Honoured, but surprised: Why Shai Bolton took off his medal right after winning the Norm Smith

Shai Bolton was surprised. Honoured, but surprised. He was not alone.

When an AFL official walked up to Bolton on the MCG as he watched the Brisbane Lions celebrate and told him he’d won the Norm Smith Medal, he was taken aback. It was little comfort for the loss.

It was not his first surprise. Minutes earlier, he’d thought his chipped kick to Patrick Voss in the goal square and Voss’ subsequent kick to put the Dockers 17 points up had them over the line. He had thought he was about to win his third premiership at his second club, the one he loved as a boy. After, he remained slightly stunned they had not won.

Maurice Rioli, Gary Ablett snr, Nathan Buckley and Chris Judd. Now you can add Bolton’s name to the list of players to have won the most coveted medal for best on ground but lost the grand final.

“It’s a bit hard, to be honest. You know I’m honoured to obviously get the award but to lose a grand final like that is one of the hardest things,” Bolton said.

“I was [surprised]. They came up to me early and obviously, you don’t know, you don’t look at the big screen and stuff or look at your stats, you just play football, and especially when you are trying to win the game, you’re not looking at anything.

“So I just try to play my role for the team, and you know, we didn’t end up with the chocolates today, but we’ll definitely be back.

“It’s kind of hard to take that in, and losing that way, especially in that fourth quarter. It would have been better if I won the premiership and won the Norm Smith. I’m honoured to win, I’m just proud of the boys and how we fought it out the whole four quarters.”

Bolton was not the only one surprised with his best-on-ground medal. It’s always unexpected when a player from the losing team wins it, but on this occasion it was uncertain he was the best player for the losing team. He was very good, but was he better than Caleb Serong or Murphy Reid for the Dockers? Maybe.

It is improbable he was more influential in the outcome than Brisbane Lion Will Ashcroft and his outstanding last quarter: 12 touches, seven clearances and two score assists. It’s hard to work out how playing one of the great last quarters of a grand final, he didn’t win a third successive medal.

This is not to be churlish or begrudge Bolton. He was very good and was more creative and constructive than almost anyone else on the ground. But on this day he was not the player who capitalised on his artfulness: he had just the two behinds, missed a couple wide or short and had another smothered by Josh Dunkley as he wound up to goal from 50 metres out.

But he did have nine inside-50s, and it was him that chipped the ball to Voss for the goal that had Simon Garlick reaching out for the “Wharfie Time” button. That bell tolling is supposed to inspire something in the Dockers; instead it inspired something in Brisbane. Within seconds, the bell was drowned out by Take Me Home, Country Roads. It had served to kickstart the Lions.

After Voss goaled, even with their captain and best defender Alex Pearce out of the game, Bolton thought the Dockers should get home.

“I did [think the lead was comfortable enough] to be honest. That’s the thing with Brisbane. That’s why they’re three-peat [winners]. They’re playing good football. You have just got to play those moments and we didn’t do it in the last two minutes.

“Finals is all about moments. I think they took their moments in the last two minutes, and we didn’t play our best footy then. To be honest, it’s pretty hard because for all four quarters we were playing our brand of football and to lose like that, it’s pretty hard.”

It was part of the reason Bolton was quick to remove his medal after they hung it around his neck. It was not that he was uncomfortable winning it, but he was uncomfortable about making it “me time”.

“My team obviously lost. If we did win, it would have been better, obviously. But I’m super honoured to get the Norm Smith. I didn’t really want to make it about me, to be honest.”

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