DEFENCE MEDIA RELEASE
Issued by Ministerial Support and Public Affairs, Department of Defence, Canberra, ACT
Phone: 02 6127 1999, Fax: 02 6265 1545
MSPA 303/09
Monday, 14 September 2009
WINNER ANNOUNCED – AFL ARMY AWARD 2009
The winner of the 2009 AFL Army Award was announced this evening at an AFL
gala event in Melbourne.
Representing the Chief of Army, Major General David Morrison, AM, Commander
Forces Command, presented the award at the AFL All-Australian Awards Dinner.
“I’m pleased to announce Tom Hawkins from the Geelong Football Club is the
winner of the AFL Army Award for 2009,” Major General Morrison said.
“Tom was selected by football fans who voted on the AFL website each week across
the season. Army and the AFL asked the fans to examine three acts performed by
players in each round and to nominate the act they felt best exhibited Army’s core
values of Courage, Initiative and Teamwork.
“These are values Army has relied upon for over 100 years,” he said.
“In AFL, to achieve the highest level, a player must work effectively as part of a
team; he must initiate attacking and defending options opponents will not anticipate;
and he must be willing to put his body on the line to achieve results. Courage,
Initiative and Teamwork can be seen in every AFL match.
“I congratulate Tom for his efforts and am proud to present him tonight with a
medallion, a $10,000 travel package and an invitation to be a guest of the Army. We
will give him an Army experience money can’t buy,” Major General Morrison said.
The plays nominated for the AFL Award throughout season 2009 were team lifting,
game changing, or those requiring a player to put his body on the line – plays that
inspired the public to act by voting on the AFL website.
For information about a job in the Army, log onto defencejobs.gov.au or
call 13 19 01.
Media contact:
Malcolm Grieve (Defence Force Recruiting): 0409 603 684
Tony Bradford (Army): 0418 440 280
Defence Media Liaison: (02) 6127 1999 / 0408 498 664
NEWS 
