# 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 at the 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 three players to have won the award more than once are Canberra's Bradley Clyde (1989 and 1991), Melbourne Storm's Billy Slater (2009 and 2017) and Penrith's Nathan Cleary (2021 and 2023) . 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 (St George) in 1993, Daly Cherry-Evans (Manly) in 2013, and Jack Wighton (Canberra Raiders) 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

Table key :
| ^ | Player was member of losing team |
Table of recipients :
| Year | Recipient | Team | Position |
| 1986 | Peter Sterling | Parramatta Eels | Halfback |
| 1987 | Cliff Lyons | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | Five-eighth |
| 1988 | Paul Dunn | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | Prop |
| 1989 | Bradley Clyde (1) | Canberra Raiders | Lock |
| 1990 | Ricky Stuart | Canberra Raiders | Halfback |
| 1991 | Bradley Clyde^ (2) | Canberra Raiders | Lock |
| 1992 | Allan Langer | Brisbane Broncos | Halfback |
| 1993 | Brad Mackay^ | St George Dragons | Lock |
| 1994 | David Furner | Canberra Raiders | Second-row |
| 1995 | Jim Dymock | Sydney Bulldogs | Lock |
| 1996 | Geoff Toovey | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | Halfback |
| 1997 | Robbie O'Davis | Newcastle Knights | Fullback |
| 1998 | Gorden Tallis | Brisbane Broncos | Second-row |
| 1999 | Brett Kimmorley | Melbourne Storm | Halfback |
| 2000 | Darren Lockyer | Brisbane Broncos | Fullback |
| 2001 | Andrew Johns | Newcastle Knights | Halfback |
| 2002 | Craig Fitzgibbon | Sydney Roosters | Second-row |
| 2003 | Luke Priddis | Penrith Panthers | Hooker |
| 2004 | Willie Mason | Bulldogs | Prop |
| 2005 | Scott Prince | Wests Tigers | Halfback |
| 2006 | Shaun Berrigan | Brisbane Broncos | Hooker |
| 2007 | Greg Inglis | Melbourne Storm | Five-eighth |
| 2008 | Brent Kite | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | Prop |
| 2009 | Billy Slater (1) | Melbourne Storm | Fullback |
| 2010 | Darius Boyd | St. George Illawarra Dragons | Fullback |
| 2011 | Glenn Stewart | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | Lock |
| 2012 | Cooper Cronk | Melbourne Storm | Halfback |
| 2013 | Daly Cherry-Evans^ | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | Halfback |
| 2014 | Sam Burgess | South Sydney Rabbitohs | Lock |
| 2015 | Johnathan Thurston | North Queensland Cowboys | Halfback |
| 2016 | Luke Lewis | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | Second-row |
| 2017 | Billy Slater (2) | Melbourne Storm | Fullback |
| 2018 | Luke Keary | Sydney Roosters | Five-eighth |
| 2019 | Jack Wighton^ | Canberra Raiders | Five-eighth |
| 2020 | Ryan Papenhuyzen | Melbourne Storm | Fullback |
| 2021 | Nathan Cleary | Penrith Panthers | Halfback |
| 2022 | Dylan Edwards | Penrith Panthers | Fullback |
| 2023 | Nathan Cleary (2) | Penrith Panthers | Halfback |
| 2024 | Liam Martin | Penrith Panthers | Second-row |

### Retrospective awards

As part of the Centenary of League celebrations in 2008, 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 ( (the first was won by South Sydney's Ron Coote). 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.
Table key :
| ^ | Player was member of losing team |
Table of recipients :
| Year | Recipient | Team | Position |
| 1954 | Clive Churchill | South Sydney Rabbitohs | Fullback |
| 1955 | Jack Rayner | South Sydney Rabbitohs | Second row |
| 1956 | Kevin Brown | St George Dragons | Prop |
| 1957 | Norm Provan (1) | St George Dragons | Second row |
| 1958 | Norm Provan (2) | St George Dragons | Second row |
| 1959 | Peter Provan | St George Dragons | Lock |
| 1960 | Monty Porter | St George Dragons | Second row |
| 1961 | Brian Clay | St George Dragons | Five-eighth |
| 1962 | Ian Walsh | St George Dragons | Hooker |
| 1963 | Norm Provan (3) | St George Dragons | Second row |
| 1964 | Graeme Langlands | St George Dragons | Fullback |
| 1965 | Kevin Ryan | St George Dragons | Prop |
| 1966 | John Raper | St George Dragons | Lock |
| 1967 | Les Johns^ | Canterbury-Bankstown | Fullback |
| 1968 | Eric Simms | South Sydney Rabbitohs | Fullback |
| 1969 | Dave Bolton | Balmain Tigers | Five-eighth |
| 1970 | Bob Grant | South Sydney Rabbitohs | Halfback |
| 1971 | Ron Coote | South Sydney Rabbitohs | Lock |
| 1972 | Dennis Ward | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | Halfback |
| 1973 | Bob Fulton | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | Centre |
| 1974 | Arthur Beetson | Eastern Suburbs Roosters | Prop |
| 1975 | Ian Schubert | Eastern Suburbs Roosters | Fullback |
| 1976 | Graham Eadie (1) | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | Fullback |
| 1977 | Craig Young | St George Dragons | Prop |
| 1978 | Graham Eadie (2) | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | Fullback |
| 1979 | Steve Morris | St George Dragons | Halfback |
| 1980 | Steve Gearin | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | Wing |
| 1981 | Bob O'Reilly | Parramatta Eels | Prop |
| 1982 | Brett Kenny (1) | Parramatta Eels | Five-eighth |
| 1983 | Brett Kenny (2) | Parramatta Eels | Five-eighth |
| 1984 | Peter Kelly | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | Prop |
| 1985 | Steve Mortimer | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | Halfback |

## Multiple winners

The following players have won the Clive Churchill Medal multiple times.
| Medals | Player | Team | Seasons |
| 3 | Norm Provan | St George | 1957*, 1958*, 1963* |
| 2 | Graham Eadie | Manly-Warringah | 1976*, 1978* |
| 2 | Brett Kenny | Parramatta | 1982*, 1983* |
| 2 | Bradley Clyde | Canberra | 1989, 1991 |
| 2 | Billy Slater | Melbourne | 2009, 2017 |
| 2 | Nathan Cleary | Penrith | 2021, 2023 |
* Retrospective medals.