Former Kangaroo rushed to hospital after choking at VFL awards night.
Miller Bergman is recovering after a piece of chicken lodged in his throat during Monday night’s Victorian Football League awards, forcing officials to usher the former North Melbourne defender from the room and send him to hospital. The incident happened while officials counted the J.J. Liston Trophy (the VFL’s equivalent of the Brownlow Medal)
Bergman, now with Casey, Melbourne’s VFL affiliate, was still able to breathe but vomited on the floor and could not clear the food from his throat. Casey coach Rhett McLennan and assistant coach David Main helped him from the venue.
Bergman was drafted by North Melbourne with pick 38 in 2021 and played 16 AFL games between 2022 and 2025. He was delisted at the end of last season and joined Casey for 2026, one of several experienced additions used to steady a young VFL list. Club reviews earlier this month noted he had returned after a long stretch away from football, including a ruptured ACL that ended his 2025 season at North Melbourne.
The scare took place on a night already defined by an unusual count. Frankston captain Trent Mynott and Geelong midfielder George Stevens were declared joint Liston Trophy winners on 22 votes. They were not the leading vote-getters. Port Melbourne’s Ben Hobbs, a former Essendon first-round pick, polled 26 votes, and Southport’s Jacob Dawson finished on 25. Both were ineligible because of suspensions.
It is the first time since 2003 that the Liston has not gone to the highest vote-getter. Mynott held his position despite missing Frankston’s final four games with a calf injury. Stevens drew level after a best-on-ground performance in Geelong’s last home-and-away match and quipped in his speech that he had “snuck in like Steven Bradbury.” Stevens, who also played two AFL games this year, is out of contract and his senior future is unresolved. Geelong’s VFL side is preparing for Sunday’s grand final against Box Hill.
This comes as the AFL season is also wrapping up and September tightens around the last two weekends of the year. The home-and-away campaign is finished, the new 10-team finals system has already cut the field to four, and attention has shifted to preliminary final week: Sydney hosts Fremantle at the SCG on Friday night, Hawthorn meets Brisbane at the MCG on Saturday, and the winners will meet in the Grand Final at the MCG on September 26.
