Chris Fagan and Justin Longmuir both believed Will Ashcroft was best on ground in the AFL grand final, with the Brisbane gun securing his second Gary Ayres’ Award as the best player in the finals.
Ashcroft played a pivotal part in the seven-point win over Fremantle, racking up six disposals and four clearances in the final four minutes alone as the Lions kicked four goals to secure their premiership three-peat.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Shai Bolton wins Norm Smith Medal
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He finished with a game-high 31 touches, nine clearances, seven score involvements and three direct goal assists, which was more than any other player on the ground.
Despite the incredible performance, Ashcroft was overlooked for the Norm Smith Medal with the judges surprisingly voting for Fremantle’s Shai Bolton, who became the first player in 21 years to win it from a losing side.
Bolton polled 10 votes to finish well clear of Ashcroft (six) and Dayne Zorko (six) from the five judges.
But the coaches saw it differently, with Ashcroft polling nine out of a possible 10 votes. Caleb Serong was next best with eight votes, ahead of Luke Jackson and Josh Dunkley with four votes each.
Bolton polled three votes, while Zorko and Hayden Young picked up one each.
The voting breakdown means one coach gave Bolton three votes and the other gave him nothing, although it’s not known which coach that was.
Each competing coach votes 5-4-3-2-1 for the award across all finals apart from the wildcard matches, with the grand final receiving 1.5 times loading.
Ashcroft’s polled a total of 27.5 votes to finish clear of Serong (23) and Jackson (19).
Ashcroft joins Richmond legend Dustin Martin as the only players to win the award in back-to-back seasons since its inception in 2016.
“Winning this award once is a great achievement, but to back it up a year later is truly special,” Ayres said.
“Will has shown that he thrives when the stakes are highest, and his consistency, composure and skill across the finals series have been outstanding.
“He is a deserving back-to-back winner and I congratulate him on this feat.”
The Norm Smith judging panel consisted of Adelaide legend Andrew McLeod – a two-time winner – Brownlow medallists Chris Judd and Michael Voss, four-time premiership player Shaun Burgoyne and respected journalist Lauren Wood.
Wood was the only panel member to award three votes to Ashcroft, with McLeod and Burgoyne unable to find room for him anywhere in their 3-2-1 ballots.
AFL grand final votes
13.5 – Will Ashcroft
12 – Caleb Serong
6 – Luke Jackson
6 – Josh Dunkley
4.5 – Shai Bolton
1.5 – Dayne Zorko
1.5 – Hayden Young
Final leaderboard
27.5 – Will Ashcroft
23 – Caleb Serong
19 – Luke Jackson
13.5 – Shai Bolton
13.5 – Hayden Young
13 – Nick Watson
10 – Zac Bailey
10 – Josh Worrell
Past winners
2025 – Will Ashcroft
2024 – Lachie Neale
2023 – Sam Walsh
2022 – Patrick Dangerfield
2021 – Jack Macrae
2020 – Dustin Martin
2019 – Dustin Martin
2018 – Steele Sidebottom
2017 – Dustin Martin
2016 – Josh Kennedy
