A total of 32 seasons have passed since the inception of the Johnny Warren Medal in 1989-90.
There have been 27 individual winners. Five players have won it twice, and on only one occasion has it been shared.
From the National Soccer League to the Isuzu UTE A-League, the roll of honour features the names of some true Australian greats, and an assortment of the greatest overseas imports the country has seen.
But where are they now?
This year’s edition will be held at The Star in Sydney on Thursday, June 1 as part of the lead-up to the 2023 Isuzu UTE A-League Grand Final on June 3.
You can follow updates from the event here on KEEPUP, or on our A-Leagues social channels.
National Soccer League (NSL)
Zeljko Adzic 1989-90 (Melbourne Knights)
Melbourne Knights striker Zeljko Adzic was the inaugural Johnny Warren Medalist in 1990, winning by 13 votes from Melbourne Knights teammate Branko Milosevic.
Adzic went on to play for Dinamo Zagreb and represented the Croatian international team. Today he runs a winery in Croatia.
Milan Ivanovic 1990-91 (Adelaide City)
Milan Ivanovic is a Socceroos legend. He won the 1990-91 Johnny Warren Medal to go with a pair of NSL Championships and NSL Cups with City.
Ivanovic retired in 2000, and still lives in Adelaide.
Josip Biskic: 1991-92 (Melbourne Knights)
Josip Biskic followed Zeljko Adzic in becoming the second Melbourne Knights player in three seasons to win the Johnny Warren Medal in 1991-92.
Biskic played a club record 282 games for Knights between 1984 and 1995, winning the Joe Marston Medal in an NSL Grand Final defeat to South Melbourne in 1990-91. He finished his professional career in Malaysia with Selangor FC.
Biskic presented the Joe Marston Medal to Melbourne City’s Nathaniel Atkinson at the 2020-21 Isuzu UTE A-League Grand Final.
Paul Trimboli 1992-93 & 1997-98 (South Melbourne)
Paul Trimboli won two Johnny Warren Medals, both for South Melbourne in 1992-93 and 1997-98. He played 368 NSL games, scoring 99 goals and making 44 Socceroos appearances, winning three NSL championships at South Melbourne. He features in the club’s Team of the Century and Hall of Fame, and is widely considered one of the great Socceroos and one of the finest to grace the NSL.
Trimboli worked as General Manager of Football at Brisbane Roar in the early 2010’s before taking on the role of Football Operations Manager at Melbourne Victory in 2012, working once again with Ange Postecoglou, where he remains today.
Mark Viduka 1993-94 & 1994-95 (Melbourne Knights)
Mark Viduka was just 18 years of age when he burst onto the scene with Melbourne Knights. He stayed in the NSL for just two seasons, winning back-to-back Johnny Warren Medals as well as consecutive U21 Player of the Year awards and finishing as the league’s top scorer twice, helping the club to its first-ever NSL Championship in 1995.
Viduka departed Knights to join Dinamo Zagreb, before a stint at Scottish Giants Celtic, then Leeds United in the English Premier League. He would go on to play for fellow Premier League clubs Middlesbrough and Newcastle United, while captaining Australia to the 2006 FIFA Men’s World Cup in Germany.
Viduka retired in 2009. In 2011 he earned the Professional Footballers Australia (PFA) Alex Tobin OAM Medal, and was inducted into the Football Australia Hall of Fame in 2014.
Today Viduka runs a coffee shop in Zagreb, Croatia called Non Plus Ultra, meaning No Higher Point.
Damian Mori: 1995-96 (Adelaide City) & 2002-03 (Perth Glory)
Damian Mori won a pair of Johnny Warren Medals at two NSL clubs – firstly with Adelaide City in 1995-96, then with Perth Glory in 2002-03.
He retired in 2008 having scored 240 goals in 447 Australian Men’s National League matches across stints at South Melbourne, Bulleen, Sunshine George Cross, Melbourne Croatia and Adelaide City, then at Perth Glory in both the NSL and A-League Men, and lastly, Central Coast Mariners and Queensland Roar.
The three-time NSL champion and five-time NSL top-scorer served under Adelaide United head coach Carl Veart as the A-League Men club’s interim assistant in 2021-22, before taking on the role permanently for the 2022-23 campaign which ended at the Semi Finals.
Kresimir Marusic: 1996-97 (Sydney United)
Kresimir Marusic played for a number of NSL clubs, but it was in his single season spent at Sydney United when the midfielder won the Johnn Warren Medal in 1996-97.
Post-retirement, Marusic founded the K7 Soccer Academy in 2002, coaching academy players, providing private professional coaching and player analysis/progress tracking.
Brad Maloney: 1998-99 (Marconi-Fairfield)
Brad Maloney won the 1998-99 Johnny Warren Medal while playing for Marconi-Fairfield in 1999. Post-retirement the midfielder has accrued significant experience coaching at international youth level.
He spent eight years working for the Football Association of Malaysia between 2014-2022, first as assistant coach of the Malaysia U23 men’s side before taking on head coach duties at both U23 and U20 level. Maloney also took on assistant duties with the senior Malaysian men’s national team.
He returned to Australia in 2022 to take on the role of Joeys head coach, leading the Australia U17 men’s side towards the FIFA U17 World Cup in 2023.
Scott Chipperfield: 1999-00 & 2000-01 (Wollongong Wolves)
Scott Chipperfield became the second player after Mark Viduka to win back-to-back Johnny Warren Medals, collecting the award in 1999-00 and 2000-01 while playing for Wollongong Wolves, winning consecutive NSL titles and the Oceania Club Championship in 2001.
A move to Switzerland and FC Basel was to follow; Chipperfield won seven league titles with the Swiss club. On the international scene, Chipperfield played in Australia’s famous World Cup qualifying win over Uruguay in 2005, going on to feature at both the 2006 and 2010 World Cups.
He retired after the 2010 edition of the tournament, going on to coach FC Luzern’s women’s side in 2018 before coaching the Illawarra Stingrays in NPLW NSW from 2018-2019.
Fernando Rech: 2001-02 (Brisbane Strikers)
Before lighting up the early years of the A-League Men at Adelaide United, Fernando Rech was a star for Brisbane Strikers in the NSL, winning the 2001-02 Johnny Warren Medal.
Rech’s son Rafael was born in Australia during his time in Brisbane; Rafael is now 20 years of age, and has spent the majority of his life in Brazil. Today, His son plays for Juventude in the top tier of Brazilian football.
Ante Milicic: 2003-04 (Parramatta Power)
Parramatta Power lost the 2004 NSL Grand Final to Perth Glory, with Nick Mrdja’s golden goal the final touch of the now-defunct domestic league. On the losing side on that day in April, 2004 was Ante Milicic, who received the very last Johnny Warren Medal of the NSL era that season.
Milicic most recently held the head coach role at Macarthur FC, agreeing to join the expansion A-League Men club in May, 2019, then spending 18 months in charge of the Matildas, spanning from February 2019 to July 2020 prior to Macarthur’s entry into the A-League Men in 2020-21.
Milicic departed the Bulls in April 2022.
A-League Men
Bobby Despotovski: 2005-06 (Perth Glory)
Bobby Despotovski was the A-League Men’s first Johnny Warren Medallist, collecting the award in the 2005-06 season. He had picked up right where he left off in the latter years of the NSL where he starred for Perth in the club’s most successful era.
Despotovski ended his career as Perth’s all-time record goalscorer, going on to coach the club’s A-League Women’s side from 2015 to 2020.
Nick Carle: 2006-07 (Newcastle Jets)
The hair. The gold Newcastle Jets kit. That incredible individual goal scored at McDonald Jones Stadium. For so many reasons, Nicky Carle is synonymous with the early era of the A-League Men.
In a season dominated by Melbourne Victory, Carle trumped all comers to claim the Johnny Warren Medal and Goal of the Season honours. He finished above Victory trio Danny Allsopp, Kevin Muscat and Archie Thompson in the Johnny Warren Medal voting, with red-hot favourite Victory playmaker Fred ineligible due to an early-season red card.
The former Socceroo retired in 2016, after an 18-month battle to recover from a serious knee injury.
Today, Nicky Carle is the Technical Director at Southern Districts Raiders, and head coach at Mamre Anglican College in New South Wales.
Joel Griffiths: 2007-08 (Newcastle Jets)
Joel Griffiths dominated the voting for the 2007-08 Johnny Warren Medal, finishing almost 150 votes clear of second-placed Alex Brosque in the polling for the player-voted award.
Griffiths scored 12 league goals to win the Golden Boot, scoring twice more through the Finals Series as the Jets soared to the 2008 Championship.
Griffiths continued with the club post-retirement as Operations Manager between 2016 and 2022.
Today, he is the first grade coach of NPL Northern NSW Men’s outfit Newcastle Olympic.
Shane Smeltz: 2008-09 (Wellington Phoenix)
Shane Smeltz followed Griffiths’ lead the following season by scooping the A-League Men Golden Boot as well as the Johnny Warren Medal in his final season at Wellington Phoenix prior to a move to Gold Coast United.
The former All Whites striker, who played at the FIFA 2010 World Cup and 2012 Olympics, is the managing director at Team9 Management, representing players such as Glory’s Keegan Jelacic and Sydney defender Aaron Gurd.
Carlos Hernandez: 2009-10 (Melbourne Victory)
There was only ever going to be one winner of the 2009-10 Johnny Warren Medal. Costa Rican international Carlos Hernandez dominated the field with a whopping 673 votes, eclipsing Gold Coast’s Smeltz by more than 200 votes to clinch the medal.
Hernandez last played in the A-League Men at Wellington Phoenix in 2013-14, and has since played for a number of clubs across Costa Rica, India and Guatemala.
A recent report from his homeland suggests ‘El Zorro’ is now an analyst on TV on Costa Rica’s Channel 13.
Marcos Flores: 2010-11 (Adelaide United)
Argentinian midfielder Marco Flores trumped Brisbane Roar’s Premiership duo Thomas Broich and Matt McKay to clinch the Johnny Warren Medal in 2010-11, earning 618 votes.
He is currently the football director at Adelaide Atletico FC, and founder of PTA Football.
Thomas Broich: 2011-12 & 2013-14 (Brisbane Roar)
The first dual-Johnny Warren Medal winner in the A-League Men, Thomas Broich was the star of Brisbane’s “Roarcelona” era under Ange Postecoglou. Broich won three A-League Men Championships and two Premierships throughout seven years at the Roar.
Broich is currently Head of Methodology with Bundesliga side Hertha Berlin’s youth team and working in football media.
Marco Rojas: 2012-13 (Melbourne Victory)
In between Broich’s two Johnny Warren Medal wins, All Whites creator Marco Rojas earned both the prestigious gong and Young Footballer of the Year honours.
Rojas has spent the past year at Chilean club Colo Colo, joining the club after his third stint at Melbourne Victory.
READ: Marco Rojas is making a $20k donation to Melbourne Victory to fix a ‘gap’ he saw with his own eyes
Nathan Burns: 2014-15 (Wellington Phoenix)
Nathan Burns played six seasons across three A-League Men clubs – and one individual campaign trumps all others. In 2014-15 he made 24 appearances for Wellington Phoenix, scoring 13 goals. He earned a spot in the Socceroos’ squad as a result, helping his nation clinch AFC Asian Cup glory on home soil.
Burns was the first Australian to win the award since Griffiths in 2008.
He is now an account manager at sportswear company Paladin Sports and most recently plied his trade with Western Premier League side Bathurst 75.
Diego Castro: 2015-16 (Perth Glory)
Perth Glory great Diego Castro took out the first Johnny Warren Medal awarded by a panel of former players, referees, technical staff and media who awarded the Spaniard a total of 34 votes, enough to beat Aaron Mooy (33) and Bruno Fornaroli (27) to the prestigious award.
Castro departed Glory in October 2021; the 40-year-old has occasionally been linked with a return to the league since he left the club where he spent six seasons.
Milos Ninkovic: 2016-17 & 2020-21 (Sydney FC)
Milos Ninkovic won his first Johnny Warren Medal in 2016-17, before repeating the feat in 2020-21 as joint recipient alongside then-Wellington midfielder Ulises Davila.
By that time, his status was cemented as a Sydney FC legend. But everything changed after his crosstown switch to Western Sydney Wanderers at the end of the 2021-22 A-League Men season.
Ninkovic has spent the past season fanning the flames of the Sydney Derby rivalry, and in early May was at the centre of a stoush with Sydney FC head coach Steve Corica, in which the Serbian was escorted from his former club’s rooms after Sydney sent his Wanderers side crashing out of the Finals Series.
Adrian Mierzejewski: 2017-18 (Sydney FC)
It was one of the great one-and-done seasons in A-League Men history. Adrian Mierzejewski arrived at Sydney FC ahead of the 2017-18 season, and went on to score 13 goals and notch nine assists in 25 games, helping the Sky Blues secure the Premiership.
The Polish international earned the Johnny Warren Medal at the end of the first season of a three-season contract, but cut his time Down Under short with a move to Chinese Super League club Changchun Yatai.
Mierzejewski currently plays for Henan Songshan Longmen.
Roy Krishna: 2018-19 (Wellington Phoenix)
Roy Krishna enjoyed a superb end to his six-season Wellington Phoenix stint scoring 19 goals in 27 games en route to the league’s Golden Boot and the 2018-19 Johnny Warren Medal.
The Fijian international was out of contract at the conclusion of the season, and joined Indian Super League club ATK Mohun Bagan. He most recently plied his trade for fellow ISL club Bengaluru, but has recently become a free agent after being released.
Alessandro Diamanti: 2019-20 (Western United)
Alessandro Diamanti arrived at Western United as one of the club’s inaugural signings; his pedigree as a former Italian international, with extensive experience in both the Italian Serie A and English Premier League, made the creative midfielder one of the most exciting and high-profile overseas imports in the competition’s history.
He didn’t disappoint. Diamanti won the Johnny Warren Medal in his first season; three years later, he called time on his illustrious playing career, playing his last game for Western against Perth Glory in late April.
Ulises Davila: 2020-21 (Wellington Phoenix)
Ulises Davila has spent four seasons in the A-League Men, and in his second of two campaigns at Wellington Phoenix, the Mexican playmaker shared Johnny Warren Medal honours with Ninkovic. It was the first time the medal was shared in its history. Wellington are yet to win a major trophy in the A-League Men, but have produced three Johnny Warren Medallists in Davila, Burns and Smeltz.
Today, Davila is the captain of Macarthur FC.
Jake Brimmer: 2021-22 (Melbourne Victory)
Melbourne Victory midfielder Jake Brimmer became the youngest Australian to win the Johnny Warren Medal in the A-League Men era, and youngest since Mark Viduka in 1995, when he was judged the competition’s best player last season.
Brimmer edged Jay O’Shea and Craig Goodwin to secure the award as he played a key role in hauling Victory from a wooden spoon finish the season prior to the Semi Finals in 2021-22.
Brimmer’s most recent season with Victory was cut short after he suffered a tear to the meniscus in his left knee.
