Norm Smith Medal

The Norm Smith Medal is an Australian rules football award presented annually to the player adjudged the best on ground in the grand final of the Australian Football League (AFL). Prior to 1990, the competition was known as the Victorian Football League (VFL). It was first presented in the 1979 VFL Grand Final, and it was won by Wayne Harmes, playing in Carlton's premiership victory against Collingwood. The award is named in honour of Norm Smith, who won four VFL premierships as a player and six as coach for the Melbourne Football Club. Dustin Martin (2017, 2019 and 2020) is the only player to win the award three times. The award is usually won by a player on the winning team in the grand final; only four players have received the award as members of the losing teams: Maurice Rioli in 1982, Gary Ablett Sr. in 1989, Nathan Buckley in 2002, and Chris Judd in 2005. The club with the most Norm Smith Medal wins is Hawthorn, with eight awards won by players representing the club. The most recent recipient of the award is Brisbane's Will Ashcroft.