We are back for another year of predicting the Brownlow Medalist winner! Sometimes, it is an easy award to predict, as one player, in particular, will have a runaway season, a la Gary Ablett or Dustin Martin. Other times it gets a little trickier. Take last year for example. We walked into Brownlow night with a handful of genuine contenders and we had people calling three-way tie and being serious about it. But we have you covered. All year we will predict who gets the 1, 2, 3 in every game and by the end of the year, you should get a strong grasp of who is walking away with the Charlie at the end of the night.
In the last 2 years, we have managed to predict the Winner in 2021, with a successful Quinella pick. And in 2022, while we fell short of the winner by a couple of votes, we hit the Trifecta of Neale, Cripps and Miller which paid great money!
But enough chit-chat, let’s get into the votes!
ROund 1 Votes
Richmond (58) Draw Carlton (58)
What a contest. A draw in the first game is always amazing to see, as it means we have been treated to a hard-fought, neck-and-neck contest to kick off the season.
1 Vote – Tim Taranto (Rich). 32 disposals, 18 kicks and 5 clearances. Definitely racked it up in his new club and well done to him.
2 Votes- Lewis Young (Carl). 20 disposals, 14 of them intercept possessions. Was a huge presence down back for the Blues and dominated.
3 Votes- Daniel Rioli (Rich). This kid had the game of his career and looks very good off the halfback. 27 touches, @ 93% efficiency. 7 intercept possessions and 5 score involvements.
Geelong (103) Def By Collingwood (125)
Great game this one. The Flagpies knock off the reigning premiers in a great game that was constantly changing with momentum until the final QTR.
1 Vote – Scott Pendlebury (Coll) 27 touches, 1 goal, 4 clearances and 8 tackles. Speaks for itself.
2 Votes- Nick Daicos (Coll) 35 Touches at 91% efficiency, 3 clearances, 5 Inside 50’s and 9 score involvements. The kid is still a jet, expect “N Daicos” to be said many times in this year’s count.
3 Votes- Jordon DeGoey (Coll) 25 touches with 11 score involvements, 3 of which being goals. He was the stand-out player of the game.
North Melbourne (87) Def West Coast (82)
Another close contest here with the Eagles having a huge comeback. North stick out to get the win in what was a very encouraging sign for their year ahead.
1 Vote – Harry Sheezel (North). Wow! What a debut from this bloke. He’s going to be something special. Round 1 nomination for the Rising Star award, signs a contract extension with North until 2026. What a start to his career. 34 disposals, 22 kicks and 9 marks. Outstanding to say the least, on any other day he gets the 3 votes, but 2 of his teammates manage to edge him out I reckon.
2 Votes – Nick Larkey (North). The big Souva kicked a whopping 6 goals to start the year. Dominated up front and was critical to the Roos’ success.
3 Votes- Luke Davies-Uniacke (North). A great game from LDU, I feel like he’s gonna have a big year and really help drive North back to having a winning culture. He had 32 touches, 1 goal, and a whopping 10 clearances!!
Port Adelaide (126) Def Brisbane Lions (72)
What an upset! A result that nobody really expected, as if there was going to be a smashing, you would have thought it would be Brisbane on the winning end. Are the Power back to being contenders?
1 Vote – Ryan Burton (Port) 24 touches 21 kicks and 7 marks. Great performance down back and was their anchor for most of the game.
2 Votes – Ollie Wines (Port) After a rather lacklustre 2022, the 2012 Brownlow Medalist was back to his best with 29 touches 1 goal, 9 marks and 6 clearances.
3 Votes Jason Horne-Francis (Port) Wow this kid can play! All it took was a return home and he is starting to show why he was a Number 1 draft pick. 25 touches, 1 goal, and 7 clearances, also bullied the Lions’ midfield for the entire 3rd qtr. Gonna be a good player this year.
Melbourne (115) Def Western Bulldogs (65)
Dees were always gonna be too strong for the Dogs, so it was no surprise when the Dogs ran out of legs and got rolled over in the final Qtr.
1 Vote – Clayton Oliver (Melb) 33 touches 8 clearances. Yawning effort. Gets it done week in and week out, is 2023 his year to finally win a Brownlow?
2 Votes – Christian Petracca (Melb) The main reason why Clarry hasn’t won the medal yet and he looks to most likely steal plenty of votes from him this year. 30 touches 8 clearances. He’s a god on the field and in the kitchen. No arguments here
3 Votes – Kysaiah Pickett (Melb). 19 touches 4 goals. This new midfield CBA role is huge for him and it will really see him improve immensely. Fantastic game, although picks up a 2 game suspension for the hit on Bailey Smith, ruling him out of Brownlow contention.
Sydney Swans (110) Def Gold Coast Suns (61)
Swans avoid Grand Final hangover with a big win up north at the newly named Heritage Bank Stadium. Swoms can do some damage this year.
1 Vote – Jarrod Witts (GC). What a game, AA ruckman in the making, after losing to Gawn for years. 25 disposals 51 hit outs. Wowsers.
2 votes- Dane Rampe (Syd). What a game down back for Sydney’s co-captain 25 touches and a whopping 12 intercept possessions. Gun.
3 votes- Chad Warner (Syd). His Brownlow form continues from last year. This kid is a genuine dark horse chance. Controlled the whole game. 30 touches, 8 tackles, 14 score involvements. WOW.
GWS (106) Def Adelaide (110)
Great game Giants get up in a close one, as it was really a battle of whoever could handle the 40-degree heat better, which in the end, was GWS.
1 vote – Callan Ward (GWS) 31 touches and a goal. Cleans up one vote.
2 votes- Toby Greene (GWS) Wow what a statement to make in his first game as captain! 4 goals and 19 touches for the Giants captain. BULL.
3 votes- Tom Green (GWS). What a weapon. It is his breakout season, Taranto and Hopper leave and he dominates the midfield. 37 touches, 1 goal, 8 clearances, and 12 score involvements. Bloke brought his own footy.
Hawks (65) Def By Essendon (124)
Hawks looking very average to start the year. Oh no, could be another one of THOSE years to Hawks fans. Good win from the Dons.
1 vote – Jordan Ridley (Ess), 20 disposals @ 95% efficiency, 1 goal.
2 votes- Archie Perkins (Ess). 20 touches, 3 goals, 7 marks. Huge game for the young man.
3 votes- Darcy Parish (Ess). 37 touches, 13 clearances, and 9 score involvements. Self-explanatory.
Fremantle (62) Def By St Kilda (67)
Definitely didnt tip this. Would like to blame this loss on 2-time Brownlow medalist Nat Fyfe. He sucked this game, questions need to be asked, are the Dockers better without him?.
1 vote- Jack Steele (Stk). Good game from the skip, 28 touches, and 5 clearances.
2 votes – Mason Wood (Stk) 20 touches, 2 goals. Great game.
3 votes- Luke Ryan (Fre) One of the only shining lights for Freo with 37 touches at 92% efficiency, 13 marks, and 13 intercepts. Amazing game in the losing side.
Round 1 Leaderboard
No real leaderboard update this week as it is pretty obvious who is on top with the players who netted 3 votes all sharing the top of the board.