The AFL Players' Association is pleased to announce the launch of the Madden Medal - a special new award honouring the achievements and contributions of retiring AFL players.

All retiring AFL players are invited to the special event recognising the careers of all AFL players to leave the game at the completion of the season.

Named in honour of former AFLPA Presidents and champion Essendon and Carlton players, Simon and Justin Madden the Madden Medal recognises outstanding achievement on and off the field by an AFL player over the entire course of his career.
The Madden Medal lunch pays tribute to all retiring AFL players, who are embarking on the next phase of their lives, celebrating the skill, effort and commitment required to play AFL football.

Four awards are presented to players bowing out of the game, including;
The Football Achievement Award,
Personal Development Award
Community Spirit Award.

The three accolades culminate into the Madden Medal.

In the first year of the award, the on and off-field contributions of 2007 season retiring players will be recognised at the lunch, including football icons such as James Hird, Nathan Buckley, Mark Ricciuto, Glenn Archer, Anthony Koutoufides and Chris Grant as well as the games lower profile 'foot soldiers', whose contribution to the community will also be duly celebrated.

Upon the Medal's launch, AFLPA CEO Brendon Gale said, "The Madden Medal is a terrific new initiative aimed at celebrating and recognising excellence on and of the field. 2007 has seen the retirement of some giants of the game and there could not have been a more fitting year to launch this important new award. The Madden Medal will be an annual award recognising the achievements of retiring AFL players whilst honouring both Simon and Justin Madden, whose deeds set a standard for excellence."

"The Madden Medal recognises the outstanding contribution which many AFL players make to football, family and the community, and is a fitting celebration for those players to have left an indelible mark on and off the field." Gale said.

ABOUT THE MADDEN MEDAL

The Madden Medal has been created to recognise the on and off-field achievements of 2007 season retiring or delisted AFL players.

Named in honour of the achievements of Simon and Justin Madden, the Madden Medal will be an annual event.

Four awards in total are presented including, The Football Achievement Award, The Personal Development Award and The Community Spirit Award. These three awards culminate into The Madden Medal.

The recipient of the Madden Medal will be the 2007 season retiring player, who in the selection committee's view has achieved excellence across these three categories.

The Madden Medal selection committee consists of the AFLPA Executive Committee; Joel Bowden (President), Brett Burton (Vice-President), Luke Ball, Adam Goodes, Tom Harley, Nick Maxwell, Robert Murphy, Luke Power, Darryl Wakelin and AFLPA CEO Brendon Gale.

The three awards - Football Achievement, Personal Development and Community Spirit all share the same on field criteria, but have separate criteria appropriate to each award.

The individual award categories and judging criteria includes;

Madden Medal

Criteria:
Outstanding on-field football achievements, a high level of off-field football achievements, a display of great personal growth over their career, community and charity endeavours.

Football Achievement Award

Criteria - Off field achievements:
Games played, premierships, awards / medals, style of play, professionalism, leadership, development of game, advocacy on behalf of players, legacy to the game.

Personal Development Award

Criteria - Off field achievements:
Personal development, business achievements, education and training, family support, hardship / recovery from long term injury.

Community Spirit Award

Criteria - Off field achievements:
Involvement with and work for charitable organizations, participation in community development initiatives, demonstrated empathy and support for disadvantaged people, leadership in tackling social issues in the community.

ABOUT THE MADDEN’S

Simon Madden was President of the then VFL Players' Association from 1987 to 1990, during a period of tremendous industry change which saw the development of a truly national competition with the introduction of the West Coast Eagles and the relocation of Fitzroy who became the Brisbane Lions.

Simon played a club record 378 VFL games for Essendon, including the club's 1984 & 1985 Premierships. The former captain won Essendon's Best & Fairest award four times, received the Norm Smith Medal in 1985 and was named All Australian in 1983, 1984, 1987 & 1988.

Off the field, the AFL Hall of Fame member completed a Diploma of Teaching and Graduate Diploma in Special Education and has worked as a Teacher in roles including physical education, technology and Vice Principal and has extensive media experience as a regular guest speaker for government, sporting and corporate bodies as well as a number of senior corporate roles.

Justin Madden was President of the AFL Players' Association during the AFL's emergence to full time professionalism (1990 to 1997).

Over this challenging period under Justin's stewardship, the AFLPA and AFL reached agreement on four Collective Bargaining Agreements, including the ground breaking first agreement reached between the AFLPA and AFL in 1990.

The two time Carlton Premiership Player (87 - 95) entered the Victorian Parliament in 1999 and as Minister for Sport and Recreation was responsible for delivering the highly successful Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games.

The current Victorian State Minister for Planning also worked as a school teacher and is a qualified architect.

Justin was also a two time winner of Carlton's Best and Fairest Award (1985 - 1991) playing a total of 332 AFL games (287 for Carlton and 45 games for Essendon).

Justin is also a member of the AFL Players’ Association Executive Committee (Past Player Representative)