Brownlow Medal - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

For the list of winners of the award, see List of Brownlow Medal winners.

The Chas Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal (and informally as "Charlie"), is awarded to the "fairest and best" player in the Australian Football League

Australian Football League

The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...

(AFL) during the regular season (i.e., not including finals matches) as determined by votes cast by the officiating field umpires

Umpire (Australian rules football)

An umpire is an official in the sport of Australian rules football.-Origins:Unlike many other codes of football, where the official is called a referee, in Australian Football, the officials borrow their title from the game of cricket, which is played on the same types of fields and was an...

after each game. It is the most prestigious award for individual players in the AFL. It is also widely acknowledged as the highest individual honour in the sport of Australian rules football

Australian rules football

Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...

.

The medal was first awarded by the Victorian Football League

Australian Football League

The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...

(VFL) in 1924. It was created and named in honour of Charles Brownlow

Chas Brownlow

Charles "Chas" Brownlow was an Australian rules football administrator in the Victorian Football League.He went to the Geelong College for his schooling....

, the Geelong footballer (in Geelong's pre-VFL days in the VFA), long-time Geelong Club secretary (1885–1923) and VFL president (1918–19), who had died in January 1924 after an extended illness.

Format of citation

Although the award is generally spoken of the "best and fairest", the award's specific criterion is "fairest and best", reflecting an emphasis on sportsmanship and fair play (which also explains the decision to have the votes cast by the umpires), as the 1924 somewhat illuminated

Illuminated manuscript

An illuminated manuscript is a manuscript in which the text is supplemented by the addition of decoration, such as decorated initials, borders and miniature illustrations...

citation expressly states:

Mr. Edward Goodrich Greeves

Geelong Football Club

[VFL EMBLEM]

THE CHARLES BROWNLOW TROPHY

Dear Sir,

On behalf of the Victorian Football League, we desire

to place on permanent record the appreciation of your excellent play

during the Season 1924.

You were selected as the fairest and best player and we have

pleasure in presenting the accompanying Gold Medal in recognition of those

sterling qualities.

Trusting that you will be long spared to interest yourself in the

adancement [sic] of the Game.

We are, yours sincerely

W. Baldwin Spencer

Walter Baldwin Spencer

Sir Walter Baldwin Spencer KCMG was a British-Australian biologist and anthropologist.Baldwin was born in Stretford, Lancashire. His father, Reuben Spencer, who had come from Derbyshire in his youth, obtained a position with Rylands and Sons, cotton manufacturers, and rose to be chairman of its...

(President),

M.E. Green (Treasurer), E. L. Wilson (Secretary)

The VFL was the last of the four major mainland leagues to strike an award for league best and fairest: the SANFL's Magarey Medal

Magarey Medal

For the biography award of the same name, see Magarey Medal for biography. For a list of winners, see List of Magarey Medallists.The Magarey Medal is an Australian rules football honour awarded annually since 1898 to the fairest and most brilliant player in the South Australian National Football...

had been awarded since 1898, while the WAFL

West Australian Football League

The West Australian Football League is an Australian rules football league based in Perth, Western Australia. The WAFL is the second-most popular in the state, behind the nation-wide Australian Football League...

's Sandover Medal

Sandover Medal

The Sandover Medal is an Australian rules football award, given annually since 1921 to the fairest and best player in the West Australian Football League...

(1921) and the VFA

Victorian Football League

The Victorian Football League which evolved from the former Victorian Football Association , taking its new name as from the 1996 season, is the premier Australian rules football league in Victoria The Victorian Football League (VFL) which evolved from the former Victorian Football Association...

's Recorder Cup

J. J. Liston Trophy

The J. J. Liston Trophy is awarded to the best and fairest senior player in the Victorian Football League .-History:The VFA awarded the Recorder Cup from 1923 to 1941, and also ran a different award known as the VFA Medal .After a hiatus in 1942 to 1944 due to World War II, a best and fairest award...

(1923) had been struck more recently. Over time, all of these awards have migrated towards similar rules regarding voting and eligibility.

But for the change of the monogram from VFL to AFL in 1990, the design, shape and size of the medallion itself has remained virtually unchanged from that of 1924.

Voting procedure for "best"

To determine the best player, the three field umpires (not the goal umpires or boundary umpires) confer after each home-and-away match and award 3 votes, 2 votes and 1 vote to the players they regard as the best, second best and third best in the match respectively. On the awards night, the votes from each match are tallied, and the player or players with the highest number of votes is awarded the medal (subject to eligibility – see below).

The current voting system has been used for the vast majority of Brownlow Medal counts. There have been different voting systems for short periods in the past:

until 1930, only one vote was cast in each game. This was changed to the current 3–2–1 system after the 1930 season saw three players tied on four votes apiece;
in 1976, the VFL introduced a second field umpire, and both umpires individually awarded 3–2–1 votes; this voting system was abandoned in 1978, and the two (and later, three) umpires conferred to give a single set of 3–2–1 votes.

Since the rules were changed in 1980, if two or more eligible players score the equal highest number of votes, each wins a Brownlow medal. Prior to 1980, if two or more players were tied, a single winner was chosen on a countback:

up to 1930, the winner was the player who had played the fewest games;
after 1930, the winner was the player who had the most 3-vote games; then, if still tied, the most 2-vote games.

Even with these considerations, these countbacks failed to separate Des Fothergill

Des Fothergill

Desmond Hugh Fothergill was an Australian rules footballer who played in the Victorian Football League , and briefly in the Victorian Football Association ....

and Herbie Matthews

Herbie Matthews

Herbie Matthews was an Australian rules footballer who played for South Melbourne in the Victorian Football League. He was recruited from suburban Fairfield under the League's "father and son" rule. His father, 'Butcher' Matthews, partnered the great Roy Cazaly in South Melbourne's ruck...

, who tied for the medal in 1940. In 1989, players who had tied on votes but lost on a countback were awarded retrospective

Retrospective

Retrospective generally means to take a look back at events that already have taken place. For example, the term is used in medicine, describing a look back at a patient's medical history or lifestyle.-Music:...

medals.

Ineligibility

The fairest component of the medal is achieved by making ineligible any player who is found guilty by the AFL Tribunal of an offence worthy of a suspension during the home-and-away season. An ineligible player cannot win, place or be classified in the final Brownlow Medal rankings, regardless of the number of votes he has received.

The umpires cast their votes for each game independent of eligibility criteria of the players; i.e. umpires can cast votes for players who have already been suspended during that season if they perceive them to be amongst the best on the ground.

Prior to 2005, a player became ineligible if he received a suspension of any length from the AFL Tribunal during that season. In 2005, the rule was changed slightly to accommodate reforms to the AFL Tribunal system. The changes to the Tribunal system were, in summary:

Based on a decision by a separate Match Review Panel, players are levied a number of base demerit points, according to the severity of their offence;
The panel then adjusts the number of base points to a number of final demerit points, via additions (for a poor prior tribunal record), or deductions (for a good prior tribunal record or for lodging an early guilty plea).
Players are suspended for one match for every 100 final demerit points he has.

In terms of Brownlow Medal eligibility, a player becomes ineligible if he accrues more than 100 base points during the season; final points are irrelevant. This means that it is now possible for a player to be ineligible for the Brownlow Medal, despite not having served a suspension that season; or, to be eligible for the Brownlow despite receiving a suspension.

A player also remains eligible for the Brownlow Medal under the following circumstances:

if he is suspended during the finals or pre-season;
if he serves a suspension in the current season which was earned for an offence committed late in the previous season;
he receives any sort of club-imposed suspension which is not recognised by the AFL Tribunal;
if he is found guilty by the AFL Tribunal of an offence which attracts only a financial penalty.

On two occasions, an ineligible player has tallied the highest number of Brownlow votes:

In 1996
1996 AFL season
Results and statistics for the Australian Football League season of 1996.See List of Australian Football League premiers for a complete list.-Lighting Premiership:...

, Corey McKernan
Corey McKernan
Corey McKernan is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the North Melbourne Kangaroos and Carlton Blues in the Australian Football League...

received the same number of votes as the joint-winners James Hird
James Hird
James Hird is a former professional Australian rules footballer and the current coach of the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League....

and Michael Voss
Michael Voss
Michael Voss is the senior coach of the Brisbane Lions Australian Football League team and a former professional Australian rules footballer....

. McKernan was suspended for one match during the season for kneeing. McKernan was named the AFL Players Association MVP
Leigh Matthews Trophy
The Leigh Matthews Trophy is an annual award given by the AFL Players Association to the Most Valuable Player in the Australian Football League. It is named in honour of Leigh Matthews, who won the first MVP award in 1982, when the league was still known as the Victorian Football League...

in the same year, which is not subject to the same eligibility criteria.
In 1997
1997 AFL season
Results and statistics for the Australian Football League season of 1997.The Port Adelaide Power joined the competition.The Brisbane Lions also joined the competition after the merger of the and ....

, Chris Grant
Chris Grant
Christopher Lee "Chris" Grant is a former Australian rules football player in the Australian Football League, and a legend of the Western Bulldogs Football Club...

polled one more vote than winner Robert Harvey
Robert Harvey (footballer)
Robert Jeffrey Harvey is a former Australian rules football player for the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League...

. Grant was suspended for one match during the season for striking.

Criticism

The voting system has come under scrutiny because the Medal is almost always won by midfield players, with relatively few key-position players ever winning. Some of the game's greatest players in these positions never even coming close to winning the Brownlow, despite having high reputations amongst their peers and coaches. This is primarily because players who are most valuable to their teams in key or defensive positions tend not to attract enough attention to feature amongst the top three players on the ground. It is also perceived that umpires may not be best suited to judging the quality of gameplay. Several prominent coaches, including Kevin Sheedy and Leigh Matthews

Leigh Matthews

Leigh Raymond "Lethal Leigh" Matthews AM is a former player and coach of Australian rules football. He played for Hawthorn in the Victorian Football League from 1969 to 1985, coached Collingwood from 1986–1995, and coached the Brisbane Lions from 1999 to 2008...

, have publicly criticised the voting process.

The eligibility system has also come under criticism. The argument has been made that many offences worthy only of a one-match suspension are caused by negligent play, rather than intentionally "unfair" play, and hence that suspension is not a reasonable measure of fairness. The break from tradition under the newer demerit points-based tribunal system (i.e. a player being ineligible despite not having served a suspension) has also been criticised as confusing. Prominent players, including dual-winner Chris Judd

Chris Judd

Christopher Dylan "Chris" Judd is a professional Australian rules footballer and current captain of the Carlton Football Club in the Australian Football League ....

, have indicated a desire to have the eligibility criterion removed from the award (effectively eliminating the fairest component altogether).

Award ceremony

The award ceremony has become increasingly elaborate, with footballers and their partners gradually becoming more fashion-conscious. This aspect of the night has become widely reported by gossip columns. The ceremony is currently held at Crown Casino

Crown Casino

Crown Casino and Entertainment Complex is a large casino and entertainment precinct located on the south bank of the Yarra River, in Melbourne, Australia. Crown Casino is a unit of Crown Limited....

, Melbourne on the Monday five days prior to the AFL Grand Final

AFL Grand Final

The AFL Grand Final is an annual Australian rules football match, traditionally held on the final Saturday in September at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne, Australia to determine the Australian Football League premiership champions for that year...

. In years past, prospective grand final players have attended the ceremony in person. However non-Victorian grand finalists have typically refused 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.

The event itself consists of the votes for each match being read out in succession by the CEO of the AFL, currently Andrew Demetriou

Andrew Demetriou

Andrew Demetriou is the chief executive officer of the Australian Football League and a former Australian rules footballer. He is the youngest son of Greek-Cypriot immigrants and, before becoming a VFL player, he worked in the dental import industry...

, interspersed with a retrospective look at highlights from each round of the season and commentary from the broadcast network's usual football commentary team.

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 knows 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 final round of votes.

From 1959 until 1974 radio stations including 3UZ

3UZ

3UZ is the official callsign of a medium-wave radio station in Melbourne, Australia which broadcasts under the name Radio Sport National.-History:...

, 3KZ

3KZ

Gold 104.3 is a radio station broadcasting in Melbourne, Australia. Gold 104.3 is part of the Australian Radio Classic Hits Network and broadcasts on the 104.3 MHz frequency.- History :...

and 3AW

3AW

3AW is a talkback radio station in Melbourne, Australia on 693 kHz AM. It began transmission on 22 February 1932 as Melbourne's fifth commercial radio station.-History:...

broadcast the vote counts. SEN 1116

SEN 1116

SEN 1116 , the acronym standing for Sports Entertainment Network, is a commercial AM radio station based in Melbourne, Australia, operating on 1116 kHz...

now covers the count. Direct television telecasts began in 1970 at the Dallas Brooks Hall and have occurred every year since.

Some bookmakers offer betting on the winner of the Brownlow Medal. 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.

External links