The player judged best on ground in tomorrow’s Geelong Football League grand final will win the inaugural Frank Fopiani Medal.
The award is named after legendary local football champion Frank Fopiani, who died in August.
Fopiani is regarded as local footy royalty. He played in seven premierships at North Shore and one at St Mary’s and was named best afield in a record three GFL Grand Finals in 1993, 1995 and 2004, the latter coming in the same year he coached St Mary’s to the premiership.
AFL Barwon chair Michelle Gerdtz said Fopiani’s record stood alone among a host of players, coaches and officials who have contributed to the history of the GFL competition across 45 years.
“Everyone in local football was shocked and saddened by Frank’s recent passing,” she said.
“Frank was an amazing footballer but more importantly he was a wonderful person, and his standing in the football community across our region speaks for itself. His record as a player in GFL grand finals is unrivalled and it is fitting that we recognise the enormous contribution Frank made to our competition.”
In addition to his record in grand finals, Fopiani won five best and fairest awards at North Shore through its era of dominance in the 1990s and early 2000s and was a GFL interleague representative player on multiple occasions.
In 2015 he was named by the Geelong Advertiser as the best Geelong Football League player of all time.
Fopiani’s wife Sylvia said her husband would have been humbled by the honour.
“Our family has been overwhelmed by the thoughts, messages and prayers of everyone in the Geelong football community since Frank passed,” she said.
“He was a loving husband, father and friend, and he will be dearly missed by all who knew him. This award speaks to the legacy Frank leaves behind, and we thank AFL Barwon for the gesture. You can’t stop the Fop.”
The inaugural Frank Fopiani Medal will be presented by Frank’s son Connor.
