“It’s the umpires’ judgment,and it is the fairest and best and that is what the AFL regard as their official award ... so controversy is part of the Brownlow Medal ... it’s not perfect but it is the best available option.”

So voting is an imperfect science,and a tough job – as anyone who has voted in the Norm Smith Medal or any other match day award can attest.

And the Brownlow has morphed into a midfielder’s medal,so we know exactly where the bulk of the votes are going,with the same names appearing at the top of the leaderboard year after year.

But this year in particular there has been controversy,despite the fact thatLachie Neale is a worthy winner.

The games that puzzled

Some games in particular stand out in 2023,such asround two at the Gabba,when Brisbane hosted Melbourne and the lights went out. Neale received two votes from the umpires but none from the coaches,while Dayne Zorko,who does occasionally offer advice to the umpires,received the opposite. Neale had eight clearances.

Inround six,the Giants faced the Lions and Callan Ward was suspended for a dangerous tackle on Neale. It was perhaps the most contentious three-vote game of Neale’s year. Neale’s teammate Charlie Cameron,who got two votes,kicked seven goals and Josh Kelly had 41 touches and no votes. Both games were considered less meritorious than Neale’s 20-disposal game. Again,the coaches didn’t give Neale a vote.

Neale,with a second Brownlow in his keeping,said on Tuesday he had been “surprised” to pocket three votes in that round six game.

“There were probably games I thought I would poll through the middle part of the season where I didn’t pick up votes or polled one where I thought I might get two or three that game,so I think it comes around,swings and roundabouts,” he said.

“Yeah,I was lucky that game to poll,but maybe unlucky in some others,so I don’t really know,that’s the beauty of the Brownlow,isn’t it? You never know how the umpires are going to vote,and fortunate that it fell my way in the end.”

Inround eight against Essendon,Port’s Butters polled 10 coaches votes but no Brownlow votes. Perhaps he was a yapper on the ground. His teammate Jason Horne-Francis received a vote from the umpires but none from the coaches after a 20-touch game including three free kicks. Butters managed 28 touches with 13 contested possessions. Unlucky.

Also in round eight,when St Kilda beat North Melbourne,the only conclusion that could be drawn was that only Jacks had a chance of polling with umpires as Steele,Ziebell and Sinclair took the 3-2-1. The match was dominated by defence and reached no heights,and the coaches thought Wilkie and North’s Ben McKay were the most influential players on the ground. But the umpires put a line through the defenders despite Wilkie’s four intercept marks,12 intercepts,four spoils and a career-high 28 disposals.

Inround nine,Taylor Adams was the mystery inclusion in the votes when Collingwood played GWS. He had 20 touches and kicked a behind,while Nick Daicos had 41 touches and Jordan De Goey had 31. That pair put the ball in the hands of Adams,a fine player,on more than one occasion. Adams did not get a vote from the coaches. The three votes from the umpires went to Mason Cox,Adams got two and Tom Mitchell one.

In Darwin inround 11,there was no doubt Matt Rowell (three Brownlow votes) was best on ground in the Suns-Bulldogs game. But Marcus Bontempelli was unlucky not to get a vote as he helped will his team into contention. By no means a certainty,but it was a surprise that Bailey Dale’s game was deemed better than a few players,including Bontempelli. Dale got one vote and Jack Lukosius two.

In round 14 when Port Adelaide played Geelong,Horne-Francis polled three votes after just 13 touches. He received four free kicks that night but gave away four – maybe that made an impression. The coaches handed out votes to nine players,but not one to Horne-Francis.

Max Gawn had the football world talking after his dominant display against the Lions inround 18 after the Demons dropped Brodie Grundy. The umpires had the same top three players as the coaches but whereas Gawn received 10 votes from the coaches,he only for one from the umpires. Petracca took the three.

A form guide on tables at the Brownlow Medal discounted Neale’s chances of polling a vote inround 22 against Adelaide. He had 23 disposals as he emerged from a form slump. He didn’t get a vote from the coaches,but got one from the umpires to add to his Brownlow tally.

Inround 24,Demons Petracca and Bayley Fritsch got three and two votes from the umpires. It took 42 touches and two goals for Gulden to manage a vote. Both the Demons were excellent,but being on the winning team had to help.

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