The Victorian Amateur Football Association revealed its 2026 League Best & Fairest winners across every senior and Under-19 section except Premier Men's and Premier Women's at its annual Awards Show on Thursday, October 1.
Three sections produced tied winners and four of the 18 vote counts came down to a single vote, VAFA Media said. The show was hosted by Jason Bennett and Matthew Donald, who revealed the Top 5 leaderboards for each division and interviewed the winners.
In the Holmesglen Under-19 Premier count, Darcy Hepburn of St Kevin's and Curtis Howe of St Bede's/Mentone Tigers finished tied. The Under-19 South Division 1 title was shared by Maahi Patel of Willy CYMS and Harry Ockerby of Hampton Rovers.
Billy Robinson of Oakleigh and Xavier Winnett of St Kevin's tied in Under-19 South Division 3.
Signi Svendsen, a rookie recruit from Denmark, won the Division 5 Women's Best & Fairest for West Brunswick in her first season of football in Australia.
Emmy Johnson of Hawthorn and Maddi Wilson, who played across SBMT and Ormond, both claimed their second consecutive League Best & Fairest, with Wilson's award this year coming in Women's Division 1 for Ormond. Separately, Emogen Johnson of Hawthorn AFC won the Women's Division 3 title.
In the men's competition, Matt Fewings of Mazenod won the Premier C Best & Fairest for the second time in three seasons. Collegians veteran Kenny Ong took out the Premier B Men's title.
Other women's winners included Gemma Strangio of Glen Eira/Old McKinnon in Premier B, Lucy Doyle of MCC in Division 2 and Alicia Basham of Mazenod in Division 4. Grace Hemsley Woolley of Williamstown CYMS won the Holmesglen Under-19 Premier Women's award.
In the men's divisions, Rory Brodie of Prahran won Division 1, Conor Fowler of West Brunswick took Division 2 and Eamonn Avery of Hawthorn won Division 3. Among the Under-19 sides, Will Hart of Old Carey won the North Division 1 title, Harry Taylor of Old Camberwell won North Division 2, and Lucas Kennedy of Glen Eira/Old McKinnon won South Division 2.
All of the winners named at the Awards Show will formally receive their medals next Wednesday at the VAFA Awards Night at the San Remo Ballroom. The William Buck Premier Men's and Premier Women's Best & Fairest counts will be held live on the night, alongside the presentation of all 2026 VAFA premiership flags and the induction of the league's newest Life Members.
The VAFA, founded in 1892, is the largest senior community Australian rules football competition in Victoria and runs six senior men's divisions and seven senior women's divisions. The league's administration is based at Elsternwick Park.