# Jack Oatey Medal

The Jack Oatey Medal is awarded to the best player during the SANFL Grand Final. It has been awarded since 1981. In 2018, Mitch Grigg of Norwood became the first player to win the Jack Oatey Medal on a losing team, after his team were defeated by North Adelaide in the 2018 SANFL Grand Final.

## Winners

Table key :
| ^ | Player was member of losing team |
Table of recipients :
| Year | Recipient | Club |
| 1981 | Russell Ebert | Port Adelaide |
| 1982 | Danny Jenkins | Norwood |
| 1983 | Ian Borchard | West Adelaide |
| 1984 | Keith Thomas | Norwood |
| 1985 | Stephen Kernahan | Glenelg |
| 1986 | Tony Hall | Glenelg |
| 1987 | Michael Parsons | North Adelaide |
| 1988 | Bruce Abernethy | Port Adelaide |
| 1989 | Russell Johnston | Port Adelaide |
| 1990 | George Fiacchi | Port Adelaide |
| 1991 | Darel Hart | North Adelaide |
| 1992 | Nathan Buckley | Port Adelaide |
| 1993 | Steven Sziller | Woodville-West Torrens |
| 1994 | Darryl Wakelin | Port Adelaide |
| 1995 | Anthony Darcy | Port Adelaide |
| 1996 | David Brown | Port Adelaide |
| 1997 | John Cuningham | Norwood |
| 1998 | Brett Chalmers | Port Adelaide |
| 1999 | Darryl Poole | Port Adelaide |
| 2000 | James Gowans | Central District |
| 2001 | Rick Macgowan | Central District |
| 2002 | Matthew Powell | Sturt |
| 2003 | Chris Gowans | Central District |
| 2004 | Nathan Steinberner | Central District |
| 2005 | Luke McCabe | Central District |
| 2006 | Hayden Skipworth | Woodville-West Torrens |
| 2007 | Chris Gowans | Central District |
| 2008 | Jason MacKenzie | Central District |
| 2009 | Trent Goodrem | Central District |
| 2010 | Ian Callinan | Central District |
| 2011 | Craig Parry | Woodville-West Torrens |
| 2012 | Dean Terlich | Norwood |
| 2013 | Brett Zorzi | Norwood |
| 2014 | Matthew Panos | Norwood |
| 2015 | Chris Schmidt | West Adelaide |
| 2016 | Jack Stephens | Sturt |
| 2017 | Fraser Evans | Sturt |
| 2018 | Mitch Grigg^ | Norwood |
| 2019 | Matthew Snook | Glenelg |
| 2020 | Jordan Foote | Woodville-West Torrens |
| 2021 | Jack Hayes | Woodville-West Torrens |
| 2022 | Harry Boyd | Norwood |
| 2023 | Lachlan Hosie | Glenelg |
| 2024 | Liam McBean | Glenelg |

### Club totals

Table of clubs' totals :
| Club | Total | Years |
| Port Adelaide | 10 | 1981, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999 |
| Central District | 9 | 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 |
| Norwood | 8 | 1982, 1984, 1997, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2018, 2022 |
| Woodville-West Torrens | 5 | 1993, 2006, 2011, 2020, 2021 |
| Glenelg | 5 | 1985, 1986, 2019, 2023, 2024 |
| Sturt | 3 | 2002, 2016, 2017 |
| West Adelaide | 2 | 1983, 2015 |
| North Adelaide | 2 | 1987, 1991 |
| South Adelaide | 0 | — |
| Adelaide | 0 | — |

## Best on ground before award

Before the inception of the Jack Oatey Medal there was no official award for the best on ground in SANFL Grand Finals. However the media would often arrive at a consensus as to who was the best player on the ground.
| Year | Best on ground (media consensus) | Club |
| 1951 | Allen Greer (The Mail, The Advertiser) | Port Adelaide |
| 1951 | Peter Marrett (The Mail, The Advertiser) | Port Adelaide |
| 1952 | Doug Olds (The Advertiser, The News) | Norwood |
| 1953 | Mick Clingly (The Mail, The News) | West Torrens |