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The Brownlow.

© Corrina Huxham

With not only the finals fast approaching, that night of nights is also coming. What night is that? It would be the Brownlow Medal night. Held on the Monday night before the grand final, the Brownlow Medal count is a chance for the AFL footballers to show their glamorous side. They dress up, bring along their wives/girlfriends/partners and generally have a good time (especially after the count is over).

The Brownlow Medal is awarded to the AFL’s fairest and best player of the season. It is decided on a 3-2-1 voting system, allocated to players by the umpires at the end of each game. The votes remain a secret until the night of the count, where they are announced and tallied to determine the winner.

As mentioned, the medal is given to the fairest and best player of the season. This means that any player found guilty at the AFL tribunal, becomes ineligible. However, a lot of people believe that some players make themselves ineligible by back chatting the umpires during the course of the game. A former field umpire has even admitted that a player that has kept quiet during a match is likely to get the votes when compared to an outspoken player, provided that they performed equally. Current players, and Brownlow favourites, Wayne Carey and Nathan Buckley are two such players who may miss out on votes because they question the umpires.

Questioning umpires decisions is not the only way to miss out on votes. Barring the obvious like not playing games due to injury, players could miss out on votes by not being in the umpires vision. A lot of midfielders and ruckmen gain quite a large percentage of Brownlow votes as they are always in front of the umpire. However, due to modern day tactics of using the interchange bench in an attempt to prolong football careers, players miss out on valuable time in front of the umpires. Brisbane coach Leigh Matthews has pointed out that Michael Voss may have his chances of winning a second Brownlow hampered because of the time he spends on the bench. Matthews has ordered Voss to the bench after Brisbane has established a match winning lead, and doubts that umpires take this into consideration when casting votes. Although he believes that the current 3-2-1 voting system is outdated, Matthews is unable to come up with a replacement system.

Just who are the current Brownlow favourites? Adelaide’s Andrew McLeod is deemed the best chance. He has played most of the season in the midfield, directly under the umpire’s noses, and has had a blistering season.

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