 Also in 1940, Fothergill and South Melbourne player Herbie Matthews tied for first place in Brownlow Medal voting as best and fairest in the VFL, with a then-record 32 votes; at the time, neither player won the Brownlow Medal itself, as their records could not be separated on countback and there was no provision for a shared medal, but both men were awarded Brownlow Medals in 1989 when the VFL decided to retrospectively eliminate the countback from the award.In 1941, Fothergill went to Victorian Football Association (VFA) club Williamstown without receiving a clearance from the VFL, as many other high-profile League players had done during the VFA's throw-pass era.In his sole season with Williamstown, he won the Recorder Cup and VFA Medal as best and fairest in the VFA, polling a record 62 votes and winning by a huge margin of 29 votes.