An incredible VFL best and fairest count left jaws on the floor on Monday night.
It comes as both grand final sides have suffered significant blows in the lead-in.
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Geelong’s George Stevens and Frankston’s Trent Mynott saluted as joint-winners of the 2026 J.J. Liston Trophy — the tenth tie in its history — but not without some drama at Crown Palladium.
Port Melbourne’s Ben Hobbs sat atop the leaderboard with 26 votes, but he was ineligible to win the award due to suspension.
The former Bomber averaged 28.4 disposals, 13.9 contested possessions and 7.7 clearances over 16 games this year as the Borough’s best.
Southport’s Jacob Dawson was second with 25 votes after averaging 34.8 possessions, but he, too, was suspended earlier in the year.
It left Stevens and Mynott, with 22 votes and five best-on-ground honours each, to claim the spoils as equal third-place vote-getters.
Stevens averaged 31 disposals and five tackles per game and was the VFL’s number-one score involvement player this year, but managed just two senior games for Chris Scott.
The 21-year-old was the 58th pick in the 2023 national draft, tallying four AFL games since arriving at Kardinia Park.
In his acceptance speech, Stevens admitted he “snuck in like Steven Bradbury”, given the ineligibility of Hobbs and Dawson.
Mynott, meanwhile, was previously AFL-listed at Essendon and is preparing to return to local level next season after a prolific year.
Another remarkable aspect of the count was top-five finisher Joel Fitzgerald, who played not even half the VFL season before signing with Melbourne as a midseason draftee.
The former Seagull finished with 20 votes from eight games, sparking intrigue over what might’ve been had he remained with Williamstown for the full year.
Elsewhere, Werribee’s Brady Wright became the latest Fothergill-Round-Mitchell Medal winner as the most promising VFL player aged 24 or under.
The previous 19 winners of the honour all ended up on an AFL list.
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The VFL premier will be decided this Sunday at Ikon Park, with both Hawthorn and Geelong dealt blows in the lead-up to the grand final.
The Hawks’ Sam Butler has been offered a one-match suspension for a high bump on Essendon’s Harrison Jones in last weekend’s preliminary final.
An unsuccessful appeal would see his ban raised to two matches, which would also rule him out of any chance of an AFL grand final recall if Hawthorn made it.
And with the seniors still alive in the premiership race, there are a few VFL standouts looking for an elevation to play Brisbane in Saturday’s preliminary final.
Noah Mraz had 24 disposals and 11 intercepts, Jack Scrimshaw collected 23 disposals and a goal, while Calsher Dear kicked 3.2 from 15 possessions and eight marks.
As for the Cats, veteran ruckman Rhys Stanley suffered a torn pec in the club’s preliminary final win over Port Melbourne, ruling him out of the decider.
The 35-year-old has likely played his last game in Geelong colours; he is an unrestricted free agent this year after just one senior game in 2026.