The Norm Smith Medal: AFL's Grand Final Best on Ground Award

Australian man in AFL graphic tee at the MCG after the Grand Final, marking the Norm Smith Medal moment
Convict Shirts — The Yard / AFL Slang & Culture

The Norm Smith Medal: AFL’s Grand Final Best on Ground Award

Awarded on the day, decided by media vote, presented to the player judged best afield in the biggest match of the year. The Norm Smith Medal explained.

The Norm Smith Medal is awarded to the player judged best on ground in the AFL Grand Final. Unlike the Brownlow Medal, which covers an entire season and is decided by umpire votes revealed weeks later, the Norm Smith is decided on the day itself by a panel of media judges and presented immediately after the match — making it one of the most immediate individual honours in Australian sport.

The Award in Brief

Named After
Norm Smith, the legendary Melbourne coach who led the club to six premierships across the 1950s and 1960s.
First Awarded
1979, making it a comparatively recent addition to AFL’s major individual honours relative to the Brownlow Medal’s much longer history.
Voting Method
Decided by a panel of media judges who watch the Grand Final and vote immediately afterward, with the result announced as part of the post-match presentation.
Eligibility
Open to players from either Grand Final team — a player can win the Norm Smith Medal even if their team loses the match, which has happened on several notable occasions.

Why Winning From the Losing Side Matters

One of the more distinctive features of the Norm Smith Medal is that it has been awarded to players on the losing team in the Grand Final on multiple occasions. This reflects the award’s genuine focus on individual performance rather than team outcome — a player can produce an extraordinary individual performance in a losing Grand Final and still be recognised as the best player on the day, a nuance that distinguishes the Norm Smith from awards that are implicitly tied to winning.

Winning the Norm Smith Medal as part of a losing team is widely regarded within AFL culture as a genuine, if bittersweet, individual honour — acknowledgment that the player’s performance was exceptional even though the ultimate team objective wasn’t achieved.

Norm Smith vs Brownlow

The Brownlow Medal recognises the best player across an entire 23-round home-and-away season, voted by field umpires and revealed at a dedicated count weeks after the season concludes. The Norm Smith Medal recognises only the Grand Final performance, voted by media judges, and announced immediately. A player can win both in the same year — a genuinely rare and celebrated achievement — win one without the other, or win neither.

Related Pages
AFL Slang & Culture — The Complete Guide
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The Brownlow Medal Explained
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AFL Grand Final History
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