Brownlow Medal

For the list of winners of the award, see List of Brownlow Medal winners.

The Charles Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal, is the medal awarded to the "best and fairest" player in the Australian Football League during the regular season (ie not including finals matches) as decided upon by umpires. It is regarded as the most prestigious award for individual players in the league. Though often referred to as the "best and fairest", the official terminology is "fairest and best", reflecting an emphasis on sportsmanship and fair play. It was named after a Geelong player and long-serving administrator who was active in the early days of the Victorian Football League, Charles Brownlow.

[edit] Voting Procedure

Under the current procedures, the three field umpires (those umpires who control the flow of the game, as opposed to goal or boundary umpires) confer after each match and award 3, 2 and 1 vote to the players they regard as the best, second best and third best in the match respectively. There have been different voting procedures in the past, with votes being the responsibility of the media during the first 10 years, and both umpires being able to give votes to their chosen three best players (so in effect making there 12 points per match) in 1976 and 1977.

On the awards night, the votes over the home and away (regular) season are tallied and the eligible player or players with the highest number of votes is awarded the medal. In the past, only one winner was allowed, and ties were decided on a countback system, which took into account such statistics as matches played. In 1940, Des Fothergill and Herb Matthews tied for the medal and could not be separated on countback, so neither player received the real medal. Nowadays it is possible for multiple medals to be awarded in the event of a tie, and in 1989, players who had tied on votes but lost on countback were given retrospective medals.

The integrity of the award is upheld by the tight security and secrecy surrounding the votes. Once the umpires make their decision, the votes are locked away and transported by armoured security vehicles. No one except the three umpires know exactly who has been voted for, and as different umpires vote on different games, no one can be sure of who will win. Unlike most award ceremonies, the votes are not tallied or even opened until they are actually announced on the night, so the drama is maintained until late on the actual night, when the result sometimes comes down to the very last round of votes.

The method of selecting the Brownlow has occasionally come under scrutiny. The Brownlow winners contain a preponderance of midfield players and relatively few "key-position" players, with some of the game's greatest players (for instance, Wayne Carey) never coming close to winning a medal despite having high reputations amongst their peers and coaches. The problem is that players who are most valuable to their teams are not necessarily viewed favourably by umpires, and their positions and playing style sometimes means they don't attract enough attention. Several prominent coaches, including Kevin Sheedy and Leigh Matthews, have publicly criticised the selection process, proposing that coaches or players votes be used instead. The exclusion of suspended players is also debated, but the AFL's desire to promote a good image for the game makes it unlikely that this aspect of the award will change in the near future.

Some bookmakers offer betting on the winner of the Brownlow. A number of well-publicised "plunges" on unlikely winners has led to increasingly elaborate security measures to ensure the Brownlow votes are kept secret until the vote count.

[edit] Ineligibility

Historically, players who are suspended at some time during the season by the AFL's disclipinary tribunal for serious on-field offences (for instance, punching another player) were ineligible for the award. Suspended players have tallied the highest number of votes for the award on several occasions. This first occurred in 1996, when Corey McKernan received the same number of votes as winners James Hird and Michael Voss, but was ineligible due to suspension. (Interestingly, McKernan would be named the AFL Players Association MVP in the same year.) In the following year, Chris Grant of Western Bulldogs had the most votes, but a one-week suspension ruled him out of the Brownlow Medal, which went instead to St. Kilda's Robert Harvey.

Since 2005, the criterion for ineligibility is to have 100 base points levied by the Tribunal for an infraction in the season. This means that it is now possible for a player to be suspended, but still win the Brownlow. As an example, a player carries 93.75 points from a reprimand from the previous season, and commits an infraction worth 75 base points - this brings his tally to 168.75, which is enough for a one-week suspension, even with an early plea. Despite the suspension, this player would still be eligible for the prize. Similarly, a player can be ineligible, despite not having been suspended. This most commonly happens when a player is levied 125 base points, but it is reduced to 93.75 with an early plea - sufficiently low to avoid a suspension. This new system is slightly more confusing, slightly controversial, but also slightly fairer.

[edit] Publicity

The awards ceremony has become increasingly elaborate, with footballers and their partners gradually becoming more fashion-conscious and this aspect of the night becoming widely reported by gossip columns. The ceremony is held at Crown Casino, Melbourne on the Monday 5 days prior to the AFL Grand Final. In years past, prospective Grand Final players have attended the ceremony in person. However non-Victorian Grand Finalists are refusing to attend the ceremony in Melbourne due to the inconvenience of travel in such an important week. A live video link to Brownlow functions in their home city is done instead.

From 1959 until 1974 radio stations including 3UZ, 3KZ and 3AW broadcast the vote counts. SEN 1116 covered the 2004 count. Direct television telecasts began in 1970 at the Dallas Brooks Hall and have occurred every year since.

[edit] Venues and TV telecast

[edit] Trivia

• Corey McKernan and Chris Grant are both players that have missed out on the Brownlow medal due to being suspended throughout the season.
• Scott West is the current footballer who has won the most Brownlow votes, yet not to have actually won a Brownlow medal.
• 8 players have won two Brownlow medals.
• The highest number of votes polled to win the medal in regular seasons was 32 by Robert Harvey in 1998 (the tallies were naturally higher in 1976-77 when each umpire awarded votes individually).
• The fewest votes polled to win the medal in regular seasons was 17 by Greg Williams and Robert DiPierdomenico in 1986 (the tallies were much lower before 1930).
• The most votes polled by an eligible player who did not win the medal was 28 by Peter Matera in 1994, who lost to Greg Williams (30 votes).
• In 2005, Eagles Ben Cousins and Daniel Kerr finished first and second, the only time that one team has won the outright Brownlow quinella; Melbourne had a quinella in 1926, with the winner and one of three equal-seconds.

[edit] See also

• Leigh Matthews Trophy, an alternative "Best and Fairest" award voted on by the AFL Players Association

[edit] External links

• Official Australian Football League website
• Complete Brownlow Medal results