The McClelland Trophy is an Australian Football trophy, currently awarded to the minor premiers in the Australian Football League each year. The Minor Premiers are the team that qualifies for the AFL Finals Series in first position at the end of the home-and-away season.^[1]

[edit] History

The award was instituted in 1951 and is named after Dr William C. McClelland, a former Victorian Football League (now AFL) player and administrator & 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.^[2] 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.^[3]

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 Under 18s, and the AFL Reserves competition was 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,^[4] the main goal of all teams is to win the AFL Premiership, by winning the Grand Final.^[5][6]

[edit] McClelland Trophy Winners

Team	All grades (1951 - 1990)	Minor premiers (1991)	Total	Most Recent Win
Adelaide	-	1	1	2005
Brisbane Bears	0	0	0
Brisbane Lions	-	0	0
Carlton	4	1	5	1995
Collingwood	6	0	6	1970
Essendon	5	4	9	2001
Fitzroy	0	0	0
Fremantle	-	0	0
Geelong	6	3	9	2008
Hawthorn	6	0	6	1988
Melbourne	4	0	4	1990
North Melbourne	3	1	4	1998
Port Adelaide	-	3	3	2004
Richmond	7	0	7	1982
St Kilda	0	2	2	2009
Sydney Swans	0	1	1	1996
West Coast Eagles	-	3	3	2006
Western Bulldogs	0	0	0

• The 1985 McClelland Trophy was tied between Carlton and Hawthorn, the only tie.
• 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 forty-one McClelland Trophy winners between 1951 and 1990 went on to win the premiership in the same year.
• Only four of the McClelland Trophy winners since 1991 have missed the Grand Final: Essendon (1999), Port Adelaide (2002, 2003) and Adelaide (2005).

[edit] References