The Showdown Medal is the medal awarded to the player adjudged best on ground in the

Showdown A showdown is a duel. The term may also refer to: Places * Showdown Ski Area, in Montana, United States Books * ''Showdown'' (Amado novel), a 1984 novel by Jorge Amado * ''Showdown'' (Dekker novel), a 2006 novel by Ted Dekker * ''Showdown'' ( ...

AFL AFL may refer to: Sports * American Football League (AFL), a name shared by several separate and unrelated professional American football leagues: ** American Football League (1926) (a.k.a. "AFL I"), first rival of the National Football Leagu ...

match between

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

and

Port Adelaide Port Adelaide is a port-side region of Adelaide, approximately northwest of the Adelaide CBD. It is also the namesake of the City of Port Adelaide Enfield council, a suburb, a federal and state electoral division and is the main port for the ...

. It is thus similar to the

Ross Glendinning Medal Ross or ROSS may refer to: People * Clan Ross, a Highland Scottish clan * Ross (name), including a list of people with the surname or given name Ross, as well as the meaning * Earl of Ross, a peerage of Scotland Places * RoSS, the Republic of Sout ...

awarded in

Western Derby The Western Derby () is the name given to the Australian rules football match between the West Coast Eagles and the Fremantle Dockers, who both participate in the Australian Football League (AFL). As both teams are based in Perth, the capit ...

games. However, no medal is awarded if the teams meet in a final, as they did in 2005. The Showdown Medal was first presented in Showdown VII, Round 7, 2000.

Mark Ricciuto Mark Anthony Ricciuto ( ; born 8 June 1975) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). From Ramco, South Australia, Ricciuto started as a junior with the local Waike ...

and Shane Mensforth,
Roo
' (Sydney: Pan Macmillan, 2007), 105. It was formerly known as the " West End Medal", but is currently sponsored by Balfours. For Showdown 39 in Round 16, 2015, the Showdown Medal was named the Phillip Walsh Medal, after the late Adelaide coach Phil Walsh.

List of Showdown medalists (Men)

List of Showdown medalists (Women)

Retrospective Showdown Medals

As the Showdown Medal was only introduced in 2000, six Showdowns were played without a medal being awarded. In 2019, Michelangelo Rucci, football writer for ''The Adelaide Advertiser'', advocated for a combination of Brownlow Medal, Club Champion voting, and Media votes to determine the selection for retroactively awarded Showdown Medals. This potential for retrospective Showdown Medals being awarded was enhanced by the Western Derby allocating retrospective medals in 2018. Another Showdown where a medal was not awarded to the player adjudged best afield was the 2005 Semi-Final. The official Adelaide website, afc.com.au, lists

Simon Goodwin Simon Goodwin (born 26 December 1976) is an Australian rules football coach and former player. He has been the senior coach of the Melbourne Football Club of the Australian Football League (AFL) since 2017. As a player, Goodwin tallied 275 AFL ...

as their best player in the 2005 Showdown Final with 3 goals and 22 disposals at 91% disposal efficiency to his name.

References

{{AFL BOG medals Adelaide Football Club Port Adelaide Football Club Australian Football League awards Awards established in 2000 2000 establishments in Australia