AFL post-match ceremony derailed by presenter's 'awkward' blunder

There were bizarre scenes after Melbourne's victory over Richmond on Saturday night when the master of ceremonies realised she didn't know who she was presenting the best on ground medal to.

Melbourne announced themselves as a genuine AFL flag threat, extending their unbeaten start to the season with a stunning 34-point win over reigning premiers Richmond in the Anzac Day eve clash.

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Christian Petracca (38 disposals), Clayton Oliver (36) and Christian Salem (39) starred in the Dees' engine room as Kysaiah Pickett showed exciting flashes and Tom McDonald kicked three goals.

Petracca was awarded the prestigious Frank ‘Checker’ Hughes Medal for his best on ground display, but not before a slight mishap in the post-match presentation.

Master of ceremonies Bridget McIntyre began to announce the winner when she realised no-one had actually told her who the medal was going to.

“On behalf of both the Melbourne and Richmond football clubs, we are very proud tonight to present the inaugural Frank ‘Checker’ Hughes Medal,” she started.

“The medal will tonight be presented by Jennifer Ellen - granddaughter of the great ‘Checker’ Hughes.

“Would you please join me … well I actually don’t know who the winner is. I think I need to know the winner. Who is it?”

Demons players looked up in confusion before Petracca appeared to be told he was the winner, before McIntrye was also clued in.

"It’s Petracca! Christian Petracca!” she said with a laugh.

After Petracca's speech, McIntrye said: “Sorry about not knowing who that winner was.”

Fans and commentators were stunned by the bizarre scenes, although many praised McIntyre for the way she handled the stressful situation.

“That was slightly awkward … you hope that was the correct Christian that got the medal," Alex Flair of The Advocate tweeted.

Lauren Wood of the Herald Sun posted: “Can’t say I’ve ever seen a presentation where the announcer … doesn’t know who to announce. But well recovered.”

Demons coach heaps praise on Petracca

Petracca registered 38 disposals, 10 clearances, six tackles, seven inside-50s and a goal in a massive contribution to the better of Dustin Martin.

"I was just wrapped that our 22 contributed the way we did and I thought Christian played a big part in that," Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin said.

"There's no doubt he's turning himself into a really, really strong player and a player that we can trust and will continue to perform to a really high level."

Martin didn't fare so well, gathering just eight disposals under the close watch of Dees stopper Michael Hibberd.

The Richmond talisman sat out the final quarter of his 250th game on the bench with concussion after copping a stray arm to the head.

"Hibbo's done the job before for us and we were pretty clear that he was a really good match-up for Dustin," Goodwin said.

"He's a quality player, so Hibbo did a great job.

"He's worked really hard to get into the team ... and I thought his ability to negate Dustin in the areas that we wanted him to negate him was very good.

"Dusty's a quality player and in big games he plays really well, so I thought we did a really good job tonight."

with AAP

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