{"id":333499,"date":"2023-09-23T23:51:23","date_gmt":"2023-09-23T23:51:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=333499"},"modified":"2023-09-24T05:03:58","modified_gmt":"2023-09-24T05:03:58","slug":"sad-reality-of-what-brownlow-medal-has-become","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=333499","title":{"rendered":"Sad reality of what Brownlow Medal has become"},"content":{"rendered":"

Is it now "impossible" for any AFL player, other than a midfielder, to win the Brownlow medal<\/a>?<\/p>\n

Geelong's 2007 Brownlow medallist Jimmy Bartel<\/a> thinks so. So does Port Adelaide champion Kane Cornes<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But why has \ufeffthe award turned into one that only those in the middle seem to be able to win?<\/p>\n

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Bartel\ufeff put it simply.<\/p>\n

"Midfielders win the Brownlow, defenders win best and fairests and forwards get the big cash," Bartel said on Nine's Yesterday's Heroes<\/em><\/a> podcast.<\/p>\n

But why has the Brownlow seemingly become an exclusive midfielders' club?<\/p>\n

Kane Cornes\ufeff broke down the 2023 AFL Coaches Association award, which was won by Port Adelaide's Zak Butters in The Age.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Patrick<\/p>\n

He highlighted that the only non-midfielder to be recognised was Giants' captain Toby Greene.<\/p>\n

"Giants forward Toby Greene is the only non-midfielder to feature in the top 20 players as voted by the coaches this season," Cornes said in The Age.\ufeff<\/p>\n

"It is now impossible for a defender to join Gavin Wanganeen on the Brownlow Medal honour roll. Or a forward or ruckman to join Tony Lockett, Scott Wynd or Jim Stynes," Cornes said in The Age<\/em> in July.<\/p>\n

Both of these champions agree that to win the Brownlow medal, you must get a lot of the ball.\ufeff<\/p>\n

\"Jim<\/p>\n

Bartel isn't losing hope that a non-midfielder like Greene could snatch the award in 2023, but conceded that it is an unlikely feat.<\/p>\n

"You need a half back that gets a lot of (the ball to win the Brownlow)," Bartel said.<\/p>\n

"Jack Sinclair (St Kilda) is your man. (James) Sicily (Hawthorn defender), (Charlie) Curnow (Carlton forward)? Toby Greene?"<\/p>\n

"Tim English (Bulldogs ruckman) will get a few votes\ufeff."<\/p>\n

https:\/\/omny.fm\/shows\/yesterday-s-heroes\/how-the-blues-can-win-and-brownlow-smokeys\/embed<\/a><\/p>\n

This debate has raged on since the last non-midfielder took the honour in 2006, Sydney champion Adam Goodes.<\/p>\n

Cornes\ufeff explained how he believes the now-retired two-time premiership Swan won the accolade.<\/p>\n

"During the Swans' 2006 premiership campaign, Goodes played predominantly in the ruck. However, due to his athleticism and ball-winning ability, it could be argued that he was playing as an extra midfielder," Cornes said.<\/p>\n

So, does the Brownlow medal voting system need an overhaul?<\/p>\n

\"Ollie<\/p>\n

The top eight vote-getters of the 2022 Brownlow medal were all midfielders, headlined by Carlton winner Patrick Cripps, with Jeremy Cameron (Geelong forward) the only non-midfielder to make the top ten.<\/p>\n

Collingwood captain and key defender Darcy Moore, who is arguably one of the most important role players in the game, did not\ufeff poll a single vote in last year's Brownlow.<\/p>\n

Champion Data<\/a> recently broke down\ufeff where most votes come from during the Brownlow, with contested possessions looked upon favourably.<\/p>\n

It means that umpires, who get to vote weekly, \ufeffare likely looking for those players who are in and under multiple contests, racking up a lot of touches.<\/p>\n

\"Gavin<\/p>\n

It doesn't mean those possessions were particularly successful, or led to many goals being scored, it just means that the individual saw a lot of the football.\ufeff<\/p>\n

That well and truly rules out defenders, such as Moore and even Geelong's Tom Stewart, whose roles in their sides are the exact opposite of what the Brownlow seems to measure – getting a lot of the ball.<\/p>\n

Often players who are asked to play a specific role in their side\ufeff aren't told to go for the football. The game is bigger and more complex than that.<\/p>\n

Take Hawthorn youngster Finn Maginness, who was sent specifically to tag Melbourne superstar Clayton Oliver earlier in the season.<\/p>\n

\"Bartel's<\/p>\n

Demons coach Simon Goodwin<\/a> didn't like it, saying post match that "clearly Finn Maginness is someone who doesn't want the ball".<\/p>\n

But why should players who are asked to play a role in order to help their side win a game\ufeff become villains?<\/p>\n

In that game, back in August, the struggling Hawks almost beat the finals-bound Demons\ufeff, with Oliver only managing 14 possessions (four in the last quarter).<\/p>\n

Maginness' effort to minimise \ufeffOliver's heavy impact should be celebrated.<\/p>\n

\"Jimmy<\/p>\n

More importantly, it should be highlighted \ufeffthrough Brownlow medal voting. The game isn't solely based on\ufeff number of possessions.<\/p>\n

For many coaches and teams alike, they reward players for goal assists, for tagging a crucial opponent out of the game and for taking intercept marks.\ufeff<\/p>\n

Maybe it's time the umpires look at the bigger picture of the game.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/twitter.com\/Adelaide_FC\/status\/1705045950820176138<\/a><\/p>\n

The one-percenters,\ufeff the taggers, the defenders, even ruckmen and key forwards.\ufeff<\/p>\n

Jeremy Cameron's ninth place finish in the 2022\ufeff Brownlow count was a positive start to revamping the dubbed "midfielders' award".<\/p>\n

"It is a blight on the game that players cannot win the AFL's … most prestigious award unless they play in the midfield," Cornes said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Is it now "impossible" for any AFL player, other than a midfielder, to win the Brownlow medal? Geelong's 2007 Brownlow medallist Jimmy Bartel thinks so. […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":333501,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/333499"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=333499"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/333499\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":333508,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/333499\/revisions\/333508"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/333501"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=333499"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=333499"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=333499"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}