Brisbane Lions young gun Will Ashcroft has won his second North Smith Medal, beating several other worthy teammates for the AFL honour.
He is only the third player, after Adelaide's Andrew McLeod in 1997-98 and Richmond's Dustin Martin in 2019-20, to win the honour back-to-back as best afield in the Grand Final.
As he did in last year's decider, Ashcroft was enormous throughout in the midfield.
But any of co-captain Harris Andrews, fellow defender Dayne Zorko, onballer Hugh McCluggage or four-goal forward Charlie Cameron had legitimate claims.
Andrew was huge in defence, especially when the game was on the line early, while Zorko gave the Lions massive drive off half-back.
Cameron had his best game this season and after a quiet qualifying final, McCluggage shook off the tag from Oisin Mullin to join Ashcroft in dominating through the midfield.
Ashcroft racked up a team-high 32 possessions, 12 of them contested, and had 10 clearances as he worked ferociously in the engine room.
His defensive pressure was also outstanding -- Ashcroft laid a game-high eight tackles.
He capped his outstanding game with a goal as the Lions ran riot in the last quarter to win by 47 points.
Ashcroft's story is well-told -- the son of Lions great Marcus Ashcroft, he missed the 2023 Grand Final loss to Collingwood with a knee reconstruction.
He returned in round 17 last season and has not missed a beat since, storming through the finals series to dominate in their grand final thumping of Sydney. Ashcroft also played 26 games in 2025.
Younger brother Levi joined him this year as another boom father-son recruit and Marcus was with them in the post-game celebrations as they capped their family triumph.