There is no bigger stage than the MCG for a Grand Final on the last Saturday in September and, if lucky enough to make it to that stage, a players’ reputation can be dramatically increased, or decreased, based on that one game.
If you ask just about any AFL player, past and or present, they would name the Norm Smith Medal as the most prestigious honour in the game.
It means they were the best performing player on the biggest stage that one can take part in.
They were the biggest contributor to their teams success when it mattered the most.
Of course, the Norm Smith Medal is almost exclusively given to a player from the winning team, which makes sense, but what about those players that did everything in their power but their team fell short.
Had the game of their life but the team couldn’t get the job done.
Here is a list of the best individual Grand Final performances from a player in a losing side.
1992 – Mark Bairstow (Geelong)
During the early part of the 90s the West Coast Eagles were a force like no other.
After losing the 1991 Grand Final to Hawthorn they went on to win two of the next three premierships.
Geelong were no match for West Coast in 1992, the Eagles running out 28 point winners.
Mark Bairstow collected 23 disposals for Geelong which included 19 kicks and a couple of shots on goal.
1995 – John Barnes (Geelong)
Greg Williams was at the end of a brilliant AFL career in 1995 but he managed 31 disposals and five goals as Carlton trounced the Cats at the MCG.
There weren’t many contributors for the Cats who were comprehensively outplayed on the day but John Barnes had 22 possessions in the ruck including a game high 14 marks.
1996 – Darren Cresswell (Sydney)
The Swans played in their first Grand Final since their move to Sydney in 1996, but they ran into a very good North Melbourne team who got the better of them on the day thanks to big performances from Corey McKernan, Anthony Stevens and Glenn Archer.
It wasn’t Darren Cresswell’s fault the Swans lost as he collected the most touches of any player on the ground with 35 disposals and a goal.
2006 – Brett Kirk (Sydney)
After winning the 2005 Grand Final against the West Coast Eagles by just three points, Sydney again faced the same opponent just one year later.
They would be defeated by the barest of margins but not because of the efforts from their midfield tagger Brett Kirk who was instrumental in the middle of the ground.
Kirk not only restricted a number of the Eagles players including Ben Cousins but he collected the second most disposals on the ground with 27, laid nine tackles and had nine clearances.
2007 – Kane Cornes (Port Adelaide)
It pains many to acknowledge it, and the man himself has brought it up on a number of occasions, but Kane Cornes wasn’t to blame for his side’s loss in the 2007 AFL Grand Final.
Corned had 37 disposals that afternoon but was a part of the biggest losing margin in AFL Grand Final history and we’ll also mention that 21 of those disposals were handballs.
Peter Burgoyne was arguably better to be honest but that wouldn’t be as good for content so Cornes would be proud.
2008 – Gary Ablett (Geelong)
The 2008 season was one of the most dominant single seasons in the history of the AFL by the Geelong Cats who lost just one game in total leading into the Grand Final.
It was an absolute disaster for the navy blue and white hoops from the start, missing easy shots on goal and ending with 34 scoring shots to 25 and losing by 26 points.
A number of the Hawthorn players rushed behinds which caused a change in the laws of the game thereafter.
Gary Ablett was the best player on the ground with 34 disposals, eight inside 50s and two goals so it wasn’t his fault!
2011 – Dale Thomas (Collingwood)
In one of the greatest Grand Finals in modern times, the Cats took over in the final quarter to kick clear of a gallant Collingwood to win by 38 points on the final siren.
Dale Thomas had 31 touches (21 kicks), seven tackles, nine clearances and four inside 50s.
2019 – Heath Shaw (GWS)
Always hard including a player where his team was defeated by 89 points but Heath Shaw tried his heart out on Grand Final day in 2019.
He had 29 disposals (19 kicks), 14 marks and 507 meters gained for GWS.
Unfortunately for the Giants, he didn’t have many mates.
2021 Caleb Daniel (Western Bulldogs)
Christian Petrecca had an enormous game in the 2021 Grand Final and subsequently won the Norm Smith Medal for his 39 disposal game.
But little Caleb Daniel held his head high after the game after gathering the footy 37 times (26 kicks) and gaining 631 meters for the Dogs.