McClelland Trophy

[2] From 1991 to 2022, the trophy was presented to the minor premiers, i.e. the club that finished the AFL home-and-away season on top of the ladder.

The trophy now includes $1 million in prize money, to be shared equally between the club and its AFL and AFLW players.

The award was instituted in 1951 and is named in honour of Dr. William C. McClelland, who at that time had reached 25 years' service as President of the Victorian Football League.

[6] However, less than a week later, the VFL rescinded this decision after it was discovered that the McClelland Trophy followed the rules of the Brownlow Medal, which had removed its countback system five years earlier: consequently, the Hawks and Blues were declared joint winners.

[8] In 1957, a unrelated trophy of the same name was struck to reward the best Victorian player in interstate matches played against South Australia.

[2] Despite this change, some newspapers continued to publish cumulative results of the McClelland Trophy across the three grades up until Round 8,[12] while there was notable apathy throughout the league about the award's relevance.

[13] The original trophy features McClelland's head embossed in bronze on the centre of five panels of wood, where the names of each winning club is inscribed over the years.

The award has been relatively low-key, with no prize money until 2023, although in recent seasons there had been a private presentation to clubs released in video format on websites.

Prior to 1991, there was no trophy for the team that qualified for the finals in first position as minor premiers, even though winning the minor premiership did come with some prestige: finishing on first on the ladder at the end of the home-and-away season ensured an advantageous draw in the AFL finals series, and is also part of the official records.