Best and Fairest (also known as Fairest and Best in some competitions, notably the Australian Football League) is the term commonly used in Australian sport to describe the player(s) adjudged to have had the best performance in a game or over a season for a given sporting club or competition while not receiving a suspension for misconduct or breaching the rules during that season.
In the Australian Football League (formerly the VFL), the Brownlow Medal is awarded to the player who, provided he has not been suspended during the season, receives the most votes from the umpires for being the Fairest and Best player in games during the home and away season. In each game, the umpires award three votes to the player they judge to be the best afield in that game, two votes to the second-best player and one vote to the third-best player. The votes are counted at a gala function on the Monday preceding the Grand Final.
Another "best and fairest" honour, the Leigh Matthews Trophy, is voted on by the AFL's players and awarded by their trade union, the AFL Players Association. Unlike the Brownlow, players who have served disciplinary suspensions during the season are still eligible to win this award.
| Medal | League | First awarded | Award criteria | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brownlow Medal | Australian Football League | 1924 | Fairest and best | Awarded by the league |
| Leigh Matthews Trophy | Australian Football League | 1982 | Most valuable | Awarded by the AFL Players Association |
| Sandover Medal | West Australian Football League | 1921 | Fairest and best | |
| Magarey Medal | South Australian National Football League | 1898 | Fairest and most brilliant | |
| J. J. Liston Trophy | Victorian Football League | 1945 | Best and fairest | Between 1923 and the 1941 the Recorder Cup was awarded, and between 1933 and 1940 the VFA Medal was also awarded |
| Grogan Medal | Queensland AFL | 1946 | Best and fairest | The De Little Medal was awarded earlier |
| William Leitch Medal | Tasmanian State League | 1930 | Best and fairest | A previous award also existed |
| Morrish Medal | TAC Cup | 1947 | Best and fairest | |
| Larke Medal | AFL National Under 18 Championships, Division 1 | 1976 | Best | |
| Hunter Harrison Medal | AFL National Under 18 Championships, Division 2 | 1992 | Best | |
| Phelan Medal | Sydney AFL | Best and fairest | ||
| Baldock Medal | Northern Tasmanian Football League | |||
| Nichols Medal | Northern Territory Football League |
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