Football’s night of nights is almost here.
The game’s top individual honour is set be decided at Monday night’s Brownlow Medal in what looms as one of the most intriguing counts in recent memory.
Below is everything you need to know about the 2024 Brownlow Medal.
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WHEN IS THE BROWNLOW MEDAL?
The Brownlow Medal will be held on Monday September 23, the traditional slot at the start of the week leading into the grand final.
Coverage will kick off from 7.30pm (AEST), with the count to then get underway from 8pm.
WHERE IS THE BROWNLOW MEDAL HELD?
The Brownlow Medal count will be held at Crown Casino in Melbourne.
HOW CAN I FOLLOW THE BROWNLOW MEDAL COUNT?
All coverage of the event can be followed on foxfooty.com.au. It’ll include the red carpet, every vote in our live Brownlow Tracker, all the news – including Goal of the Year and Mark of the Year winners – plus the wash-up the following morning.
You can tune into the Brownlow Medal on Channel 7 from 7.30pm (AEST) in Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth and stream it on 7Plus or via the AFL Live app.
HOW IS THE BROWNLOW MEDAL DECIDED?
Umpires vote 3-2-1 for the best and fairest players in every match. The player who receives the most votes at the end of the home and away season is declared the winner.
Should two or more players lead the count in a tie, multiple winners are crowned.
Players who were suspended are deemed ineligible.
WHEN ARE THE GOAL OF THE YEAR AND MARK OF THE YEAR WINNERS ANNOUNCED?
Both the Goal of the Year and Mark of the Year winners will be revealed on Brownlow Medal night, during the course of the count.
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HOW MANY VOTES DO YOU NEED TO WIN THE BROWNLOW?
Players in recent years have generally needed to poll 30-plus votes to take out ‘Charlie’.
Since 2015, the winner has averaged around 32 votes, with Tom Mitchell in 2018 (28 votes) and Patrick Cripps in 2022 (29 votes) the only victors in that period to poll under 30.
That includes Lachie Neale polling 31 votes in the Covid-19 shortened season, which on average (1.8 votes per game), was the most of any player and would’ve pushed 40 votes in a regular campaign.
Both Dustin Martin (2017) and Ollie Wines (2021) have the record for the most votes in a season under the current system with 36.
Four players in 2021 remarkably polled over 30 votes – winner Wines plus Marcus Bontempelli (33), Clayton Oliver (31) and Sam Walsh (30).
WHO ARE THE BROWNLOW MEDAL FAVOURITES?
The 2024 race, like last year, is wide open.
There’s still four clear frontrunners in two tiers — with Carlton’s Patrick Cripps and Collingwood’s Nick Daicos ahead of Brisbane’s Lachie Neale and Western Bulldogs’ Marcus Bontempelli.
Cripps is gunning for his second Brownlow and Neale his third, while Daicos, in just his third season, and Bontempelli are yet to claim the AFL’s top individual honour.
Neale would be in rare air if he saluted again, joining Haydn Bunton (Fitzroy), Dick Reynolds (Essendon), Bob Skilton (South Melbourne) and Ian Stewart (St Kilda and Richmond) as the only players to win three Brownlows. Only eight other players have won two Brownlows.
It seems most likely it’ll be a two-horse race between Cripps and Daicos with a tie even possible. At the very least it should come down to the final rounds, and Daicos finished the year with a bang.
In terms of other top AFL honours, Bontempelli took out the Leigh Matthews Trophy (AFL Players’ Association MVP) for a third time, while Daicos pipped Sydney’s Isaac Heeney to win the AFL Coaches Association’s Champion Player of the Year.
It’s also a rare season where a genuine Brownlow contender, Heeney, is ineligible due to suspension. Heeney is projected to poll the most votes of any Swans player in a season the club claimed the minor premiership.
Heeney’s ban — and the general crackdown on striking and high contact — prompted calls for the AFL to change the Brownlow criteria and remove the ‘fairest’ element, however the league said it has no plans to.
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BROWNLOW MEDAL WINNER ODDS
Nick Daicos (Collingwood) $2.50
Patrick Cripps (Carlton) $2.50
Lachie Neale (Brisbane Lions) $9
Marcus Bontempelli (Western Bulldogs) $15
More available
All odds via Pointsbet, correct as of 4pm Monday
WHO’S INVITED TO THE BROWNLOW MEDAL COUNT?
TBA
WHICH PLAYERS ARE INELIGIBLE? (When they became ineligible)
Adelaide
Matt Crouch (Round 5), Izak Rankine (Round 17)
Brisbane
Eric Hipwood (Round 10)
Carlton
Lachie Fogarty (Round 4), Matt Owies (Round 24)
Collingwood
Lachie Schultz (Round 8)
Essendon
Mason Redman (Round 1), Peter Wright (Round 2), Harrison Jones (Round 10)
Fremantle
Nat Fyfe (Round 20), Tom Emmett (Round 21)
Geelong
Gary Rohan (Round 4), Brad Close (Round 8), Mitch Duncan (Round 23)
Gold Coast
Malcolm Rosas (Round 1 and Round 18), Wil Powell (Round 8), Alex Davies (Round 18)
GWS
Toby Greene (Round 6), Callum Brown (Round 8), Lachie Ash (Round 23)
Hawthorn
Mabior Chol (Round 7), Jack Scrimshaw (Round 9)
Melbourne
Kysaiah Pickett (Round 4)
North Melbourne
Kallan Dawson (Round 14)
Port Adelaide
Jeremy Finlayson (Round 4), Mitch Georgiades (Round 17), Dan Houston (Round 23)
Richmond
Liam Baker (Round 3)
St Kilda
Max King (Round 2), Marcus Windhager (Round 3), Jack Higgins (Round 7)
Sydney
Isaac Heeney (Round 17)
West Coast
Tom Barrass (Round 6), Harley Reid (Round 12), Jack Petruccelle (Round 20), Jack Hutchison (Round 20)
Western Bulldogs
James Harmes (Round 1), Rhylee West (Round 7), Tom Liberatore (Round 8), Sam Darcy (Round 12)
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WHO ARE THE PREVIOUS WINNERS?
2010: Chris Judd (Carlton) [30 votes]
2011: Dane Swan (Collingwood) [34 votes]
2012: Trent Cotchin (Richmond) and Sam Mitchell (Hawthorn) [26 votes] (Jobe Watson 30 votes stripped of medal)
2013: Gary Ablett (Gold Coast) [28 votes]
2014: Matt Priddis (West Coast) [26 votes]
2015: Nat Fyfe (Fremantle) [31 votes]
2016: Patrick Dangerfield (Geelong) [35 votes]
2017: Dustin Martin (Richmond) [36 votes]
2018: Tom Mitchell (Hawthorn) [28 votes]
2019: Nat Fyfe (Fremantle) [33 votes]
2020: Lachie Neale (Brisbane Lions) [31 votes, shortened season]
2021: Ollie Wines (Port Adelaide) [36 votes]
2022: Patrick Cripps (Carlton) [29 votes]
2023: Lachie Neale (Brisbane Lions) [31 votes]
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