Medal was Trac’s

Six-goal hero bows to Petracca’s brilliance

EVEN with six goals, Bayley Fritsch knew he wouldn’t be claiming the Norm Smith Medal on Saturday night.

The man wearing Ron Barassi’s famous No.31 lit up the grand final in Perth, as Melbourne ended its premiership drought with a 74-point win over the Western Bulldogs.

He became the first player since Darren Jarman in 1997 to kick six goals in a grand final.

But like Jarman in 1997, at which point Fritsch wasn’t even one year old, he did not come away from the night with the Norm Smith Medal, despite the six-goal bag.

Christian Petracca’s 39-disposal, two-goal and nine-clearance game earnt him the medal and Fritsch said all he could do was admire his teammate’s effort.

“I was sitting on the bench in the last quarter and someone said Trac is approaching 40 disposals,”

Fritsch said. “So I knew with a couple of goals as well, no one was beating him.

“But all that matters is that I’ve got this (premiership) medal around my neck.”

Petracca’s efforts in the middle at Perth Stadium were the inspiration that got the Demons back from 19-points down in the third quarter, when the Bulldogs looked like running away with the game.

But Fritsch played a huge role himself. He kicked the first two goals of the Demons’ matchwinning run, after Marcus Bontempelli had put the Bulldogs up by more than three goals.

The second, and his fourth of the night, came after he nearly took a stunning highflying mark – only to be denied by the fingertips of Max Gawn.

Despite rising so high, Fritsch was the quickest to get the ball after it had gone out the back of the contest and kicked the goal.

“I was watching the replay after I kicked the goal and I was like, ‘gee, Maxy, get out of the way’,” he said.

“Thankfully it soft-dropped over the back and I was able to get on the end of it.

“I want to be a good air player, but also a good ground player when the work in the air is done.”