Following the outcome of last year's recording-breaking count, it's seemingly harder than ever to predict how the Brownlow Medal race will unfold.
The 2024 count saw the previous single-season votes record under the 3-2-1 format shattered by two players, with Carlton captain Patrick Cripps going on to claim his second Brownlow with a staggering 45 votes.
Cripps will again be a leading contender for this year's award but will have plenty of competition from some of the game's household names.
Here we name seven leading options for the 2025 Brownlow Medal and a further three who could make a late charge.
8. A trio of outside chances
An injury crisis has struck the AFL's pre-season and will likely have a large impact on how the Brownlow unfolds, particularly the early rounds of the vote count.
A trio of Brownlow contenders will now have delayed starts to their 2025 campaigns due to summer setbacks, with Western Bulldogs captain Marcus Bontempelli (calf), last year's third-place finisher Zak Butters (knee) and GWS bull Tom Green (calf) all set to miss the opening rounds.
Bontempelli, who wasn't as favoured as most predicted for last year's Brownlow - finishing with under 20 votes for the season, now faces an even tougher task to claim his first medal as he recovers from a frustrating pre-season injury.
Green is working his way back from a calf injury of his own and could be the first of the three to return to the field, with the Giants midfielder looking to back up a stellar 2024 season that saw him poll 27 votes and finish fifth overall.
Butters could be facing the most time on the sidelines between the trio after requiring surgery on his knee, placing him behind the eight ball after a 23-game season that pocketed 29 Brownlow votes last year.
All three would need significant second halves of the season ahead to take out the Brownlow, but if they return with close to 20 games to play they're sure to be a chance.
