PORT ADELAIDE midfielder Willem Drew has won his first Peter Badcoe VC Medal, following a character-filled performance in Port Adelaide’s Anzac Appeal Round clash with St Kilda on Friday night.
The Badcoe Medal was voted on by four journalists and media personalities covering the match and is awarded to the player who best demonstrates the ANZAC spirit and qualities of skill, courage in adversity, self-sacrifice, teamwork and fair play during the game.
Major Peter Badcoe VC served in the Vietnam War and is the last South Australian to be awarded the Victoria Cross - the military’s highest honour for bravery.
He was one of Australia's greatest war heroes, a highly-decorated soldier whose acts of bravery and courage saw him awarded the medal for three separate acts during the Vietnam conflict.
Major Badcoe died on a battlefield in Vietnam on April 7, 1967 - his last action on that day seeing him single-handedly try to stop a Vietcong machine gunner from firing on allied South Vietnamese troops.
Drew had 23 disposals, eight tackles and three clearances, to be the winner of the Peter Badcoe VC Medal for 2024 with a total of nine votes.
TOTAL VOTES
Drew (PA) – 7
Burgoyne (PA) – 6
R Marshall (St Kilda) – 2
Dixon (PA) – 2
Wanganeen-Milera (St Kilda) - 2
Sinclair (St Kilda) - 2
Wines (PA) – 1
Bergman (PA) – 1
Houston (PA) - 1
ALL THE VOTES
Rod Jameson – ABC Grandstand
3 – Drew (PA)
2 – Sinclair (St Kilda)
1 – Wines (PA)
Tim Ginever – FIVEaa
3 – Burgoyne (PA)
2 – Wanganeen-Milera (St Kilda)
1 – Bergman (PA)
Matt Turner – the Advertiser
3 – Drew (PA)
2 – R Marshall (St Kilda)
1 – Houston (PA)
Kane Cornes – AFL Nation
3 – Burgoyne (PA)
2 – Dixon (PA)
1 – Drew (PA)
Past Winners:
2004: Josh Carr (Port Adelaide)
2005: Warren Tredrea (Port Adelaide)
2006: Brendon Lade (Port Adelaide)
2007: Chad Cornes (Port Adelaide)
2008: Kane Cornes (Port Adelaide)
2009: Lenny Hayes (St. Kilda)
2010: David Rodan (Port Adelaide)
2011: Michael Rischitelli (Gold Coast Suns)
2012: Josh Kennedy (Sydney)
2013: Hamish Hartlett (Port Adelaide)
2014: Travis Boak (Port Adelaide)
2015: Travis Boak (Port Adelaide)
2016: Joel Selwood (Geelong)
2017: Robbie Gray (Port Adelaide)
2018: Joel Selwood (Geelong)
2019: Travis Boak (Port Adelaide)
2020: *not awarded – no ANZAC Round due to COVID-19 lockdown
2021: Ollie Wines (Port Adelaide)
2022: Connor Rozee (Port Adelaide)
2023: Connor Rozee (Port Adelaide)
