Another young star will shine bright when the VFL announces the winner of the prestigious Fothergill-Round-Mitchell Medal on Thursday night.
The medal, which honours Des Fothergill, Barry Round and Sam Mitchell, the three men to have won the J.J. Liston Trophy-Brownlow Medal double, is awarded for the VFL’s most promising talent under the age of 24 at the start of the season.
While there is no Liston Medal this season due to the uneven number of games played by each club, all other awards will be presented via a live-stream hosted by Nigel Carmody and Nat Edwards on vfl.com.au from 6.30pm AEDT.
The past 14 winners of the Fothergill-Round-Mitchell Medal have gone on to be drafted to the AFL.
Charlie Cormack is Footscray’s sole nominee, with the 22-year-old averaging 15 disposals, five marks and two tackles from his seven games this season.
The VFL Team and Coach of the Year will also be named on Thursday night, as will the Alex Gillon Award for Volunteer of the Year and the Jim “Frosty” Miller Medal for leading goalkicker, while two new life members will also be inducted.
The headline act of the night is the Lambert-Pearce Medal, which honours women’s football pioneer Helen Lambert, who died in August, and the competition’s greatest player in seven-time winner Daisy Pearce.
There are plenty of contenders to join Darebin stars Pearce, Katie Brennan and Lauren Pearce and Williamstown’s Jess Duffin as the fifth winner of the VFLW award and add their name to a VWFL honour roll that includes the great Debbie Lee, Shannon McFerran and Sharon Bonnici.
The Debbie Lee Medal for the most promising young player, the Rohenna Young Medal for leading goalkicker, the Team and Coach of the Year and the Ann Rulton Award for Volunteer of the Year will also be presented.
The VFL/VFLW Awards Ceremony, featuring the Lambert-Pearce Medal for the VFLW best-and-fairest, will be streamed on vfl.com.au from 6.30pm on Thursday, October 7.
