Rothmans Medal
| Rothmans Medal | |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | The best and fairest player in the New South Wales Rugby League and the Brisbane Rugby League |
| Country |
 Australia |
| First awarded |
1968 (Rothmans Medal) 1997 (Provan-Summons Medal) |
| Last awarded | 1997 |
The Rothmans Medal was the premier individual award in both the New South Wales Rugby League and Brisbane Rugby League competitions, and later in the Australian Rugby League, which was given to the player voted by referees as the best and fairest in those competitions for that year.
The award was established in both leagues in 1968, and ran until 1997. In 1998, with the establishment of the National Rugby League, the Rothmans Medal was replaced by the Dally M Medal as the official Player of the Year award. The Dally M Medal had existed as a secondary Player of the Year award in New South Wales since 1980.
History
The Rothmans Medal was the first official player-of-the-year award to be established in rugby league in Australia. The medal was sponsored by Rothmans, Benson & Hedges Inc., a tobacco production company. There were two Rothmans Medals awarded each year: one for the best player in the New South Wales Rugby League, and one for the best player in the Brisbane Rugby League.
The voting for the Rothmans Medal was done by the match-day referee. After each match, he awarded three votes to the best player, two votes to the second-best player, and one vote to the third-best player. This is the same basic format as the modern day Dally M, except that the votes are now determined by the media.
The two Rothmans Medals were first awarded in 1968, and were awarded each year until 1996. In 1997, the Rothmans Medal in New South Wales became known as the Provan-Summons medal, because all tobacco advertising and sponsorship was prohibited in Australia in 1992, under the Tobacco Advertising Prohibition Act 1992; the medal then disappeared altogether in 1998 with the merger of the Australian Rugby League and the Australian Super League. The Queensland Rothmans Medal was also last awarded in 1996, as the Queensland Cup superseded the Brisbane Rugby League as Queensland's premier rugby league competition in 1997.
Rothmans Medal Winners
New South Wales
Note: includes Provan-Summons Medal winner in 1997.
Queensland
| Year | Winner | Position | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 | Wayne Head | Fullback |  Western Suburbs |
| 1969 | Johnny Brown | Halfback |  Northern Suburbs |
| 1970 | Graeme Atherton | Five-eighth |  Southern Suburbs |
| 1971 | Len Brunner | Second-row |  Wynnum-Manly |
| 1972 | Marty Scanlan | Five-eighth |  Valleys |
| 1973 | John Eales | Centre |  Eastern Suburbs |
| 1974 | Jeff Fyfe | Lock | Eastern Suburbs |
| 1975 | Steve Calder | Lock | Northern Suburbs |
| 1976 | Darryl Brohman | Prop | Northern Suburbs |
| 1977 | Alan Currie | Lock | Eastern Suburbs |
| 1978 | Ian Pearce | Centre |  Redcliffe |
| 1979 | Neville Draper | Lock | Northern Suburbs |
| 1980 | Tony Obst | Fullback | Redcliffe |
| 1981 | Chris Phelan | Lock | Southern Suburbs |
| 1982 | Tony Currie | Fullback, Centre | Western Suburbs |
| 1983 | Trevor Paterson | Second-row | Eastern Suburbs |
| 1984 | Cavill Heugh | Prop | Eastern Suburbs |
| 1985 | Ian French | Second-row | Wynnum-Manly |
| 1986 | Bryan Niebling Scott Tronc |
Second-row, Prop Second-row, Prop |
Redcliffe Southern Suburbs |
| 1987 | Gene Miles | Centre | Wynnum-Manly |
| 1988 | Kevin Langer | Halfback | Western Suburbs |
| 1989 | Neil Tierney | Prop | Wynnum-Manly |
| 1990 | Trevor Benson | Redcliffe | |
| 1991 | Darryl Duncan | Five-eighth | Northern Suburbs |
| 1992 | Jason Hanrahan | Southern Suburbs | |
| 1993 | Paul Green Steve Mills |
Halfback |
Eastern Suburbs Western Suburbs |
| 1994 | Steve Bryant | Prop |  Brothers |
| 1995 | Graham Cotter | Prop | Redcliffe |
| 1996 | Alan Wieland | Lock, Second-row | Western Suburbs |
References
- ↑ Pramberg, Bernie (3 November 2006). "Winding back the clock". The Courier-Mail. Retrieved 26 July 2011.