Carroll Cup Player of the Series medal named in honour of legendary figure

The medal has been awarded to the best player across the competition over the last couple of years, however it had previously been without an official title.

Geppert had a long involvement in the Carroll Cup both as a player and later an administrator and he said it was a huge honour to have the player of the series medal named after him.

"I'm absolutely stoked," Geppert said.

"I've had a long association with the Carroll Cup both as a player and working with the AFL, to be able to continue my association with the Carroll Cup I'm extremely proud."

Geppert is forever etched into the history of the Carroll Cup courtesy of being the last captain of Trinity Senior High School in 2003 alongside Bryson Lashbrook.

Trinity defeated Kooringal High School by 54 points in the 2003 Carroll Cup final and Geppert was also part of their successful campaign in 2002 where they also defeated Kooringal in the decider.

Geppert agreed he has some fond memories of playing in the Carroll Cup and he believed the competition was unlike any other in the state.

"I still believe there's not another schoolboy competition like it in NSW, especially for AFL," he said.

"Obviously the Sydney schools do rugby union and things like that really well, but there's certainly no other competition like it for AFL in the state.

"To be involved as a player was really special, I know most of the boys actually went from year 10 to years 11 and 12 just to play Carroll Cup so that was always a good thing.

"I was extremely proud to play in the Carroll Cup, I think I was the last captain of Trinity and we obviously had a really good side back then.

"To see the Carroll Cup still as strong as what it is it's really exciting and I'm proud to have had such a long association with the Carroll Cup."

A player of the series medal wasn't awarded when Geppert was playing with Trinity and he believed it was fantastic to be able to recognise the efforts of players across the whole competition.

"I think it's really important," he said.

"Because now with the strength of the schools like TRAC (The Riverina Anglican College) and even the public high schools such as Wagga High and Kooringal High at the moment, they are really strong in terms of how much they've improved over the years.

"They've all got really good players in their lists, so to be able to give those guys an opportunity to win a medal I think that's awesome.

"As you'll see the grand final most years is Kildare and Mater Dei for the Mark Gooden Medal for best on ground which is an awesome medal in itself.

"But to give those guys from the other schools an opportunity I think it's great."

Geppert said he first became aware of the impending honour when he was invited to the Carroll Cup breakfast at the beginning of this years competition.

"I got an invite to the breakfast from Liam James the Carroll Cup convener which was really good," he said.

"He sort of had to let the cat out of the bag and had to tell me I had to turn up, that was really exciting and it was great to go back to the Carroll Cup breakfast.

"That's another thing I was heavily involved with over the years that used to start at the South Wagga Bowling Club back in the day.

"Now it's at The Rules Club which is a really good supporter of Aussie Rules footy.

"It's a really prestigious event and another example of why the Carroll Cup is so professional."

James thought it was important to recognise Geppert's dedication and support of the Carroll Cup over the years and he believed it was fitting to name the player of the series medal after him.

"Marc recently finished working with the AFL after 18 years within various roles of game development," James said.

"He was a player within the Carroll Cup competition as a high school student, winning multiple titles and captaining Trinity Senior High School.

"He spent most of his time with the AFL within game development which covered managing the local school competitions.

"Anyone that has had involvement with these competitions during his time would know he went over and above to create and build the Carroll Cup and the other school competitions to be what they are today."