AFL legend Leigh Matthews says he mistakenly handed Richmond’s Nathan Broad two Norm Smith Medal votes at Saturday’s grand final when he meant to give them to Broad’s teammate Jayden Short.
Dustin Martin was the unanimous winner of best-afield honours, with all five judges awarding him the maximum three votes in the 3-2-1 voting system, to deliver the Richmond superstar an unprecedented third Norm Smith Medal.
Martin won with 15 votes, ahead of Short (six), Shane Edwards (four), Geelong’s Mitch Duncan (three) and Broad (two) – with voting chair Matthews the only judge to hand Broad votes.
But on Sunday, Matthews said he meant to give Short – who had 25 disposals and an incredible 771 metres gained – two votes ahead of Broad’s eight-disposal effort.
“I didn’t (vote for Broad), did I? I thought I had gone Martin, Short and Edwards,” Matthews told the Sunday Footy Show.
“Because if I put down the name Broad instead of the name Short when I was being hustled at the end of the game … (when) you’ve got to write down the names quickly – I’m glad Broad didn’t (win it) or Short (didn’t miss out) by a couple of votes.
“I didn’t see the others voting but I’m sure everyone gave Martin best on the ground, that was so obvious. So I guess the twos and ones don’t matter that much.
“But if I put Broad down that was a very big mistake on my part – it was definitely Short, two, and Edwards one.”
The AFL confirmed Matthews had written Broad on his voting sheet, not Short, although given Martin’s dominance, Matthews’ blooper did not affect the winner.
NORM SMITH MEDAL VOTING (3-2-1)
Leigh Matthews (Chair) – 3.Martin, 2.Broad, 1.Edwards
Lauren Arnell – 3.Martin, 2.Short, 1.Duncan
Malcolm Blight – 3.Martin, 2.Duncan, 1.Edwards
Damian Barrett – 3.Martin, 2.Short, 1.Edwards
Peter Ryan – 3.Martin, 2.Short, 1.Edwards