- Clive Churchill Medal
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Clive Churchill, Australian Kangaroos captain, 1953
The Clive Churchill Medal has been presented to the man-of-the-match of the National Rugby League's annual Grand Final match ever since the 1986 season. The award was created to honour Clive Churchill, one of the greatest rugby league players in Australian history, following his death in 1985. A prestigious honour in the NRL, The medal's recipient is chosen by the selectors of the Australian national team and announced and awarded at the grand final as the best and fairest player on the ground.
The first recipient of the medal was Parramatta's Peter Sterling. The only player to have won the award more than once is Canberra's Bradley Clyde (1989 and 1991). When in 2010 the Melbourne Storm were stripped of the 2007 and 2009 premierships, Clive Churchill Medallists from those years were decided would still continue to be recognised. Churchill, who the medal was named after, played for and later coached the South Sydney Rabbitohs, played interstate football for both New South Wales and Queensland, and also played for, captained and coached the Australian Kangaroos.
Retrospective Awards
As part of the Centenary Of League celebrations, the Clive Churchill Medal has been retrospectively awarded for man-of-the-match performances from season 1954, the first to feature mandatory grand finals. The first recipient from the 1954 season is the man for which the award was originally named, Clive Churchill.[6]
Despite claims to the contrary at the time of the announcement of the retrospective medals that there had not been Man Of The Match awards for Grand Finals prior to 1986, this was not the case - there had been the Dave Brown Medal awarded at some stage, and, according the NSWRL's official match day program, a new prize was awarded in 1971, with the winner named by reporters covering the game ([citation needed] (the first was won by South Sydney's Ron Coote). In 1972 the award went to Manly half back Dennis Ward, and the following year, to Manly's Bob Fulton. The retrospective Clive Churchill Medals - either by coincidence or design - reflect those award winners.
In the replayed grand finals of 1977 and 1978, the award was based on efforts over the course of both games.
Year Winner Team Position 1954 Clive Churchill South Sydney Fullback 1955 Jack Rayner South Sydney Second row 1956 Kevin Brown St George Prop 1957 Norm Provan St George Second row 1958 Norm Provan St George Second row 1959 Peter Provan St George Lock 1960 Monty Porter St George Second row 1961 Brian Clay St George Five-eighth 1962 Ian Walsh St George Hooker 1963 Norm Provan St George Second row 1964 Graeme Langlands St George Fullback 1965 Kevin Ryan St George Prop 1966 John Raper St George Lock 1967 Les Johns Canterbury (losing team) Fullback 1968 Eric Simms South Sydney Fullback 1969 Dave Bolton Balmain Five-eighth 1970 Bob Grant South Sydney Halfback 1971 Ron Coote South Sydney Lock 1972 Dennis Ward Manly-Warringah Halfback 1973 Bob Fulton Manly-Warringah Centre 1974 Arthur Beetson Eastern Suburbs Prop 1975 Ian Schubert Eastern Suburbs Fullback 1976 Graham Eadie Manly-Warringah Fullback 1977 Craig Young St George Prop 1978 Graham Eadie Manly-Warringah Fullback 1979 Steve Morris St George Halfback 1980 Steve Gearin Canterbury Winger 1981 Bob O'Reilly Parramatta Prop 1982 Brett Kenny Parramatta Five-eighth 1983 Brett Kenny Parramatta Five-eighth 1984 Peter Kelly Canterbury Prop 1985 Steve Mortimer Canterbury Halfback References
- ^ Mascord, Steve (28 September 1998). "Embarrassed, dizzy Tallis says every player should be given a medal". The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia: Fairfax): p. 22. http://newsstore.fairfax.com.au/apps/viewDocument.ac?docID=news980928_0317_1038. Retrieved 13 February 2011.
- ^ Massoud, Josh (2 September 2010). "St George Illawarra hooker Luke Priddis to retire at end of season". The Daily Telegraph. http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/nrl/st-george-illawarra-hooker-luke-priddis-to-retire-at-end-of-season/story-e6frfgbo-1225913013723. Retrieved 27 August 2011.
- ^ "Tigers claim historic premiership". abc.net.au. 2 October 2005. http://www.abc.net.au/cgi-bin/common/printfriendly.pl?http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200510/s1472930.htm. Retrieved 25 September 2011.
- ^ Stevenson, Andrew (2 October 2006). "Medal for the quiet achiever". The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia: Fairfax Media). http://www.smh.com.au/news/league/medal-for-the-quiet-achiever/2006/10/01/1159641217277.html. Retrieved 2009-12-16.
- ^ Chammas, Michael (4 October 2010). "2010 Clive Churchill winner Darius Boyd". Illawarra Mercury (Australia: Fairfax Media). http://www.illawarramercury.com.au/news/local/sport/rugby-league/2010-clive-churchill-winner-darius-boyd/1958382.aspx?storypage=0. Retrieved 4 October 2010.
- ^ James Dampney (1 October 2008). "Greats to get man-of-match awards". The Daily Telegraph (Sydney). http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/sport/nrl/story/0,26799,24429346-5006066,00.html. Retrieved 3 January 2008.
See also
National Rugby League (2011) Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
Melbourne Storm
Parramatta Eels
Sydney RoostersAustralian Rugby League · News Corporation · History (NSWRL · Super League war · All time club list) · Premiers · Wooden spooners · Records · Golden point games · NRL team rivalriesAnnual events: Dally M Awards · World Club Challenge · National Youth Competition · Foundation Cup · Club ANZAC Game · Clive Churchill Medal · 1989 League Legends Cup · Charity Shield · All Stars
Media: Big League · The Footy Show · Friday Night Football · The Matty Johns Show · NRL Dream · NRL Rugby League · Rugby League WeekCategories:- National Rugby League grand finals
- Rugby league trophies and awards
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