RDFNL Bowen Medal 2026: Every club’s top contender

The conclusion of the RDFNL home and away season has arrived, which means it’s time for finals footy and the league presentation.

Here at the North Central Review, we’ve listed all 11 clubs’ best chances at winning a Bowen Medal.

In recent history, Wallan Football Club has dominated the medal, taking home four of the last five thanks to Steven Boyall (x2), Chris Stewart and Ricky Schraven.

Finishing on top of the ladder, the Magpies have put their best foot forward in an attempt for a premiership, and have done that through multiple players this season.

Other stars continued to dominate in their team’s outfits all season, similarly to last year, pushing their case at not only a club best and fairest, but also a league medal.

Here is your team’s best chance on presentation night:

Woodend Hawks – Daniel Toman

Across his 16 games of footy this season, Toman leads the way in ranking points across the league for Premier Data.

He’s been as good as anyone across the last couple of years across the league and continues to push his name into the RDFNL history books.

Playing for Woodend, it will be challenging to poll votes due to the lack of success it’s had on field as a team, but the positive for the Hawks and Toman is that not too many people will steal votes off him.

He’s won one in the last five years; could he be close to his second?

Find all stats at the bottom of the article.

Riddells Creek Bombers – Nathan Hrovat

The three-peat chances are still alive at Riddells Creek, but due to it’s building injury list, it’ll need absolutely everything from Nathan Hrovat in finals.

Hrovat has been the man to beat in the middle of the ground for the Bombers and has one of the best average stat lines in the league.

Averaging 37 disposals, eight clearances, one goal and seven score involvements, he would have to be one of the absolute favourites for the Bowen Medal.

He’s played in 14 of 16 games for the year, and will have to compete against Zakkaria Saad’s great start to the year and some other competition like Mark Kovacevic, but his last five weeks to close out the season should almost see maximum votes, considering the performances.

Melton South Panthers – Blake Souter

It’s been a crazy year in Melton South as it become one of the contenders for a flag in 2026.

It was the only team to defeat Wallan and also beat Riddell in the last round, giving itself every chance at a run for a flag.

Blake Souter was one of the main contributors throughout the year, playing every game for the season, averaging 30 disposals and eight clearances, taking control of the Panthers’ midfield.

With more wins in 2026, it is every chance that Souter becomes one of the favourites for the league medal, and could well and truly land in the top five for the votes.

Gisborne Giants – Matt Quigley

There were some positive signs from the Giants in 2026, winning more games and staying well and truly competitive against the best across the year.

Their captain, Matt Quigley, was a standout alongside Bradley Mangan, who kicked 70 goals, and Mitchell Bongiovanni, who was also solid throughout.

Quigley racked up an average of 36 disposals a game, with 10 clearances and six score involvements included.

He’ll have to battle the win-loss record of the Giants, as well as his teammates potentially stealing votes off him, but he will certainly be up there on the leaderboard after an elite 2026.

Lancefield Tigers – Walter King

It will be exceptionally hard for Lancefield and Walter King to poll votes this season due to the Tigers having recorded zero wins, but that doesn’t take away from the chance and success of a good individual season.

King was a standout for the Tigers, playing 16 games across the year and being named in their best 12 times.

Being one of the younger guys on the list, the future looks good for Lancefield if they can retain good players like King.

Averaging 24 disposals, he was one of Lancefield’s stronger ball collectors across the ground, and should push his case, certainly for a club best and fairest.

Macedon Cats – Blake Watson

What a year of footy it has been for the Cats, looking to go one better than last year and challenge the competition on Grand Final day.

Although it is a stacked list full of up-and-coming talent, we thought there was still a reasonable standout in Blake Watson.

Averaging 32 disposals, one goal and five clearances per game, he’s done enough for Macedon in both the big games and the ones where the Cats dominated.

He’s played 15 games across the year for a serious contender and will go very close for a league medal.

Diggers Rest Burras – Callum Moore

Callum Moore has played 13 games for the season, yet still managed to kick 81 goals and only just miss out on the league goal kicking.

Coming from the Ovens and Murray league last year, Moore cashed in, and it has paid off for Diggers.

He could be the defining factor in beating a strong Wallan outfit come finals time.

In the quest for a league medal, he’ll have to compete against Oleg Markov and have the challenge of a mid-season injury.

But kicking bags of goals can get you a lot of votes in a good side, so he’s a sneaky chance and should go close considering his average goals per game.

Melton Centrals – Evan Donoghue

The Centrals have had a better year in terms of win-loss in comparison to last year, narrowly missing out on finals in seventh place.

Evan Donoghue was to thank for a lot of his work, averaging 24 disposals and five clearances across every game for the year.

He won’t have a heap competing against him for votes, but he sure will have to compete with the club’s win-loss record, only being a part of six wins from 16 games, which could hinder his chances.

Donoghue would be the hot favourite at the club for their in-house best and fairest, but would need to shock the league to win the Bowen Medal.

Romsey Redbacks – Jack Jedwab

It was one of Romsey’s weaker years in recent history, but that didn’t stop Jack Jedwab from continuing to dominate in the red and black.

Jedwab played every game this season for Romsey and should win their best and fairest by a reasonable margin.

He managed to kick 72 goals and dominated up the ground, leaving many headaches for defenders trying to restrict him.

Eighteen touches, 10 marks and 4.5 goals a game, with not a large amount of competition within the Redbacks team pushing him for votes, means he will be one of the stronger chances at a league medal come presentation night.

Kyneton Tigers – Caleb Fisher

Caleb Fisher was one of the Tigers’ better performers across the year, and may not have been their best player, but did enough to play 15 games at an extremely high level.

Averaging 26 disposals, five clearances and a goal per game for 15 weeks of the year in a solid team will get him close to a league medal and should be Kyneton’s best chance.

He’ll have to compete against Hamish Yunghanns for parts of the season, who averaged 33 disposals and 10 clearances, but only managed to play seven games for the year.

These players will be one of the lower contenders for the league medal strictly for stealing votes off each other, but it’s a remarkable season for them both and one they should hold their hats on.

Wallan Magpies – Dion Hill

Dion Hill looks to be the best case for the league leaders in Wallan, but the enormous amount of talent on the list could be enough to stop his run and steal his votes.

Hill played 16 games for the Magpies this season, and although he averaged fewer ranking points than Nash King, he played seven more games than King, giving himself more opportunities to poll.

He racked up 27 disposals a game alongside an average of 1.7 goals and seven score involvements per game as well.

He’ll have to come up against league-leading goal kicker Lachlan Smart, who had at least five games this year over seven goals, including three games over 10.

But with recent history on their side, Dion Hill would be one of the stronger contenders for a Bowen Medal.