The Brownlow Medal voting process has been defended by the most senior umpire in the AFL grand final ahead of his 10th straight decider.
Criticism surrounding the umpires' vote intensified after Brisbane midfielder Lachie Neale claimed a shock win on Monday night to claim his second medal.
Matt Stevic, who was selected as one of the four field officials for Saturday, rejected talk the process should be changed, stating the the vote should be kept with the umpires to protect the sanctity of the award.
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"I've been (umpiring) 20 years, there's commentary every year about those things, so respectfully, I don't really take much notice at all," Stevic told media on Wednesday.
"Every game we discuss, we debate and we arrive at three players … we go through a pretty thorough process every game and we do that each and every week.
"We are the only four out there in the heat of battle. It's a wonderful seat in the house, you don't get too much chance to just enjoy it, but it's a unique position.
"So our perspective in that regard is quite unique in terms of what we see and in terms of player impact and that sort of thing … it's a unique award by us guys."
Officiating has come under the microscope over several non-calls in both preliminary finals despite the new four umpire system, lauded by the AFL.
"There wasn't anything to call it for … we don't umpire the game differently at different points in the game," AFL football boss Laura Kane said.
"Game state, momentum, score lead changes – that's for the coaches to worry about. We officiate the game the same for every minute."
Alongside Stevic, fellow veteran Simon Meredith (469 games, seven grand finals) and grand final debutants, Robert Findlay and Hayden Gavine will officiate the decider.
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