AFL Barwon has honoured local football champion Frank Fopiani, with the player adjudged best-on-ground in the Geelong Football League Grand Final to receive the Frank Fopiani Medal.

The inaugural medal will be awarded at the conclusion of Friday’s Grand Final between Leopold and South Barwon.

Fopiani, who passed away in August, played in seven premierships at North Shore and one at St Mary’s.

He was named best-on-ground in a record three GFL Grand Finals in 1993, 1995 and 2004, the latter coming in the same year he coached St Mary’s to the premiership.

AFL Barwon chair, Michelle Gerdtz, said Fopiani’s record stood alone among a host of players, coaches and officials who have contributed to the history of the GFL competition across 45 years.

“Everyone in local football was shocked and saddened by Frank’s recent passing,” Gerdtz said.

“Frank was an amazing footballer but more importantly he was a wonderful person, and his standing in the football community across our region speaks for itself.

“His record as a player in GFL Grand Finals is unrivalled and it is fitting that we recognise the enormous contribution Frank made to our competition.”

In addition to his record in grand finals, Fopiani won five best-and-fairest awards at North Shore through its era of dominance in the 1990s and early 2000s and was a GFL interleague representative player on multiple occasions.

In 2015 he was named by the Geelong Advertiser as the best Geelong Football League player of all time.

Fopiani’s wife, Sylvia, said her husband would have been humbled by the honour.

“Our family has been overwhelmed by the thoughts, messages and prayers of everyone in the Geelong football community since Frank passed,” Sylvia said.

“He was a loving husband, father and friend, and he will be dearly missed by all who knew him.

“This award speaks to the legacy Frank leaves behind, and we thank AFL Barwon for the gesture. You can’t stop the Fop.”

The inaugural Frank Fopiani Medal will be presented by Frank's son, Connor.

South Barwon Midfielder Doyle Madigan has capped off a remarkable season by being named the 2024 Mathieson Medallist.

It is the second consecutive year that the Swans having taken home the Mathieson Medal, with Madigan's teammates Fraser Fort & Matt Caldow sharing the award in 2023. 

Madigan was named best afield in 5 games and averaged 23 disposals, 12 contested, 5 clearances and 6 score involvements for the year.

Geelong West Giants midfielder Tanner Lovell was 2 votes behind with Lachlan Patten and Marcus Thompson 4 votes behind Madigan.

St Mary's star and former Mathieson Medallist, Harry Benson was named the inaugural Geelong Advertiser Coaches Player of the Year.

The full list of award winners and leaderboards can be found below.

Blood Toyota Seniors Cup

Best & Fairest – Doyle Madigan (South Barwon)

Runner Up Best & Fairest – Tanner Lovell (Geelong West Giants)

Leading Goal Kicker – Adam Garner (Colac) – 62 Goals

Full Leaderboard

Buckleys Reserves Cup

Best & Fairest – Hamish Dawson (Bell Park)

Runner Up Best & Fairest – Francesco Posterino (Newtown & Chilwell)

Runner Up Best & Fairest – Tanner Sadler (South Barwon)

Leading Goal Kicker Ayden Gras (St Joseph’s) – 60 Goals

Full Leaderboard

Geelong Advertiser Coaches Player of the Year Award – Harry Benson (St Mary’s)

Rookie of The Year – Tobyn Murray (Colac)

Colac's Eliza Cahill and South Barwon's Ellen Doyle have tied for the 2024 Geelong Football Netball League A-Grade Medal.

In an exciting count, Cahill was 4 votes ahead of Doyle at the end of round 15 only for the Swans goaler to receiving 2 votes in the last 2 rounds to tie for the medal. This was the second time Doyle has won the award, being crowned the winner in 2022.

Cahill had a remarkable season, being named best on court for the Tigers in 6 matches.

In other awards for the night:

• Newtown & Chilwell young star Holly Adams-Alcock was named the Rising Star.
• Vanessa Augustini was the inaugural Coaches Player of the Year.
• St Joseph's Coach Riley Richardson was named the Coaches Team of the Year.

The full leaderboards and award winners can be found below.

A Grade Blood Toyota Cup

Best & Fairest – Eliza Cahill (Colac)

Best & Fairest – Ellen Doyle (South Barwon)

Hotshots Winner – Ellen Doyle (South Barwon) – 727 Goals

Full Leaderboard

B Grade Buckleys Cup

Best & Fairest – Jessie Lang (Colac)

Runner Up Best & Fairest – Jayne Soden (Bell Park)

Hotshots Winner – Emma Collins (St Albans) – 613 Goals

Full Leaderboard

C Grade Geelong Advertiser Cup

Best & Fairest – Kirsty Fagan (Leopold)

Runner Up Best & Fairest – Tilly Balmer (St Mary’s)

Hotshots Winner – Anna Maher (Leopold) – 560 Goals

Full Leaderboard

D Grade Epworth Cup

Best & Fairest – Ebony Halliwell (St Mary’s)

Runner Up Best & Fairest – Sophie Boland (South Barwon)

Hotshots Winner – Kayla Biggs – 500 Goals

Full Leaderboard

E Grade Corio Bay Health Group Cup

Best & Fairest – Ella Johns (Bell Park)

Runner Up Best & Fairest – Phoebe Powell (Leopold)

Hotshots Winner – Libby Quigley (Bell Park) – 233 Goals

Full Leaderboard

Rising Star of the Year – Holly Adams-Alcock (Newtown & Chilwell)

Geelong Advertiser Coaches Player of the Year – Vanessa Augustini (Newtown & Chilwell)

Coaches Team of the Year                                       

Bec Winch (Colac)

Olivia Cameron (C) (South Barwon)

Ellen Doyle (South Barwon)

Elli Leydin (St Joseph's)

Vanessa Augustini (Newtown & Chilwell)

Kiahna Fallon (South Barwon)

Emily Kingston (St Joseph's)

Brooke Allan (St Joseph's)

Indya Forde (Colac)

Tori Honner (St Joseph's)

Coach – Riley Richardson (St Joseph's)

The AFL Barwon region has a rich history and tradition of recognising excellence and contributions of our community through various awards. 

The AFL Barwon Commission insists that award names in the AFL Barwon region honour those who have made significant, lasting contributions to our community, preserving their legacies for future generations.

To ensure these awards reflect the outstanding individuals and their legacies, a formal process for naming awards has been established. 

We are seeking nominations for the following awards to be named in a bid to acknowledge outstanding service and achievements.

Football

• Bellarine Football Netball League Seniors Best on Ground in a Grand Final
• Geelong Football Netball League Seniors Leading Goal Kicker
• Bellarine Football Netball League Seniors Leading Goal Kicker 

Netball

• Geelong Football Netball League A Grade Netball Best on Court in a Grand Final
• Bellarine Football Netball League A Grade Netball Best on Court in a Grand Final
• Geelong Football Netball League A Grade Netball Best and Fairest
• Bellarine Football Netball League A Grade Netball Best and Fairest
• Geelong Football Netball League A Grade Netball Hot Shots
• Bellarine Football Netball League A Grade Netball Hot Shots
• Senior Netball Coach of the Year

To nominate an eligible person(s) for a renaming of any awards outlined in this document, click on the following link Award Naming Application Form

To view the renaming process, please see the following link AFL Barwon Recognition & Awards Program