The AFL has today confirmed the medal and trophy presenters for the 2026 AAMI AFL Origin match between Western Australia and Victoria.
The Graham Moss Medal will be awarded to the best on ground player for Western Australia, while the E.J. Whitten Medal will be presented to the best on ground player for Victoria.
Western Australian football great Graham Moss will present the Graham Moss Medal, while Ted Whitten Jnr, son of E.J., will present the E.J. Whitten Medal.
Since 1995, the Graham Moss Medal has been awarded to the best on ground for Western Australia, while the E.J. Whitten Medal has been awarded to best on ground for Victoria since 1985. The respective 2025 medals will be awarded on Saturday and will be voted on by each teams’ Chair of Selectors, Senior coach and Assistant Coach.
Moss is one of the most distinguished figures in Western Australian football and one of 19 Legends in the WA Football Hall of Fame. He played 366 senior games, including 254 with Claremont in the WAFL and 23 state games for Western Australia. Renowned as one of the fairest players of his era, Moss also claimed the 1976 Brownlow Medal during his VFL career with Essendon.
E.J. Whitten is universally regarded as one of the most iconic figures in Australian football history and is a Legend of the Australian Football Hall of Fame. His passion and advocacy for representative football played a significant role in elevating the concept of state football for decades.
Historically in Origin football, the best on ground medal winners is voted on by the Chair of Selectors, Senior Coach and Assistant Coach and will again be the process for the 2026 AAMI AFL Origin to select the winners of the Moss and Whitten Medals.
The WA panel is Dean Cox (coach), Justin Longmuir (assistant coach) and Glen Jakovich (Chair of Selectors) while the Victorian panel is Chris Scott (coach), Sam Mitchell (assistant coach) and Garry Lyon (Chair of Selectors).
The winning team on Saturday will be awarded the Graham ‘Polly’ Farmer Cup, the perpetual trophy contested between Victoria and Western Australia, and will be presented by Kim Farmer, daughter of the late Polly Farmer.
Graham ‘Polly’ Farmer is a Legend of both the Australian Football Hall of Fame and of the WA Football Hall of Fame, widely considered as the greatest ruckman in the history of Australian Rules Football.
Farmer was named as first ruck in both the AFL Team of the Century and captain of the Indigenous Team of the Century. Farmer played his football career for West Perth and East Perth in the WAFL, and Geelong in the VFL, and represented Western Australia 31 times and Victoria six times throughout his career.
The trophy was named after Farmer in recognition of his outstanding contribution to both Western Australian and Victorian football.
The medals and the Graham ‘Polly’ Farmer Cup will be presented on-field following the conclusion of the match.
