AFL Best & Fairest Trophies: Ideas for Australian Football Clubs
14/08/2026At the end of every Australian football season, clubs have an opportunity to recognise the players, coaches and volunteers who helped make the year memorable. While premiership success deserves celebration, an AFL Best & Fairest award honours something equally important: consistent performance, teamwork, discipline and commitment throughout the entire season.
Choosing the right AFL Best & Fairest trophies can turn your club presentation night into a special occasion. Whether you are ordering awards for a junior football team, amateur club, school competition or senior league, the trophy should reflect the significance of the achievement and give each recipient something they will be proud to keep.
Online Trophy Shop offers a wide selection of AFL and Aussie Rules trophies, medals, plaques and perpetual awards for football clubs across Australia.
What Is an AFL Best & Fairest Award?
The Best & Fairest award is traditionally presented to the player judged to have performed at the highest level across the season while demonstrating sportsmanship, discipline and respect for the game.
Unlike a leading goal-kicker or Player of the Match award, the Best & Fairest usually recognises consistent contribution over many rounds. Depending on the club’s voting system, votes may be awarded by coaches, officials or an appointed selection panel after each game.
Many Australian football clubs also present awards for:
- Best & Fairest
- Best & Fairest runner-up
- Third-place Best & Fairest
- Most Valuable Player
- Coaches’ Award
- Players’ Player
- Most Improved Player
- Best Team Player
- Leading Goal Kicker
- Best First-Year Player
- Most Courageous Player
- Best Finals Player
- Club Person of the Year
- Volunteer or Service Award
Offering several meaningful award categories allows clubs to recognise different contributions rather than focusing only on the highest vote-getters.
AFL Best & Fairest Trophy Ideas
1. Traditional Football Trophies
A football-themed trophy is a popular and instantly recognisable choice for junior and senior AFL presentations. These awards may feature an Aussie Rules player, football, goalposts or other elements associated with the game.
Traditional trophies are available in many sizes and styles, making it easy to create a clear award hierarchy. For example, a larger design can be selected for the Best & Fairest winner, with complementary smaller trophies for the runner-up and other club awards.
Explore the available AFL and Aussie Rules trophy range to find designs suited to different age groups, budgets and presentation-night themes.
2. Perpetual Trophies
A perpetual trophy is an excellent option for a club’s most prestigious annual award. The main trophy remains with the club, while the winner’s name is engraved onto a plate each season.
Over time, a perpetual award becomes part of the club’s history. Players can look back at past winners, compare different eras and see the names of people who have made an important contribution to the team.
Clubs can choose from perpetual trophies and awards, including traditional shields, plaques, cups and statement pieces with space for multiple winners.
Many clubs combine a perpetual trophy with a smaller individual award that the season’s recipient can take home.
3. AFL Medals
Medals are a practical and affordable option when recognising an entire junior squad or presenting awards across multiple teams and age divisions.
An engraved AFL medal can be used for:
- Best & Fairest
- Runner-up Best & Fairest
- Participation
- Milestone games
- Grand final appearances
- Premiership teams
- Auskick and junior football presentations
Online Trophy Shop has a dedicated collection of AFL and Aussie Rules medals suitable for clubs ordering individual awards or larger quantities.
Medals can also be presented in boxes or cases to give major individual awards a more prestigious finish.
4. Plaques and Shields
Plaques and shields provide a classic club-style presentation and offer generous space for engraving. They work particularly well when the award inscription includes the player’s name, club name, team, season and award category.
A timber shield featuring the club logo can create a traditional Best & Fairest award, while a modern plaque may be better suited to clubs looking for a clean, contemporary design.
Browse plaques and shields for options that can be personalised for an Australian football presentation.
5. Prestige Cups
For a senior Best & Fairest, club champion or league-wide award, a prestige cup can make a strong centrepiece on presentation night. Metal cups and larger trophy designs have a formal appearance and photograph well during award ceremonies.
A cup can also be used as a perpetual award, with annual winners recorded on the base. This makes it ideal for clubs that want to establish a long-running tradition.
View the range of trophy cups for formal club championship and Best & Fairest presentations.
6. Custom Club Awards
Personalisation can transform a standard trophy into an award that feels unique to your football club. Depending on the chosen design, custom details may include:
- Player’s full name
- Best & Fairest award title
- Club or team name
- Age group or division
- Season or presentation year
- Club logo
- Sponsor logo
- Final vote total
- A short message of recognition
Using the same engraving format across every award creates a consistent and professional presentation. Club colours can also be incorporated through ribbons, inserts, plates or selected award finishes.
How to Create an AFL Award Hierarchy
A well-planned award range helps the audience immediately understand the importance of each achievement. Your club might choose a large perpetual shield for the overall Best & Fairest, a premium individual trophy for the winner to keep and smaller matching awards for the runner-up and third place.
A possible AFL trophy hierarchy could be:
- Best & Fairest – premium trophy or perpetual shield
- Runner-up Best & Fairest – coordinating trophy in a smaller size
- Third Place – smaller trophy or plaque
- Coaches’ Award – football-themed trophy
- Players’ Player – plaque or resin award
- Most Improved – trophy or engraved medal
- Participation – medal for each junior player
Choosing awards from the same collection can give the presentation table a coordinated appearance while still distinguishing the major winners.
What Should Be Engraved on a Best & Fairest Trophy?
Clear, concise engraving generally creates the best result. A typical inscription might read:
Riverside Football Club
Best & Fairest
Under 16 – 2026
Jordan Smith
For a runner-up award:
Riverside Football Club
Best & Fairest Runner-Up
Under 16 – 2026
Taylor Jones
Check the spelling of every player’s name, team and award category before submitting the order. It is also helpful to keep capitalisation and age-group formatting consistent across the entire award list.
When Should Football Clubs Order Their Trophies?
Clubs should begin planning their awards several weeks before the presentation night. Starting early provides time to:
- Confirm the final award categories
- Collect player and recipient names
- Approve trophy styles and sizes
- Prepare club logos in a suitable format
- Review engraving details
- Allow time for production and delivery
The exact Best & Fairest winner may not be known until votes are counted, but clubs can still choose the trophy range and prepare most of the engraving information beforehand. If you are unsure about timing or personalisation, contact Online Trophy Shop before placing your order.
AFL Trophies Delivered Across Australia
Online Trophy Shop is a family-owned Perth business supplying trophies, medals, plaques and personalised awards to football clubs throughout Western Australia and across the country. Whether your club needs one prestige Best & Fairest trophy or awards for multiple teams, age groups and volunteers, ordering online makes it easier to organise the complete presentation range in one place.
Browse the full selection of trophies and awards online or contact the team for help selecting suitable AFL awards for your club.
Celebrate the Players Who Give Their Best
A great football award represents more than the result of a vote count. It recognises the training sessions, difficult games, team-first decisions and consistent effort that shape an entire season.
By choosing quality AFL Best & Fairest trophies and adding thoughtful personalisation, Australian football clubs can create awards that players will display with pride for many years.
Ready to organise your club’s end-of-season awards? Explore AFL trophies, AFL medals and perpetual awards from Online Trophy Shop, or contact the team for assistance.