2025 Woodrow Medallist – Marcus Stavrou

“I think this was the best I’ve ever played. Then throw in the leadership aspect, and it feels like my most complete year of footy.”

Marcus Stavrou has become only the tenth player in the long history of the JN Woodrow Medal to win multiple medals, adding the 2025 medal to his 2021 silverware.

The Old Xaverians’ ball magnet enjoyed another outstanding season, polling votes in 11 of his 14 matches before missing the final three rounds of the home and away season due to a serious ankle injury.

But he had already established an unassailable lead by then, wrapping up victory by the end of Round 14, after polling in 7 of his last eight games, including an incredible six best-on-ground performances in those two months.

The 27-year-old midfielder averaged 29 disposals, 14 contested possessions, 4 tackles, and 7 clearances per game, while also kicking 7 goals for the season. His best performances included 39 touches against St Kevin’s in Round 10 and 35 against St Bernard’s in Round 12, earning 3 votes in both matches.

Overall, he was named best afield seven times, and his 27-vote total is the highest in a Woodrow Medal since Old Trinity’s Brendan Iezzi scored 28 to win his second medal in 2014. 

He blitzed the field to finish 11 votes clear of the League’s leading goalkicker – Old Haileybury livewire Andreas Stefanakis – and the margin came as a surprise.

“Yeah, definitely,” said Marcus with a chuckle.

“We’ve obviously got Fish (Sam Fisher) in our team, and he won it last year, plus Campbell Lane joined us full-time as well. We’ve also got plenty of other very good players, so once I got out in front, I thought maybe I’d have to hold on for the last few rounds. I certainly wasn’t expecting a margin like that!

“It was a pretty special night. A huge room full of incredible players, so winning it a second time was a pretty surreal moment. The number of congratulations from Xavs people and the broader VAFA community on and since the Awards Night has made it even more memorable.”

Marcus grew up as a passionate Collingwood supporter after his dad made sure he and his sister fell in love with the Pies from an early age.

“I loved Swanny (Dane Swan), who was so relaxed and able to separate on and off-field so well. Yet he also worked so hard. I loved all ball sports from a young age and played some basketball, cricket and mixed netball, but as soon as I got a taste for local footy, I couldn’t get enough of it.”

That initial taste was at Donvale, when Marcus graduated from Auskick to play for his local club with some primary school friends.

He would go on to play with the Eastern Ranges, then the Northern Blues (Carlton’s VFL affiliate) in 2017 and 2018, when he also played 3 Under 19’s games and a Reserve match for Old Xavs.

He juggled his VFL & VAFA commitments for a few seasons before going full-time with Xavs in 2021, winning his first Woodrow Medal with 14 votes from 11 games.

“When I first arrived, I used to try to lead by example. Over the years, I’ve continued to work on myself as an action leader who can contribute to our leadership group. We’ve got such a good group of boys that respect and appreciate each other and the team, which makes leading easier.”

It’s the leadership element that Marcus has added to his game that makes this second Woodrow more special and has led him to believe that 2025 is his best footy season yet.

“I think so, yeah,” he reflects. “Being a leader as well makes it mean more, as I think I’ve improved in both aspects – as a player and as a leader. My role isn’t just about playing well; it’s also about helping our team improve week by week.

“I’ve always been an inside midfielder who prides himself on having clean hands at stoppage and feeding it out to the better users.

“Over the last couple of years, I’ve tried to adjust the balance a bit to even out my game by also getting some easier ball on the outside. I’ve worked hard on my skills and am continuing to do so, because the next layer of my game is to get forward and kick more goals.

“So, yes – I think this was the best I’ve ever played. Then throw in the leadership aspect, and it feels like my most complete year of footy.”

His coach, Dan Donati, concurs. “Stav, what a star. I’ve known Stav for a while now, and have seen him play some great footy for many years. But this year was different,” said Dan, after witnessing Marcus collect Old Xavs’ best & fairest as well as the Woodrow.

“He attacked the season with a renewed energy and sense of determination to get better. His consistency at a high level over the course of the year was as good as it gets.

“When he went down with his injury in Rd 15, we all thought the worst. To get back to play finals was extraordinary, but probably says something about the person that he is.

“All things considered, his Prelim performance will rate up there with one of the best individual games I’ve coached. Very proud of him.

“They’re certainly not easy to win, so to have had the last two Woodrow Medalists in Fish and Stav is a wonderful achievement for them and the club.”

It’s the first time in Old Xavs’ long and illustrious history that the club has secured back-to-back Woodrow Medals, with Marcus one of just six Old Xaverians players to have ever won A-Grade’s most prestigious individual award, alongside Michael Mulcahy (1966), Stephen Pirrie (1981), Mark McClelland (1989), Michael Blood (1997) and Sam Fisher (2024).

Old Xavs also became the first club to win consecutive Woodrows with different players since De La Salle secured the 2009-10 medals, with Matthew Fieldsend & David Lowe tying in 2009, followed by Aaron Shields’ victory in 2010.

But as good as Marcus’ 2025 campaign was, he’s already looking ahead to further improvement in 2026.

“This year is the new standard for our team,” he said, with a steely resolve in his voice.

“We want to play finals again and win a final. The club hasn’t done it for quite some time. To help lead this group to a Grand Final would be very special and is something I want to tick off. I’ve only ever played in one Grand Final in my entire career – we won the Under 17s flag at Donvale when I was 15.

“We haven’t won a final in my time at Xavs. I’ve played in five and am yet to win one. That’s the next box we need to tick.

“The entire footy club has been so good to me over the years, led by Nuttsy (Dan Donati) and Cozzy (outgoing President, Matt Cosgrave), who have both had my back since I committed full-time in 2020. The amount of work they – and so many others – do behind the scenes is amazing.

“I also want to thank my Mum and Dad. They have been there for me throughout my entire journey, and they’re still always checking in on me to see how I’m going.

“And, of course, my teammates. We had a pretty major list turnover after the 2022 season, and our current core group has now been together for a few years, while also bringing in the likes of Sam Fisher.

“They’ve worked so hard, and they are the reason that I work so hard. We’ve had such great buy-in. We trained most Saturdays during the pre-season, and that was player-driven. We had 30-40 players on the track in January, and that extra work really showed this year, when we had so many boys come up from the Twos and play good Ones footy.

“I want to help them achieve team success, and I’m already looking forward to chasing our major goal together in 2026.”

The VAFA congratulates Marcus Stavrou on becoming only the fifth player this century to win multiple Woodrow Medals and wishes him all the best in his pursuit of the game’s ultimate goal – a premiership – in 2026.