This list features 10 of the most iconic performances of the year; players shining in the most pressured environments, producing jaw-dropping displays of individual dominance, and team-carrying efforts under severe duress.
A lot goes into judging the top on-field performances in our code, systems and algorithms don't seem to capture the memorability of the moment, the conditions of the arena, the magnitude of the contest or even the match-winning efforts that transpire.
Fantasy points and SuperCoach scores highlight the best accumulative players on any given day, but also don't do justice to what will appear in the history books decades down the line. Bobby Hill's fantasy scores in his Norm Smith Medal performance might not jump off the page, but the emotion and buzz it created as it unfolded will leave it fresher in the memory banks to tell future generations.
Without further ado, number 10 on this list is...
2. Max Gawn - Rd 18 vs Brisbaneย
Stats: 29 disposals (21 contested), 39 hit-outs, 1 goal, 7 tackles, 10 clearances
It took a herculean effort from Melbourne's captain to drag the Demons over the line in the second best game of the home & away season, as the bearded big collected an equal game-high disposal count from the ruck while controlling the air in typical Max Gawn fashion.
After a dominant display all night long, lifted by a rain-making set shot goal in the third to keep his side in touching distance, Melbourne still needed a hero midway through the fourth, trailing by more than four goals with time-on approaching.
Helped by pivotal efforts from teammates Jake Melksham, Christian Petracca, Jack Viney and Angus Brayshaw, Gawn too stepped up a final gear, spending his final ounces of energy to win crucial clearances from the ruck and feed surrounding rovers and forwards.
His superb touch kick inside fifty floated toward Melksham for an uncontested mark inside 50 and a late goal to keep the game alive.
Finally, his boundary throw-in collect and handball to Brayshaw set up Melksham's matchwinning shot at goal, which sailed through the big sticks and cemented an iconic Melbourne win and another iconic captain's knock from the six-time All-Australian and premiership skipper.
