Ashcroft denied Norm Smith Medal despite standout grand final performance
Will Ashcroft finished tied for second in Norm Smith Medal voting with six votes despite 31 disposals and 496 metres gained.
Brisbane's Will Ashcroft played a game-high 31 disposals, nine clearances, seven score involvements and 496 metres gained. In the last four minutes, Ashcroft was especially strong, recording six disposals, four contested, four clearances and three score involvements.
Ashcroft earned 13.5 coaches votes and won the Gary Ayres Award for best finals player. But he received only six votes in the Norm Smith Medal voting.
He was left off panellist Shaun Burgoyne's ballot and off Andrew McLeod's ballot. Shai Bolton won with ten votes, becoming the first Norm Smith winner from a losing side since Chris Judd in 2005.
Burgoyne defended his choice to give three votes to Dayne Zorko instead, saying Zorko was the most consistent performer across the full game. AFL legends Jordan Lewis and Jonathan Brown questioned the voting logic, noting Ashcroft's absence from two judges' ballots was hard to explain.
- 31 game-high
- Ashcroft disposals
- 496
- Metres gained
- 6 (equal second)
- Norm Smith votes
- 10
- Bolton's winning votes
Why it mattersThe voting controversy raises questions about whether Norm Smith judges should rate performance across the full match or give more weight to late-game impact.
AustraliaAustralians following the 2026 AFL Grand Final are divided over whether the voting system fairly reflects the game's best performer.
✓ Claims checked against the source. checked 3 h ago
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