45 Votes – The Broken Medal

 

I woke up this morning from the strangest dream. I witnessed the highest Brownlow total the world had ever seen…

You see, I, like many of you, watched the Brownlow Medal count on Monday night, and even though it had nothing to do with the winner, the way things developed left me feeling uneasy. Something was definitely amiss.

It remains the most prestigious award in the game, but for how much longer?

The 2024 Brownlow Medal saw records tumble, as Patrick Cripps secured his second medal, and in the process, recorded the highest number of votes ever recorded under the 3-2-1 system.

It was a fantastic season from Cripps, and he is a deserving winner, however, according to the umpiring fraternity, we have just witnessed the greatest individual season on record. It’s not an opinion – 45 votes obliterated the previous best of 36 by Dustin Martin in his massive 2017 season, and Ollie Wines in his 2021 win.

And to drill down further, according to those same umpires, we have just witnessed the second-best individual season on record, as well, with Nick Daicos polling 38 votes in second place.

Does that strike you as correct? Because it sure as hell doesn’t feel right to me.

 

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