Brownlow Medal
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The Charles Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal, is an annual medal awarded to the fairest and best player in the Australian Football League during the regular season (ie. not including finals matches) as decided upon by umpires. It is regarded as the most prestigious award for individual players in the league. Though widely referred to as the "best and fairest", the official terminology is actually "fairest and best", reflecting an emphasis on sportsmanship and fair play. It was named after a Geelong player and long-serving administrator who was active in the early days of the Victorian Football League, Charles Brownlow.
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Voting Procedure
Under the current procedures, the three field umpires (those umpires who control the flow of the game, as opposed to goal or boundary umpires) confer after each match and award 3, 2 and 1 vote to the players they regard as the best, second best and third best in the match respectively. There have been different voting procedures in the past, with votes being the responsibility of the media during the first 10 years, and both umpires being able to give votes to their chosen three best players (so in effect making there 12 points per match) in 1976 and 1977.
On the awards night, the votes over the home and away (regular) season are tallied and the eligible player or players with the highest number of votes is awarded the medal. In the past, only one winner was allowed, and ties were decided on a countback system, which took into account such statistics as matches played. In 1940, Des Fothergill and Herb Matthews tied for the medal and could not be separated on countback, so neither player received the real medal. Nowadays it is possible for multiple medals to be awarded in the event of a tie, and in 1988, players who had tied on votes but lost on countback were given retrospective medals.
The integrity of the award is upheld by the tight security and secrecy surrounding the votes. Once the umpires make their decision, the votes are locked away and transported by armoured security vehicles. No one except the three umpires know exactly who has been voted for, and as different umpires vote on different games, no one can be sure of who will win. Unlike most award ceremonies, the votes are not tallied or even opened until they are actually announced on the night, so the drama is maintained until late on the actual night, when the result sometimes comes down to the very last round of votes.
Players who are suspended at some time during the season by the AFL's disclipinary tribunal for serious on-field offences (for instance, punching another player) are ineligible for the award. Suspended players have tallied the highest number of votes for the award on several occasions. This first occurred in 1996, when Corey McKernan received the same number of votes as winners James Hird and Michael Voss, but was ineligible due to suspension. (Interestingly, McKernan would be named the AFL Players Association MVP in the same year.) In the following year, Chris Grant of Western Bulldogs had the most votes, but a one-week suspension ruled him out of the Brownlow Medal, which went instead to St. Kilda's Robert Harvey.
The method of selecting the Brownlow has occasionally come under scrutiny. The Brownlow winners contain a preponderance of midfield players and relatively few "key-position" players, with some of the game's greatest players (for instance, Wayne Carey) never coming close to winning a medal despite their reputation amongst their peers and coaches. The problem is that players who are most valuable to their teams are not necessarily viewed favourably by umpires, and their positions and playing style sometimes means they don't attract enough attention. Several prominent coaches, including Kevin Sheedy and Leigh Matthews, have publicly criticised the selection process, proposing that coaches or players votes be used instead. The exclusion of suspended players is also debated, but the AFL's desire to promote a good image for the game makes it unlikely that this aspect of the award will change in the near future.
Some bookmakers offer betting on the winner of the Brownlow. A number of well-publicised "plunges" on unlikely winners has led to increasingly elaborate security measures to ensure the Brownlow votes are kept secret until the vote count.
Publicity
The awards ceremony has become increasingly elaborate, with footballers and their partners gradually becoming more fashion-conscious and this aspect of the night becoming widely reported by gossip columns. The ceremony is held at Crown Casino, Melbourne on the Monday 5 days prior to the grand final. In years past, prospective grand final players have attended the ceremony in person. However non-Victorian grand finalists are refusing to attend the ceremony in Melbourne due to the inconvenience of travel in such an important week. A live video link to Brownlow functions in their home city is done instead.
From 1959 until 1974 radio stations including 3UZ, 3KZ and 3AW broadcast the vote counts. SEN 1116 covered the 2004 count. Direct television telecasts began in 1970 at the Dallas Brooks Hall and have occurred every year since.
Brownlow Medal Winners
See: List of Brownlow Medal winners
Venues and TV telecast
Template:Start box ! Year ! Channel ! Venue |- | 1924-69 | None | League Headquarters |- | 1970 | Seven Network | Dallas Brooks Hall |- | 1971 | Seven, Nine | Chevron Hotel |- | 1972 | Seven Network | Chaucers Convention Centre |- | 1973-86 | Seven Network | Southern Cross Ballroom |- | 1987-88 | ABC | Hyatt on Collins St. |- | 1989-93 | Seven Network | Southern Cross Ballroom |- | 1994-95 | Seven Network | Radisson President Hotel |- | 1996 | Seven Network | World Congress Centre |- | 1997-98 | Seven Network | Palladium at Crown Casino |- | 1999 | Seven Network | Hordern Pavillion, Sydney |- | 2000-01 | Seven Network | Palladium at Crown Casino |- | 2002 | Network Ten | Telstra Dome |- | 2003 | Nine Network | Palladium at Crown Casino |- | 2004 | Network Ten | Palladium at Crown Casino |- | 2005 | Nine Network | Palladium at Crown Casino |- Template:End box
See also
- Leigh Matthews Trophy, an alternative "Best and Fairest" award voted on by the AFL Players Association