Clive Churchill Medal


The Clive Churchill Medal is the award given to the player judged to be man-of-the-match in the National Rugby League's annual Grand Final. 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 to the player judged best and fairest on the ground at every post-grand final ceremony.
The Clive Churchill Medal has been awarded ever since the 1986 NSWRL season when its first recipient was Parramatta's Peter Sterling. It was initially presented in a case until 2000 where it is presented separately with a ribbon being worn around the neck. The only two players to have won the award more than once are Canberra's Bradley Clyde and Melbourne Storm's Billy Slater. In 2010, the Melbourne Storm were stripped of the 2007 and 2009 premierships due to salary cap breaches exposed by the NRL, however the Clive Churchill Medallists from those years still continue to be recognised.
The medal has only been awarded to a member of the losing grand final team on four occasions. Bradley Clyde in 1991, Brad Mackay in 1993, Daly Cherry-Evans in 2013, and Jack Wighton in 2019.
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.

List of recipients

YearRecipientTeamPosition
1986Peter Sterling Parramatta Eels
1987Cliff Lyons Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
1988Paul Dunn Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
1989Bradley Clyde Canberra Raiders
1990Ricky Stuart Canberra Raiders
1991Bradley Clyde Canberra Raiders
1992Allan Langer Brisbane Broncos
1993Brad Mackay St George Dragons
1994David Furner Canberra Raiders
1995Jim Dymock Sydney Bulldogs
1996Geoff Toovey Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
1997Robbie O'Davis Newcastle Knights
1998Gorden Tallis Brisbane Broncos
1999Brett Kimmorley Melbourne Storm
2000Darren Lockyer Brisbane Broncos
2001Andrew Johns Newcastle Knights
2002Craig Fitzgibbon Sydney Roosters
2003Luke Priddis Penrith Panthers
2004Willie Mason Bulldogs
2005Scott Prince Wests Tigers
2006Shaun Berrigan Brisbane Broncos
2007Greg Inglis Melbourne Storm
2008Brent Kite Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
2009Billy Slater Melbourne Storm
2010Darius Boyd St. George Illawarra Dragons
2011Glenn Stewart Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
2012Cooper Cronk Melbourne Storm
2013Daly Cherry-Evans Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
2014Sam Burgess South Sydney Rabbitohs
2015Johnathan Thurston North Queensland Cowboys
2016Luke Lewis Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
2017Billy Slater Melbourne Storm
2018Luke Keary Sydney Roosters
2019Jack Wighton Canberra Raiders

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.
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 to the NSWRL's official match day program, a new prize was awarded in 1971, with the winner named by reporters covering the game. In 1972 the award went to Manly half back Dennis Ward, and the following year, to Manly's Bob Fulton. In 1974, Arthur Beetson won the press writers award, and in 1975 it was Ian Schubert. 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, although Manly-Warringah's Graham Eadie was a clear choice in 1978 after a dominating performance from fullback in the Grand Final replay.
YearWinnerTeamPosition
1954Clive Churchill South Sydney RabbitohsFullback
1955Jack Rayner South Sydney RabbitohsSecond row
1956Kevin Brown St George DragonsProp
1957Norm Provan St George DragonsSecond row
1958Norm Provan St George DragonsSecond row
1959Peter Provan St George DragonsLock
1960Monty Porter St George DragonsSecond row
1961Brian Clay St George DragonsFive-eighth
1962Ian Walsh St George DragonsHooker
1963Norm Provan St George DragonsSecond row
1964Graeme Langlands St George DragonsFullback
1965Kevin Ryan St George DragonsProp
1966John Raper St George DragonsLock
1967Les Johns Canterbury-Bankstown Fullback
1968Eric Simms South Sydney RabbitohsFullback
1969Dave Bolton Balmain TigersFive-eighth
1970Bob Grant South Sydney RabbitohsHalfback
1971Ron Coote South Sydney RabbitohsLock
1972Dennis Ward Manly-Warringah Sea EaglesHalfback
1973Bob Fulton Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
1974Arthur Beetson Eastern Suburbs RoostersProp
1975Ian Schubert Eastern Suburbs RoostersFullback
1976Graham Eadie Manly-Warringah Sea EaglesFullback
1977Craig Young St George DragonsProp
1978Graham Eadie Manly-Warringah Sea EaglesFullback
1979Steve Morris St George DragonsHalfback
1980Steve Gearin Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
1981Bob O'Reilly Parramatta EelsProp
1982Brett Kenny Parramatta EelsFive-eighth
1983Brett Kenny Parramatta EelsFive-eighth
1984Peter Kelly Canterbury-Bankstown BulldogsProp
1985Steve Mortimer Canterbury-Bankstown BulldogsHalfback

Multiple winners

The following players have won the Clive Churchill Medal multiple times.
MedalsPlayerTeamSeasons
3Norm ProvanSt George1957*, 1958*, 1963*
2Graham EadieManly-Warringah1976*, 1978*
2Brett KennyParramatta1982*, 1983*
2Bradley ClydeCanberra1989, 1991
2Billy SlaterMelbourne2009, 2017

* Retrospective medals.