The AFL's Brownlow medal is the most prestigious individual award in the land, with those crowned as winners etched into football's rich and long history.
In its 100th year of acknowledging the game's fairest and best player for any given season, umpires still play a pivotal role, recording their 3-2-1 votes, a system that has long been in place in Australian Rules Football.
The award is named after Charles Brownlow, a former Geelong footballer (1880-1891), club secretary (1885-1923) and VFL president (1918-1919) who passed away in 1924.
Fittingly, the first recipient of the Brownlow was none other than Cats legend Edward "Carji" Greeves", who the club has honoured in their best-and-fairest award.
So, what other crazy facts are there about the Brownlow?
Who's won the most Brownlow medals?
Four players in V/AFL history have been crowned on three separate occasions as the league's best player for a particular season.
- Haydn Bunton Sr. (Fitzroy) - 1931, 1932 and 1935
- Dick Reynolds (Essendon) - 1934, 1937, 1938
- Bob Skilton (South Melbourne) - 1959, 1963, 1968
- Ian Stewart (St Kilda/Richmond) - 1965, 1966, 1971
Brisbane's Lachie Neale could join this illustrious group with his third medal on Monday night, adding to the 2020 and 2023 awards.
Which club has the most Brownlow medals?
Given the longevity of some clubs in both the V/AFL, the tally for which clubs have the most Brownlow medals is skewed.
Nevertheless, here are the leaders:
- South Melbourne/Sydney - 14 (1940, 1949, 1955, 1959, 1963, 1968, 1970, 1977, 1981, 1986, 1988, 1995, 2003, 2006)
- Footscray/Western Bulldogs - 10 (1930, 1941, 1956, 1960, 1975, 1980, 1985, 1990, 1992, 2008)
- St Kilda - 10 (1925, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1987, 1997, 1998)
- Collingwood - 9 (1927, 1929, 1930, 1939, 1940, 1972, 1979, 2003, 2011)
Fitzroy and Essendon have 8; Richmond, Melbourne and Geelong have 7; Hawthorn and Carlton have 6. North Melbourne holds 5; Brisbane has 4; West Coast has 3; Fremantle has 2; Gold Coast, Brisbane Bears, Adelaide and Port Adelaide all have 1.
GWS is the only club in the 18-team competition to not have a Brownlow medal.
Oldest and Youngest winner of the Brownlow medal
- Barry Round from South Melbourne won the 1981 Brownlow medal at age 31 years, 238 days
- Dick Reynolds won his first Brownlow medal in 1934 at age 19 years, 91 days.
Most Brownlow medal votes in a season
Under the 3-2-1 voting system, Richmond's Dustin Martin (2017) and Port Adelaide's Ollie Wines (2021) claimed 36 votes in their respective years.
Most Brownlow medal votes all-time
Geelong's Patrick Dangerfield is likely to become the V/AFL's most-voted player in Brownlow medal history, sitting 14 behind former teammate Gary Ablett Jnr.
- Gary Ablett Jnr (Geelong/Gold Coast) - 262 votes
- Patrick Dangerfield* (Adelaide/Geelong) - 248*
- Sam Mitchell (Hawthorn/West Coast) - 227
- Scott Pendlebury* (Collingwood) - 221*
- Gary Dempsey (Footscray/North Melbourne) - 218.5 (adj)
- Robert Harvey (St Kilda) - 215
- Joel Selwood (Geelong) - 214
- Dustin Martin (Richmond) - 212
- Chris Judd (West Coast/Carlton) - 210
- Brent Harvey (North Melbourne) - 191
(Retrieved fromย AFL Tables)
*Still playing
Most 3-vote games in history
Geelong's Patrick Dangerfield, nearing the all-time amount of Brownlow votes, is also tipped to topple Gary Ablett Jnr for the most three-vote games.
Brisbane's Lachie Neale could also run close after a stellar 2024 season but will be in line to lead the pack in 2025 and beyond.
- Gary Ablett Jnr (Geelong/Gold Coast) - 55 games
- Patrick Dangerfield* (Adelaide/Geelong) - 54*
- Chris Judd (West Coast/Carlton) - 46
- Lachie Neale* (Fremantle/Brisbane) - 46*
- Sam Mitchell (Hawthorn/West Coast) - 45
- Robert Harvey (St Kilda) - 45
- Dustin Martin (Richmond) - 42
- Marcus Bontempelli* (Western Bulldogs) - 42
- Brent Harvey (North Melbourne) - 41
- Nat Fyfe* (Fremantle) - 41
(Retrieved fromย AFL Tables)
*Still playing
Players with the most votes but no Brownlow medal
AFL lovers would see this list of players as stiff not to have 'Charlie' dangling from their necks.
Collingwood's Scott Pendlebury and Geelong's Joel Selwood immediately come to mind as those unlucky not to be awarded the Brownlow medal across their glittering careers, while Western Bulldogs captain Marcus Bontempelli has come agonisingly close on multiple occasions.
- Scott Pendlebury* (Collingwood) - 221 votes
- Joel Selwood (Geelong) - 214
- Brent Harvey (North Melbourne) - 191
- Lance Franklin (Hawthorn/Sydney) - 186
- Scott West (Western Bulldogs) - 175
- Travis Boak (Port Adelaide) - 174
- Leigh Matthews (Hawthorn) - 173.5
- Marcus Bontempelli* (Western Bulldogs) - 169
- Scott Thompson (Melbourne/Adelaide) - 155
- Nick Riewoldt (St Kilda) - 153
(Retrieved fromย AFL Tables)
*Still playing
Non-midfield recipients of the Brownlow medal
Recognised as a midfielders award, the Brownlow medal has historically favoured those playing in and amongst the contest more often than not.
A line from theย Melbourne Herald, in 1938, stated: "Under the present method, men playing on the full-forward or full-back lines have little chance of winning the award usually being won by men most constantly in the play who can stand out in comparatively weak sides."
And throughout history's winners, there is little to argue regarding that fact.
Nevertheless, there have been, albeit rare, some recipients who aren't primarily midfielders.
- Adam Goodes (Sydney) - 2003 and 2006
- Scott Wynd (Footscray) - 1992
- Jim Stynes (Melbourne) - 1991
- Tony Lockett (St Kilda) - 1987
- Brad Hardie (Footscray) -ย 1985
- Peter Moore (Melbourne/Collingwood) - 1979 and 1984
- Ross Glendinning (North Melbourne) - 1983
- Bernie Quinlan (Fitzroy) - 1981
- Barry Round (Sydney) - 1981
- Kevin Templeton (Footscray) - 1980
Ineligible Brownlow medal winners
Monday night could be the fourth time a player has topped the count but has been ineligible for the award.
Sydney's Isaac Heeney has had a stellar 2024 season, but an errant swinging arm that hit St Kilda's Jimmy Webster caught the eye of the Match Review Officer (MRO), who handed down a one-week suspension.
The Swans were unable to overturn the ban and, therefore, Heeney's chance of winning the Brownlow medal.
In 1996, North Melbourne's Corey McKernan received the same number of votes as Hames Hird and Michael Voss but was unable to stand alongside the champions of our game.
The following season, Western Bulldogs' Chris Grant polled more votes than any other player and was the outright winner of the Brownlow medal but was sidelined due to a suspension, leaving St Kilda's Robert Harvey as a worthy recipient.
In slightly different circumstances, Essendon's Jobe Watson was stripped of his 2012 medal due to his part in the club's supplement saga, resulting in Richmond's Trent Cotchin and Hawthorn's Sam Mitchell donned as Brownlow medallists.
