Only 63 of the thousands of players who have pulled on a jumper and played a senior game for their respective clubs have secured the league's top individual award.

Their names are etched into Hampden league history and can never be erased.

But what does it take for players - present, emerging and future - to join the prestigious club?

Two stars know what it takes to be named the league's best and fairest player.

Six-time Koroit premiership player Isaac Templeton has won back-to-back Maskells while Cobden legend and Hampden League Hall of Fame member Hugh Worrall is the joint record-holder of times won, saluting on three occasions.

Templeton, 34, who won in 2014-15 during the early years of the Saints' recent premiership domination, believes there is a pattern with the winners.

"I always think you need to be in the top two teams as usually the winner comes from one of those teams," he said.

In his winning seasons Templeton and his teammates finished second and first at the conclusion of home and away matches.

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The former Saint, who now plays for Nirranda in the Warrnambool and District league, mentioned the players around him also played a big part.

"Us boys at Koroit - in Benny Goodall (2013), myself, 'Harri' (reigning winner Brett Harrington), Simon O'Keefe ('07, '10) and Joe McLaren (2005) - all had good ruckmen," he said.

"Those years I had 'Jezza' (Jeremy) Hausler and Ethyn Zimmer and they would tap us the ball at the contest and we would get a clearance and run away with it and in the umpires' eyes you look good."

But the hard yards were not foreign to Templeton, as his focus in those two years were on bettering himself and his teammates as they chased premiership success.

'When we lost the first grand final (in 2013) we lifted our training (the next year) so a group of five of us were doing close to 10 sessions a week," he said.

"During summer and then during footy season we trained four days a week. I had a gym set up in the garage and the boys would come around and we would just work out in there doing mostly cardio stuff."

Worrall, who saluted in 1970, '72 and 79 and holds the most wins record with fellow Bomber Levi Dare (2010, '12, '16) and South Warrnambool's Ron Hoy (1954-55, '57), earned his victories in almost a completely different way to Templeton.

The now 70-year-old's first two victories came when Cobden was towards the bottom of the pecking order and the training regime wasn't vastly different to what it is today.

What made Worrall's first one the most impressive of his three victories was the challenges he overcame.

"I had glandular fever in 1970 and couldn't do a lot of pre-season with (VFL side) Fitzroy and the doctors said to come home to the country," the 13-game Lion said.

"I went to Cobden and had a bit of trouble with it in that season and didn't do a lot of training.

"Pre-season at the club didn't to come in till about 1972 so I must have been pretty popular with the umpires (that year)."

Fitness was still a key part but in the 125-game Bomber's career but working on his Port Campbell dairy farm helped him stay at the top of his game.

"All the guys that were in the side had natural fitness from working on the farm and could keep going all day," he said.

"We also played tennis or cricket during the summer and football during the winter, which helped keep that natural fitness up."

Worrall added that joy for playing the game helped with producing stellar seasons.

"If they haven't got a passion they won't do well," he said. "If you don't love what you are doing, you are never going to shine to your best."

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The former Fitzroy player said fitness and teammates still play a critical part but another factor is also key for any modern player striving to be the best.

"Good players who win it have natural ability that shows through," he said.

"You have also got to have teammates to help you win it but natural ability certainly helps great players.

"There are now more players playing high-class footy and coming back. The Hampden league has improved with those players coming back from playing AFL, VFL and in the under 18s comps."

The long-serving Bomber, who never got to taste Hampden league premiership success but came close in 1979, said team glory would unearth future victors.

"We don't play for personal reward and I could say the same with the guys that win it nowadays, they play for their teams and to win a Maskell is a deserved award for the efforts they have put in," he said.

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