorovski 1 | Altona Magic | 15 |
2002 | Juan Nilo | Bentleigh Greens | 13 |
2003 | Joe Tricarico | Whittlesea Stallions | 16 |
2004 | Michael Curcija | Essendon Royals | 17 |
2005 | Michael Curcija | Essendon Royals | 15 |
2006 | Sash Becvinovski | Altona Magic | 17 |
2007 | Esala Masi | Oakleigh Cannons | 15 |
2008 | Pablo Cardozo | Richmond | 20 |
2009 | Joey Di Iorio | Dandenong Thunder | 16 |
2010 | Trent Rixon | Northcote City | 19 |
2011 | Richie Cardozo | Hume City | 19 |
2012 | Luke Sherbon | Dandenong Thunder | 17 |
2013 | Milos Lujic | Northcote City | 18 |
2014 | Milos Lujic | South Melbourne | 22 |
2015 | Milos Lujic | South Melbourne | 21 |
2016 | Milos Lujic | South Melbourne | 25 |
2017 | Kenny Athiu | Heidelberg United | 21 |
2018 | Brandon Barnes | Dandenong Thunder | 22 |
2019 | Liam Boland | Avondale | 22 |
2020 | Not awarded | ||
2021 | Not awarded | ||
2022 | Harrison Sawyer | South Melbourne | 17 |
2023 | Jonas Markovski | Altona Magic | 19 |
Notes:
- Dual winners.