Who polled well? Who was unlucky? Did the umps get it right?
We dissect Adelaide’s performance in the Brownlow Medal.
Closing in on ‘Charlie’
Eye-catching midfielder Patrick Dangerfield secured his second straight top-10 finish at the Crown Palladium on Monday night. Dangerfield, who polled 23 votes to finish seventh in 2012, received another 22 votes to secure fourth spot this year. When ‘Danger’ polls in a game, he tends to poll well – the umpires judged him best afield in six of the nine games he received votes in. He also captures attention of the umpires in losing teams, earning maximum votes in Adelaide’s losses to Hawthorn and Richmond and minor votes against Fremantle and Port Adelaide. Dangerfield didn’t collect a vote in the opening three rounds (overlooked for his match-defining display against Brisbane in Round Two), but hit a hot streak between rounds 4-12, amassing 16 of his 22 votes. The two-time All Australian was equal-second on the overall leaderboard until he injured his shoulder against Collingwood in Round 16 and missed the next two matches. The 23-year-old has polled a total of 54 Brownlow Medal votes in his 109-game AFL career.
Ten-goal Tom Lynch-ed
There were a few eyebrows raised when Dangerfield received the three votes from the umpires in Adelaide’s big win over Greater Western Sydney in Round Seven. Sure, Danger had a day out against the Giants, slotting four goals from 28 possessions. But in the eyes of many Dangerfield’s performance was eclipsed by that of his good mate, Tom Lynch. Lynch booted an AFL season and career-high 10 goals from 21 possessions and 11 marks at Skoda Stadium. But the remarkable performance was only enough for two votes – his first-ever in Brownlow Medal – from the umps. Taylor Walker was quick to tell the social media world his forward line teammate had been robbed.
That just goes to show it is a medal for midfielders @tom_lynch27 kicks 10 and only 2 votes. I feel sick!!!!
— Tex Walker (@texwalker13) September 23, 2013
Crouch rises to the top
Young onballer Brad Crouch fell just short of winning the Rising Star (runner-up) and Players Association Best First Year Player (third) awards, but he outpolled all the other Rising Star nominees in the Brownlow Medal. The 19-year-old collected six votes (all in the second half of the season), polling in four of Adelaide’s last 10 games. Brisbane’s Sam Mayes (five votes) was the next-best vote-getter, while Rising Star Jaeger O’Meara earned four votes. Other young guns to catch the attention of the umpires included Jack Viney (2), Oliver Wines (1) and Nick Vlastuin (1).
Douglas duped?
After being included in the All Australian squad and finishing runner-up in the Crows Club Champion award, Richard Douglas was expected to poll more than three votes on Monday night. Douglas, who led the Crows in a number of key statistical areas this season, was overshadowed by his higher-profile teammates. The influential midfielder polled in three games – all single votes in games against the Western Bulldogs, Geelong and North Melbourne. He polled 10 votes in his Club Champion-winning year of 2010.
Sloane continues to soar
The universal love for Rory Sloane obviously extends to the umpiring fraternity. Sloane, who polled 11 votes last year, received 15 votes on Monday night – doubling his Brownlow Medal career tally to 30. The Crows Club Champion only received maximum votes twice, against St Kilda and North Melbourne, but polled in eight games in a reflection of his consistency. He was the only other Crow to poll double-digit Brownlow votes with last year’s fourth place-getter, Scott Thompson, the next-best on nine.
Rollercoaster ride
Adelaide’s inconsistency as a team was also reflected in the voting. Crows players failed to poll a single vote in five games – Essendon, Carlton, Sydney, Western Bulldogs and Port Adelaide – this season, and only clean-swept the votes (3,2 and 1) in four matches.
Crouch (six), Lynch (three), Sam Kerridge (two) and Lewis Johnston(two) all received their first-ever Brownlow Medal votes on Monday night. Kerridge collected votes for his six-goal haul in Adelaide’s come-from-behind win over the Kangaroos in Round Nine. Johnston also picked up two votes for a bag of six goals against Melbourne in the Club’s last-ever game at AAMI Stadium.
Patrick Dangerfield poses in front of the Twitter Mirror on the Red Carpet