Every year at the AFL Grand Final, the Norm Smith Medal is awarded to the player judged best performed in the match.
At the 2018 AFL Grand Final, the Norm Smith Medal was won by Luke Shuey of the West Coast Eagles.
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Shuey was without a doubt a valuable performer for the Eagles, particularly early on when they were the struggling.
He finished the game with 34 disposals and also kicked a vital goal.
The medal was presented by Shaun Hart, who won it in the Brisbane Lions’ 2001 premiership. Nathan Buckley is next in line to present the medal, assuming his team is not taking part in next year’s grand final.
The medal is named after AFL legend Norm Smith who played in four VFL premierships in the 1930s and ’40s before coaching the Melbourne Demons to six VFL premierships in the ’50s and’60s.
The medal was first awarded in 1979, six years after Smith passed away.
The medal is awarded by a panel of judges who each award a selection of 3-2-1 votes for the game, and whichever player records the most votes wins the medal.
A tie is impossible: in the event that multiple players have the same number of votes, the medal goes to whichever has the most best-on-ground selections from the panel.
In the event that two players have identical votes, the medal in that case goes to the player who the panel chairman voted as best on ground.
Only four players in history have ever won the Norm Smith Medal in a losing side – Maurice Rioli in 1982, Gary Ablett senior in 1989, Nathan Buckley in 2002, and most recently Chris Judd in 2005.
In the event of a drawn grand final, two medals are awarded – one to the best player in the draft match, and another to the best afield in the replay.
In 2010 Lenny Hayes became the first and only man in the history of the award to win a Norm Smith Medal in a drawn grand final.
Of course, the AFL has since done away with the rule that allowed for a drawn grand final to be replayed, meaning no other player will ever achieve that feat.
| Year | Player | Club |
| 1979 | Wayne Harmes | Carlton |
| 1980 | Kevin Bartlett | Richmond |
| 1981 | Bruce Doull | Carlton |
| 1982 | Maurice Rioli^ | Richmond |
| 1983 | Colin Robertson | Hawthorn |
| 1984 | Billy Duckworth | Essendon |
| 1985 | Simon Madden | Essendon |
| 1986 | Gary Ayres | Hawthorn |
| 1987 | David Rhys-Jones | Carlton |
| 1988 | Gary Ayres (2) | Hawthorn |
| 1989 | Gary Ablett Sr.^ | Geelong |
| 1990 | Tony Shaw | Collingwood |
| 1991 | Paul Dear | Hawthorn |
| 1992 | Peter Matera | West Coast |
| 1993 | Michael Long | Essendon |
| 1994 | Dean Kemp | West Coast |
| 1995 | Greg Williams | Carlton |
| 1996 | Glenn Archer | North Melbourne |
| 1997 | Andrew McLeod | Adelaide |
| 1998 | Andrew McLeod (2) | Adelaide |
| 1999 | Shannon Grant | North Melbourne |
| 2000 | James Hird | Essendon |
| 2001 | Shaun Hart | Brisbane Lions |
| 2002 | Nathan Buckley | Collingwood |
| 2003 | Simon Black | Brisbane Lions |
| 2004 | Byron Pickett | Port Adelaide |
| 2005 | Chris Judd | West Coast |
| 2006 | Andrew Embley | West Coast |
| 2007 | Steve Johnson | Geelong |
| 2008 | Luke Hodge | Hawthorn |
| 2009 | Paul Chapman | Geelong |
| 2010 | Lenny Hayes | St Kilda |
| 2010 | Scott Pendlebury | Collingwood |
| 2011 | Jimmy Bartel | Geelong |
| 2012 | Ryan O’Keefe | Sydney |
| 2013 | Brian Lake | Hawthorn |
| 2014 | Luke Hodge (2) | Hawthorn |
| 2015 | Cyril Rioli | Hawthorn |
| 2016 | Jason Johannisen | Western Bulldogs |
| 2017 | Dustin Martin | Richmond |
| 2018 | Luke Shuey | West Coast |
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