North Melbourne has won its first piece of silverware for the year, recognised at the AFL Media awards for "Most Outstanding use of Social Media".

The coverage of Brent Harvey’s re-signing for 2016 got top honours with the ‘surprise’ announcement leading to #NMFC trending on Twitter Australia wide.

The drama continued when Drew Petrie ‘gate crashed’ Harvey’s big media conference, announcing his own re-signing while it was being streamed live on Periscope.

However the idea couldn’t have been carried off without the cooperation of the football department and the willingness of Harvey, Petrie and company to participate.

How the AFL Media Association judged the award

“We thought this was clearly the best creative and original concept for the category and showed a wonderful use of social media to create a buzz about a subject which had traditionally been handled in a very predictable fashion.

“The creation of the 'fly on the wall' opportunistic elements to the video took fans and viewers inside the inner sanctum at a pivotal time. While it had a staged feel about the moment, the originality and creativity overrode the touch of Hollywood. Its impact was undeniable, being lifted for nightly news bulletins and trending throughout the day.”