It is that clip of the twelvemonth erstwhile again, with the Brownlow Medal ceremonial acceptable to footwear disconnected a week of festivities that ends successful the AFL Grand Final.
In a twelvemonth wherever astir everything astir the AFL has been antithetic owed to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Brownlow Medal ceremonial volition besides travel with a twist.
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Instead of the accustomed Monday nighttime ceremony, this year's number volition instrumentality spot this Sunday night, with the authoritative number to beryllium held successful Perth, portion assorted events are held successful respective states crossed the country.
After Brisbane Lions prima Lachie Neale took retired past year's Brownlow Medal successful a canter, this year's gong is projected to spell down to the wire. Will this year's Brownlow victor beryllium playing successful adjacent Saturday's expansive final?
Ahead of the AFL's nighttime of nights, present is everything you request to cognize successful Wide World of Sports' Brownlow Medal eventual guide:
What is the Brownlow Medal?
Awarded each play since 1924, the Brownlow Medal is fixed to the champion and fairest subordinate during the AFL's location and distant season.
Where volition the Brownlow ceremonial beryllium held?
With the AFL expansive last being played successful Perth this year, the authoritative Brownlow Medal number volition instrumentality spot astatine Perth's Optus Stadium.
Players who are from states that are capable to question to Western Australia are expected to beryllium astatine the event, though players from the 2 expansive last teams volition beryllium housed successful a antithetic country owed to caution surrounding COVID-19.
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Melbourne-based players volition enactment virtually, portion the broadcast volition besides beryllium hosted retired of Melbourne.
When is the Brownlow Medal ceremony?
The Brownlow Medal volition beryllium awarded connected Sunday, September 19.
How is the Brownlow Medal decided?
Umpires ballot connected a 3-2-1 ground aft each lucifer and the subordinate with the astir votes astatine the extremity of the regular play is crowned the winner.
Players who are suspended during the play are ineligible for the award, and players who decorativeness connected the aforesaid fig of votes are declared associated winners.
Who are the favourites for this year's Brownlow Medal?
Ollie Wines (Port Adelaide) - $3.25 likelihood via SportsBet
Clayton Oliver (Melbourne) - $3.75
Marcus Bontempelli (Western Bulldogs) - $4.00
Jack Steele (St Kilda) - $6.50
Christian Petracca (Melbourne) - $17.00
Where volition this year's Brownlow apt beryllium won?
Every twelvemonth we spot the Brownlow Medal victor person a agelong of games that puts immoderate abstraction betwixt them and the remainder of the pack. For the apical 3 favourites, here's wherever we deliberation they could involvement their respective claims.
Ollie Wines (Rounds 14-19) - 35.7 disposals per game, 5-1 record
Wines enjoyed by acold the champion play of his nine-year career, posting career-best averages successful virtually each large stat class successful 2021.
While his disposal mean of 32.4 per crippled was eye-watering, it was a six-week agelong betwixt Rounds 14 and 19 that could spot him snatch the Brownlow.
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The 26-year-old began the agelong with a career-high 43 disposals successful the Power's 50-point triumph implicit the Gold Coast successful Round 14, earlier incredibly matching that people conscionable 2 games aboriginal against Hawthorn.
In the six matches successful question, Wines averaged a ridiculous 35.7 disposals per crippled arsenic Port Adelaide zoomed into the apical 4 connected the backmost of a 5-1 grounds during that period, with the lone nonaccomplishment coming against ladder-leaders Melbourne.
In summation to the lofty disposal numbers, Wines volition besides beryllium helped by the information that helium deed the scoreboard successful 3 retired of the six matches.
Marcus Bontempelli (Rounds 8-15) - 28.6 disposals per game, 5-2 record
While Bontempelli's wide averages this play weren't a full batch amended than his erstwhile years, that is simply a testament of his consistency arsenic a player.
The Bulldogs skipper finished the play averaging 26.8 touches per game, a career-high, but volition enactment abstraction betwixt helium and the remainder of the Brownlow fancies during a agelong successful the mediate of the year.
Much has been made of the Bulldogs' all-star midfield this season, but it was telling that Bontempelli enactment his Superman cape connected aft the injuries to Josh Dunkley (Round 6) and Adam Treloar (Round 10).
Bontempelli's ascendant agelong started with a 32-possession outing successful a comeback triumph implicit Carlton successful Round 8 and went done to Round 15, wherever the Bulldogs upset West Coast successful Perth down the captain's 29 touches and 3 goals.
During the seven-game agelong successful which the Bulldogs went 5-2, the 25-year-old averaged 28.6 possessions and a stupendous 145 ranking points, portion besides kicking goals successful each but 1 match.
Clayton Oliver (Rounds 4-11) - 28.6 disposals per game, 7-1 record
Oliver's sensational 2021 play mirrored that of his team, with some getting down to enactment successful the aboriginal rounds.
It should not beryllium a astonishment if the Demons' ball-magnet gets retired to an aboriginal pb courtesy of a blistery streak successful the archetypal fractional of the season.
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Oliver's Brownlow-winning agelong began successful Round 4 erstwhile helium collected 34 disposals successful the Demons' archetypal existent connection triumph of the play against Geelong astatine the MCG.
Given who helium volition beryllium facing successful adjacent week's expansive final, it is fitting past that this streak included a 33-disposal outing against the Western Bulldogs successful Round 11, wherever Melbourne were 28-point winners.
However, neither of the 2 aforementioned games featured Oliver's signature performance. That came successful Melbourne's lone nonaccomplishment successful the stretch, a one-point decision to Adelaide successful Round 10 wherever helium picked up 38 touches and kicked 3 goals.
The ridiculous eight-game agelong saw Oliver mean 28.6 disposals and 135.4 ranking points per game, arsenic Melbourne went 7-1.
Recent Brownlow Medal winners
2020 - Lachie Neale (Brisbane Lions)
2019 - Nat Fyfe (Fremantle)
2018 - Tom Mitchell (Hawthorn)
2017 - Dustin Martin (Richmond)
2016 - Patrick Dangerfield (Geelong)
2015 - Nat Fyfe (Fremantle)
Who has won the astir Brownlow Medals?
Four players are tied having won 3 Brownlow Medals:
Haydn Bunton Sr (Fitzroy) - 1931, 1932, 1935
Dick Reynolds (Essendon) - 1934, 1937, 1938
Bob Skilton (South Melbourne) - 1959, 1963, 1968
Ian Stewart (St Kilda/Richmond) - 1965, 1966, 1971
Which subordinate has the astir Brownlow Medal votes of each time?
Geelong large Gary Ablett Jr holds the grounds for astir Brownlow Medal votes successful total, having accumulated 262 during his stellar career.
With Ablett having hung up the boots past season, it is 1 of his aged teammates, Patrick Dangerfield, who has the astir vocation votes of each progressive players with 224.
Here is what the all-time ballot tally looks like:
Gary Ablett Jr (Geelong, Gold Coast) - 262
Gary Dempsey (Footscray, North Melbourne) - 246
Sam Mitchell (Hawthorn, West Coast) - 227
Patrick Dangerfield (Adelaide, Geelong) - 224
Robert Harvey (St Kilda) - 215
Chris Judd (West Coast, Carlton) - 210
Scott Pendlebury (Collingwood) - 207
Leigh Matthews (Hawthorn) - 202
Joel Selwood (Geelong) - 201
Dustin Martin (Richmond) - 191
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