Sport

History on offer as former Shepparton Bear Rokahr firms in SANFL best-and-fairest stakes

By Josh Huntly

Sep 1, 2026

Nik Rokahr playing for Norwood. Photo by Cory Sutton/Norwood FC

Former Shepparton Bear Nik Rokahr could be on the precipice of history.

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The prolific Norwood ball-winner tightened his Magarey Medal favouritism even further after SANFL pundits awarded him the 2026 SANFL Now Player of the Year accolade, following a season where he averaged 32 disposals in the Redlegs’ engine room.

He was a clear winner with 27 votes after last claiming the award in 2022, four ahead of teammate Finn Heard as the two-time runner-up of the league’s best-and-fairest, the coveted Magarey Medal, continues to hunt the club’s first South Australian state league flag since 2022.

Rokahr also claimed The Advertiser SANFL Player of the Year award in another positive indicator, and pending the result of the league vote count, the 31-year-old could elevate himself as a member of a club that doesn’t exist yet.

If he stands atop the Magarey podium this season, Rokahr looks set to become the first player in the land to claim the top honour of both the SANFL and West Australian Football Leagues.

Rokahr was the joint-winner of the Sandover Medal in 2024 after a stellar season with Swan Districts before returning to Norwood, which is currently preparing for a semi-final clash against Sturt that will determine the league’s first senior grand finalist.

It would be a remarkable chapter in Australian football history, though Rokahr will be focused first on helping his SANFL minor premiers punch their ticket to the grand final.

Rokahr’s Norwood faces Sturt on Sunday, September 6, while the Magarey Medal vote count will be held at Adelaide Oval next Monday, September 7.