Melbourne ruckman Max Gawn claimed a record-breaking ninth All Australian blazer and was named captain of the 2026 team, while Collingwood's Nick Daicos swept the league's top individual awards, but it was Adelaide captain Jordan Dawson's emotional speech about mental health that dominated the evening at the AFL Awards.

Dawson won both Best Captain and the Robert Rose Most Courageous Player Award before being named vice captain of the All Australian team, using his acceptance speech to speak candidly about his struggles following the death of his brother, who died at age 35 earlier this year.

"It's been a struggle. It's not easy. It's a range of emotions and they come at different times," Dawson said. "For me it's about creating safe spaces in the footy club and at home, and understanding there will be times when it's hard to go to work and that it is OK to feel a certain type of way." He acknowledged the ongoing difficulty of discussing the loss publicly. "It's still raw, it's always going to be hard to talk about. I'm so lucky I have such supportive people around me." Dawson went on to describe his evolving relationship with mental health awareness more broadly, and offered a direct message to others facing similar struggles. "The mental health space is something new to me, but something I want to learn more about. I........

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