2013 Brownlow Medal: Results and winners

Sam Mitchell was runner up with 30 votes to Dane Swan with 34 in 2011 but was ineligible due to disqualification. Nick Dal Santo received 28 votes in the same year. Peter Matera received 28 votes in 1994 when runner up to Greg Williams with 30. Winners with 28 or more votes since 1931 were in the following years: 1940 (2 winners), 1954, 1962, 1977, 1994, 1998, 1999, 2004, 2007, 2009-2013. Apart from those years 27 votes would have won a Brownlow Medal.

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Gazza definitely deserved the Brownlow he had a cracking season and he is helping the young Suns develop quickly into professional footballers. Probably something that GWS wish they had. Jack Scully will be a fantastic player but they could've done with an already established star of the league. Joel Selwood was very unlucky to miss out. He's become a complete player now for the Cats.

I like your thinking. The problem though is that's effectively the All Australian team rather than "player of the year" award, because it would be too hard to compare different positions. So all in all, I have no problem with umpires being subjective with who they think is the best player. I personally consider a contested mark to be worth 10+ disposals but that's just me. But my problem is that, if despite subjectivity between umpires, we still end up with midfielders polling well every single year, the question is why do ALL umpires like midfielders more than other players? Are we seriously saying NONE of the current umpires value contested marks, goals, stingy defence, taps to advantage etc more than midfield play? That would just be bizarre I reckon.

I assume you meant who has got the most votes and not won ? Corey McKernan North Melbourne 1996 21 Would have been joint winner with Hird and Voss. Chris Grant Western Bulldogs 1997 27 Would have won outright, beating Harvey by one vote.

How has got the most votes and not won?

No offence mate, I can understand your points but even players like Prestia and O'Meara were playing well. Some of the games Gary had left me amazed, I have always believed if a player is good enough they should get votes.

Once AFL gets its women's competition rolling, the Brownlow will finally be about the players once again.

Ouch ! :-)

I was really hoping for a three way tie, anyone who says Gary doesn't deserve the Brownlow was living under a rock this year.

Yep take your point exactly. As a Tigers supporter I only can comment on my own teams players from memory ! But in a recent game this year, Alex Rance kept the opposition key forward goalless and limited him to 1 kick for the game. Absolutely gutsy effort but he didn't rate a vote !

Sure. I would prefer if the umpires awarded point after careful consideration of the role of the player first, instead of simply looking at the stats sheet. I.e A defender is normally expected to get 15 or so touches a game and limit to a couple of goals. If however, the defender keeps the forward goalless then they should get a vote. A forward is expected to get about 3 goals a match. If they get 5 goals, set up a couple etc, then they should get a vote. A midfielder is expected to get 25-30 touches a game, and chip in with a goal from time to time, plus get a score assist. Too often these days, these players are getting 1-2 votes simply for doing that. That is unfair. Midfielders should not be considered for votes unless they get 35 a game...something that is worthy of recognition. There is just no way Swan/Ablett and co deserve 3 votes for 30 touches and 2 goals. That is what they are meant to do as midfielders.

Lethal was not exactly fair

Thanks Nick & Andrew - I used the vote register up above which showed only 9 games. Must confess I didn't add up the total just the number of rounds. So error on my behalf. Roar take note you screwed the pooch on this page ! And yes that does add to the substance of his win no doubt and I don;t mean to detract from his win. But I do believe he attracts votes because he is a star in a team of also rans at this stage and therefore stands out in the minds of the umpires. By allocating 3-2-1 to each team you get a much better allocation of points to people who play consistently throughout the year and are therefore acknowldged for their week in week out performances. Umpires (and I was one in the Amateurs for a number of years) are there to ejudicate on the game and apply the rules of which now there are many ! Time to relieve them of this additional task for which they sometimes sadly makes mistakes with !

You have some fair points, but... Gary polled more than 9 games. When you get 28 votes, it is mathematically impossible to poll in only 9 games. He polled in 12, which completely erodes your 9 game wonder call. When you poll in better than half your matches, you should be applauded. Especially when he polled in more games than Dane Swan. That is a serious mistake in your calculations and really affects your argument. Also, it was and has been quite common for a player in a poor team to win the Brownlow. That is its greatest quality, that it recognises talent in any team, not just a winning team. Tony Lockett won it and St Kilda were garbage in that era. Shane Crawford won it when Hawthorn didn't make the finals, Michael Voss won it when Brisbane finished 8th. Paul Kelly won it when the swans were beginning the rise. Bobby Skilton one three brownlows and only ever played one final! Umpires should still award votes but they should be doing it through a reformed system. There needs to be greater recognition of defenders and attackers. midfielders should stop getting votes for getting 30 touches in a game.

It's not possible to get 28 votes from 9 games. Something's missing. Brownlow voting will always be contentious and will often result in consistent players not winning. Leigh Matthews was arguably the greatest player of all time and never won one. Club best and fairest awards more accurately reflect consistently good performances.

I'm going to put in some comments here that may attract some attention. The Brownlow voting method is seriously flawed. 1st it's by the umpires who no longer see everything that goes on around the ground as they are supposed to be concentrating on implementing the 4 million rules they now have. 2nd whilst Gary is no doubt a super player, he is a super player in a team of not quite theres and therefore he absolutely shines through every game though not many in that team do... YET. It's very easy to get the umpire's attention in those circumstances surely that's obvious. The voting system needs to change to a 3-2-1 vote FOR EACH TEAM so that players like Selwood, Mitchell, Cotchin etc (who play in a team with quite a few very good players) get the opportunity to pickup some minor votes (1's) during the year to add to their tally when other guys on their team took the limelight on the day. Gary might still win but he polled best on ground 7 times in 8 game winning season and polled in only 9 games in total. Excellent ranking no doubt but he amassed his win by scoring votes in less than 50% of the games played !. Dane Swan from Collingwood (uhhh makes me shudder talking about them) polled in 11 games for the season ! I thought it was about the best and fairest for the season - not an 9 game wonder ! As the umpires only have a single 2 and 1 vote to hand out some of the high ranking guys last night who play in successful teams are missing out on acknowledgement of their great year long performances because other teams mates and opponents were deemed to have played better. Selwood for example had 25 possessions and 1 goal in the lat round - a good performance no doubt in a team that played miserably I believe. We also still seem to have ridiculous results. For example Richmond v Freo with the infamous goal not allowed after it hit the goal umpire bounced back into play and was not reviewed by the umpires. Freo ended up winning by a point. So a very very close games. All 3 votes went to Freo when they won the game only because of an umpiring screwup which even the AFL admitted was a wrong not to have it reviewed. Had that goal been allowed, Freo received 3-2-1 from a losing side ? Just illustrates my point about it should no longer be adjudged by the Umpires but by a panel of guys who attend a different team matches every week. On saying all that though Congratulation to Gary Ablett as he won using the current flawed system of voting.

Highlight of the night was Swan's girlie having a swig of lager for a laugh everytime the camera panned on them. Why does A Demetriou get to read out all the votes? Boron.

Great year by Stevie J. Unlucky to miss All-Australian selection this year.

Does he? It says Hawthorn next to his name.