Brisbane Lions superstar Zac Bailey went scorched earth on the Adelaide Crows, mere days after shunning the eye-watering offer the club put to the in-demand free agent.
The dual-threat, dual-premiership superstar exploded for 23 disposals and 3.3 as his side ran riot against the visiting Crows, and he yielded maximum votes from Zero Hanger's panel of voters for his efforts.
The Crows failed to feature in the match's votes, with the auxiliary votes being shared by a rotating cast of Brisbane contributors.
In the west, Fremantle's resident unicorn Luke Jackson was fantastic in his side's thrilling victory over the never-say-die Geelong Cats.
The moustachioed ruckman notched 25 disposals, two goals, 35 hitouts, eight clearances and 12 score involvements, with his efforts in the final three of those metrics, all game highs.
Jackson claimed 20 votes - the maximum - for that incredible outburst.
Both Jackson and Bailey now sit equal second in the race to be crowned Zero Hanger's Finals MVP for 2026, joining Sam Walsh, Patrick Dangerfield and James Sicily on 20 votes. Marcus Bontempelli's lead is safe for another week, after he mustered 28 votes across his two finals.
After each match of the AFL Finals, Zero Hanger's panel, comprised of Mitch Keating, Aidan Cellini, Harrison McIlwaine and Jonty Ralphsmith, cast their 5-4-3-2-1 votes; the player with the most votes come September's end is crowned the Zero Hanger Finals MVP for season 2026.
The votes from Week 3 of the AFL Finals are as follows:
| Mitch Keating | Aidan Cellini | Harrison McIlwaine | Jonty Ralphsmith | |
| 5 | Luke Jackson | Luke Jackson | Luke Jackson | Luke Jackson |
| 4 | Shai Bolton | Oliver Henry | Shai Bolton | Shai Bolton |
| 3 | Oliver Henry | Shai Bolton | Oliver Henry | Bailey Smith |
| 2 | Bailey Smith | Bailey Smith | Bailey Smith | Hayden Young |
| 1 | Hayden Young | Hayden Young | Josh Treacy | Oliver Henry |
| Mitch Keating | Aidan Cellini | Harrison McIlwaine | Jonty Ralphsmith | |
| 5 | Zac Bailey | Zac Bailey | Zac Bailey | Zac Bailey |
| 4 | Cameron Rayner | Charlie Cameron | Cameron Rayner | Will Ashcroft |
| 3 | Will Ashcroft | Cameron Rayner | Will Ashcroft | Dayne Zorko |
| 2 | Dayne Zorko | Will Ashcroft | Dayne Zorko | Cameron Rayner |
| 1 | Ryan Lester | Ryan Lester | Ryan Lester | Josh Dunkley |
THE TOP 10:
| RANK | PLAYER | LAST ROUND | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marcus Bontempelli |
0 | 28 |
| 2 | Sam Walsh |
0 | 20 |
| 2 | Patrick Dangerfield |
0 | 20 |
| 2 | James Sicily |
0 | 20 |
| 2 | Luke Jackson |
20 | 20 |
| 2 | Zac Bailey |
20 | 20 |
| 7 | Tom Papley |
0 | 19 |
| 7 | Josh Worrell |
0 | 19 |
| 9 | Izak Rankine |
0 | 17 |
| 10 | Logan McDonald |
0 | 16 |
