What Matt Rowell has in common with previous Brownlow Medal winners

Have you noticed that the same kind of player continues to win the Brownlow Medal?

Inside midfielder. Contested bull. Clearance specialist.

There is no surprise that the award is dominated by on-ballers, given they are involved in all facets of the game, while strategies and tactics are utilised to enhance their performance, leaving the umpires little wiggle room to vote outside the position.

But statistics will show just how favoured the tough and uncompromising midfielder has become in the Brownlow Medal count.

Gold Coast's Matt Rowell was honoured with 'Charlie' after claiming 39 votes to better the strong favourite, Collingwood's Nick Daicos, by seven.

Last year, Carlton's Patrick Cripps beat Daicos by the same margin, while Lachie Neale (2020, 2023), Ollie Wines (2021) and Cripps (2022) were deemed worthy recipients by the umpires in their respective years.

And yet players like Daicos, Bailey Smith, Noah Anderson and Marcus Bontempelli were crowned winners of the MVP and AFLCA, for which an argument can be made that they aren't necessarily as contested players as the Brownlow Medal winners.

However, looking through the stats (since 2012), the winners are all of a similar vein.

This year, Daicos was seventh for clearances and 21st for contested possessions.

In 2024, the Pies maestro was sixth for contested possessions and fourth for clearances, but failed to topple Cripps despite reaching a record amount of votes.

Marcus Bontempelli, along with the Collingwood youngster, were tipped to win the Brownlow in 2023.

But Lachie Neale's double gong in clearances and contested possessions denied his counterparts the chance to take home 'Charlie'.

The Bont was third in clearances and contested possessions. Daicos was 53rd (clearances) and 54th (contested possessions).

Ollie Wines and Gary Ablett Jr are the slight anomalies within the group, ranking just outside the top 10 for clearances in their respective Brownlow Medal wins.