McClelland Trophy
Encyclopedia
The McClelland Trophy is an Australian rules football
trophy, currently awarded to the minor premiers in the Australian Football League
(AFL) each year. The minor premiers are the team that finished on top of the ladder at the end of the home-and-away season.
, a former Victorian Football League (now AFL)
player and administrator and member of the Australian Football Hall of Fame
.
Prior to 1991 the trophy was presented to the team with the best overall home-and-away record across the three levels of VFL/AFL
play: seniors, reserves and under 19s. Seniors wins were worth ten points, reserves were worth four, and under 19s were worth two (with the values halved for drawn games).
In the 1950s, a trophy of the same name was also awarded to Peter Pianto
for being the best Victorian player in an interstate match
against South Australia.
In 1991 the criteria for winning the McClelland Trophy was changed to its current status: finishing atop the AFL ladder at the end of the home-and-away season as AFL minor premiers.
Shortly after 1991 the Under 19s level of the league was replaced with a separate junior competition now known as the TAC Cup
. The Under 18s and the AFL Reserves competition were later scrapped in favour of an alignment with the then Victorian Football Association, which became known as the VFL prior to the start of its 1996 season.
The award is relatively low key, with no prize money because although finishing on top of the ladder ensures a slightly advantageous draw in the AFL Finals Series, the main goal of all teams is to win the AFL Premiership, by winning the grand final
.
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
trophy, currently awarded to the minor premiers in the Australian Football League
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
(AFL) each year. The minor premiers are the team that finished on top of the ladder at the end of the home-and-away season.
History
The award was instituted in 1951 and is named after William McClellandWilliam C. McClelland
William Caldwell McClelland CBE was a medical doctor and an Australian rules football player and administrator. Born at Buninyong, on Victoria's goldfields, to an Irish-born father and his Victorian-born wife , McClelland went to Brighton Grammar School and then to the University of Melbourne,...
, a former Victorian Football League (now AFL)
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
player and administrator and member of the Australian Football Hall of Fame
Australian Football Hall of Fame
The Australian Football Hall of Fame was established in 1996, the Centenary year of the Australian Football League, to help recognise the contributions made to the sport of Australian rules football by players, umpires, media personalities, coaches and administrators. It was initially established...
.
Prior to 1991 the trophy was presented to the team with the best overall home-and-away record across the three levels of VFL/AFL
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
play: seniors, reserves and under 19s. Seniors wins were worth ten points, reserves were worth four, and under 19s were worth two (with the values halved for drawn games).
In the 1950s, a trophy of the same name was also awarded to Peter Pianto
Peter Pianto
Peter Pianto was an Australian rules footballer and coach with Geelong in the VFL.Pianto played as a rover and was a premiership player with Geelong in 1951 and 1952...
for being the best Victorian player in an interstate match
Interstate matches in Australian rules football
Australian rules football matches between teams representing Australian colonies/states and territories have been held since 1879. For most of the 20th century, the absence of a national club competition and international matches meant that football games between state representative teams were...
against South Australia.
In 1991 the criteria for winning the McClelland Trophy was changed to its current status: finishing atop the AFL ladder at the end of the home-and-away season as AFL minor premiers.
Shortly after 1991 the Under 19s level of the league was replaced with a separate junior competition now known as the TAC Cup
TAC Cup
The TAC Cup is an under 18 Australian rules football representative competition held in Victoria, Australia. It is based on geographic regions throughout country Victoria and metropolitan Melbourne with each team representing 12 Victorian regions....
. The Under 18s and the AFL Reserves competition were later scrapped in favour of an alignment with the then Victorian Football Association, which became known as the VFL prior to the start of its 1996 season.
The award is relatively low key, with no prize money because although finishing on top of the ladder ensures a slightly advantageous draw in the AFL Finals Series, the main goal of all teams is to win the AFL Premiership, by winning the grand final
AFL Grand Final
The AFL Grand Final is an annual Australian rules football match, traditionally held on the final Saturday in September at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne, Australia to determine the Australian Football League premiership champions for that year...
.
Trophy winners
| Team | All grades (1951 - 1990) | Minor premiers (1991 - present) | Total | Most Recent Win |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adelaide | - | 1 | 1 | 2005 2005 AFL season Results and statistics for the Australian Football League season of 2005.See List of Australian Football League premiers for a complete list.-National Cup:... |
| Brisbane Bears Brisbane Bears The Brisbane Football Club, formerly nicknamed The Bears was an Australian rules football club and the first Queensland-based club in the Victorian Football League . The club played its first match in 1987, but struggled on and off the field until it made the finals for the first time in 1995... |
0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Brisbane Lions Brisbane Lions The Brisbane Lions is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Brisbane, Queensland. The club was formed from the merger of the Brisbane Bears and the Fitzroy Lions in 1996... |
- | 0 | 0 | |
| Carlton Carlton Football Club The Carlton Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club competes in the Australian Football League, and was one of the eight founding members of that competition in 1897... |
4 | 1 | 5 | 1995 1995 AFL season Results and statistics for the Australian Football League season of 1995.-Round 1:-Round 2:-Round 3:-Round 4:*This was the first ANZAC Day clash held between Collingwood and Essendon which famously ended in a draw.-Round 5:-Round 6:... |
| Collingwood Collingwood Football Club The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League... |
6 | 2 | 8 | 2011 2011 AFL season The 2011 Australian Football League season was the 115th season of the Australian rules football competition. It was the debut year for , and was scheduled to be the only season to be played with 17 teams... |
| Essendon Essendon Football Club The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed The Bombers, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League... |
5 | 4 | 9 | 2001 2001 AFL season Results and statistics for the Australian Football League season of 2001.See List of Australian Football League premiers for a complete list.-National Cup:Port Adelaide defeated Brisbane Lions 17.9 to 3.8 in the Final.... |
| Fitzroy Fitzroy Football Club The Fitzroy Football Club, formerly nicknamed The Lions, is an Australian rules football club formed in 1883 to represent the inner Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy, Victoria and was a foundation member club of the Victorian Football League on its inception in 1897... |
0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Fremantle Fremantle Football Club The Fremantle Football Club, nicknamed The Dockers, is an Australian rules football team which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in the port city of Fremantle at the mouth of the Swan River in Western Australia... |
- | 0 | 0 | |
| Geelong Geelong Football Club The Geelong Football Club, nicknamed The Cats, is a professional Australian rules football club, named after and based in the city of Geelong, playing in the Australian Football League . The club has been the VFL/AFL premiers nine times, with a record equalling 3 in the AFL era. Geelong has also... |
6 | 3 | 9 | 2008 2008 AFL season -Round 1 :-Round 2:-Round 3 :-Round 4:-Round 5:-Round 6 :-Round 7:-AFL Hall of Fame Tribute Match:-Round 8:... |
| Gold Coast | - | 0 | 0 | |
| Hawthorn Hawthorn Football Club The Hawthorn Football Club, nicknamed the Hawks, is a professional Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League . The club, founded in 1902, is the youngest of the Victorian-based teams in the AFL. The team play in Brown & Gold vertically striped guernseys... |
6 | 0 | 6 | 1988 1988 VFL season The 92nd Victorian Football League Premiership Season commenced in April 1988 and concluded on 24 September 1988, with Hawthorn winning their seventh Premiership in their sixth consecutive Grand Final appearance.-Night Series:... |
| Melbourne Melbourne Football Club The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Demons, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League , based in Melbourne, Victoria.... |
4 | 0 | 4 | 1990 1990 AFL season Results and statistics for the Australian Football League season of 1990.See List of Australian Football League premiers for a complete list.-Ladder:All teams played 22 games during the home and away season, for a total of 154... |
| North Melbourne North Melbourne Football Club The North Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Kangaroos, is the fourth oldest Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League and is one of the oldest sporting clubs in Australia and the world... |
3 | 1 | 4 | 1998 |
| Port Adelaide Port Adelaide Football Club The Port Adelaide Football Club is an Australian rules football club based in Alberton, South Australia, which plays in the Australian Football League and the South Australian National Football League... |
- | 3 | 3 | 2004 2004 AFL season Results and statistics for the Australian Football League season of 2004.See List of Australian Football League premiers for a complete list.-Wizard Home Loans Cup:The Wizard Home Loans Cup Final saw St... |
| Richmond Richmond Football Club The Richmond Football Club, nicknamed The Tigers, is an Australian rules football club which competes in the Australian Football League. Richmond shares healthy rivalries with Carlton, Collingwood and Essendon. After winning five premierships between 1967 and 1980, the club hit the depths in 1990,... |
7 | 0 | 7 | 1982 1982 VFL season The 86th Victorian Football League Premiership season commenced on 20 March 1982 and concluded on 25 September 1982 with Carlton winning their second consecutive Premiership against Richmond... |
| St Kilda | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2009 2009 AFL season -Round 1 :-Round 2:-Round 3 :-Round 4:-Round 5 :-Round 6:-Round 7:-Round 8:-Round 9 :-Round 10:... |
| Sydney Swans Sydney Swans The Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney... |
0 | 1 | 1 | 1996 1996 AFL season Results and statistics for the Australian Football League season of 1996.See List of Australian Football League premiers for a complete list.-Lighting Premiership:... |
| West Coast Eagles West Coast Eagles The West Coast Eagles are an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League. The club is based in Perth, Western Australia. The club was founded in 1986 and played its first games in the 1987 season. Its current home ground is Subiaco Oval... |
- | 3 | 3 | 2006 2006 AFL season Results and statistics for the Australian Football League season of 2006.-National Cup: 3.10.5 defeated 1.10.15 in the 2006 NAB Cup Final... |
| Western Bulldogs Western Bulldogs The Western Bulldogs are an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based at the Whitten Oval in West Footscray, an inner-western suburb of Melbourne... |
0 | 0 | 0 | |
- Richmond won the trophy four times in a row from 1972 until 1975, the most consecutive of any team.
- Collingwood (1964-1966), Hawthorn (1984-1986, inc 1985 tied), Essendon (1999-2001) and Port Adelaide (2002-2004) each won it three times in a row.
- Thirteen of the 41 McClelland Trophy winners between 1951 and 1990 went on to win the premiership in the same year.
- Only three of the McClelland Trophy winners since 1991 have missed the grand final: Essendon (1999), Port Adelaide (2002, 2003) and Adelaide (2005).