Last Friday night, Old Xaverians co-captain Marcus Stavrou capped off his strong season by winning his fourth Bowen Ralph Medal, which is presented to the Red ‘n’ Blacks’ Best and Fairest player.

Tonight, he won his second J N Woodrow Medal for the VAFA Premier Section’s Best and Fairest.

Stavrou played in 15 home and away games and polled 27 votes to win the medal, polling votes in 11 matches. His vote tally is the highest since 2014. Stavrou attracted votes in his first four matches, then polled in seven of eight games between Rounds 7 and 14. He landed six best-on-ground performances in that eight-game stretch.

He streeted the field to finish 11 votes clear of the League’s leading goalkicker – Old Haileybury's Andreas Stefanakis, who finished two votes clear of Old Brighton’s Tom Fisher (14 votes). The 2022 Woodrow medallist, Old Brighton skipper Harry Hill, and star University Blues’ forward James Stewart, tied for 4th on 13 votes, while Xavs' 2024 Woodrow winner, Sam Fisher, finished sixth, polling 12 votes from 11 games before his season was cut short by injury.

Marcus Stavrou is the first Old Xaverian to twice win the VAFA’s most coveted individual award, having previously landed it in the COVID-shortened 2021 season, breaking a drought that extended back to Michael Blood’s Woodrow win in 1997.

The co-captain’s statistical performance was superb. He was rated elite in 10 of the 19 assessed categories – disposals (3^rd in comp), handball (3^rd), centre clearances (2^nd), contested possessions (6^th), overall clearances (6^th), as well as groundball gets, inside 50s, goal assists, goal involvements and score involvements.

Stavrou’s win means for the first time ever that Old Xaverian players have won the medal in consecutive years, with Sam Fisher winning it last year.

The late Michael Mulcahy (1966), Steve Pirrie (1981), and Mark McClelland (1989) were also Woodrow winners wearing red ‘n’ black.

Old Xaverians Frank Higginbotham (1939) and Mitch McKenzie (1969, 1970) won the VAFA Premier B (known now as the GT Moore Medal) and also won the VAFA Premier C Best and Fairest (known now as the Zachariah Medal) in 1937 and 1972 respectively.

‍