The normal begin to AFL grand ultimate week is almost right here, because the Brownlow Medal will likely be awarded on Monday night time to the league’s best-and-fairest participant for 2024.
It guarantees to be an intriguing night time, with quite a few previous winners in competition for the league’s highest particular person honour, together with one established champion and one potential nice of the sport who’re each searching for their first win.
The style on show beforehand on the crimson carpet may also be a giant focus of consideration.
This is what you must know concerning the AFL’s night time of nights.
When is the 2024 Brownlow Medal?
The Brownlow Medal depend will likely be held on Monday, September 23, beginning at 8pm AEST (or 7:30pm ACST in Darwin and Adelaide, or 6pm AWST in Perth).
How can I watch the Brownlow?
The occasion will likely be broadcast reside on the Seven Community and streamed through 7Plus from 7:30pm AEST.
It’s also possible to observe the depend on ABC Sport’s reside weblog on the night time.
Who’re the favourites to win the Brownlow?
Carlton skipper Patrick Cripps has a superb likelihood of including a second Brownlow Medal to the one he received in 2022. (Getty Pictures: AFL Photographs/Michael Willson)
This 12 months there are a few favourites, with a couple of different professional challengers.
The 2 important favourites are Carlton’s Patrick Cripps and Collingwood’s Nick Daicos.
Blues skipper Cripps received the Brownlow in 2022 and he has had a superb season for Carlton, averaging 28.7 disposals, eight clearances and 15.6 contested possessions a recreation.
Collingwood younger gun Daicos was the favorite for final 12 months’s medal for a lot of the 12 months, earlier than damage ended his probabilities.
This season, he has had one other sensible 12 months, averaging 30.7 disposals, 13.9 contested possessions and seven.7 clearances a recreation.
Daicos additionally has two of the three targets which are finalists for AFL purpose of the 12 months, which will likely be introduced earlier within the night time earlier than the Brownlow is awarded.
Different gamers who’re proper within the combine are Western Bulldogs star and skipper Marcus Bontempelli, to not point out Brisbane captain Lachie Neale, who may earn his third Brownlow after wins in 2020 and 2023.
How does the Brownlow work?
Sydney’s Isaac Heeney had an important season, together with kicking 28 targets — however his one-match ban for hanging makes him ineligible for the Brownlow. (Getty Pictures: Cameron Spencer)
Not like different awards, the Brownlow Medal is set by the votes of the umpires.
For each recreation of the home-and-away season (not counting finals), umpires award votes to the three greatest gamers on the sector.
The most effective participant is given three votes, the second-best two votes and the third-best one vote.
The votes are saved secret and are revealed round-by-round on the ceremony.
The participant who ends with essentially the most votes on the finish of the season is topped the Brownlow Medal winner.
The award is for the fairest and greatest gamers, so those that have been suspended for per week or extra throughout the season are ineligible.
One of many gamers who’s more likely to pool very effectively, and will even come near main the depend, is Sydney star Isaac Heeney.
Heeney got here third on this 12 months’s AFL Coaches Affiliation Champion Participant award, behind Nick Daicos and Patrick Cripps.
Nonetheless, Heeney is ineligible to win this 12 months’s Brownlow after he was suspended for one match for hanging St Kilda’s Jimmy Webster in spherical 17.
If he tops the depend, then whoever comes second would be the Brownlow winner.
Within the occasion of a tie, the Brownlow may be shared, as was the case in 2003 when Adelaide’s Mark Ricciuto, Collingwood’s Nathan Buckley and Sydney’s Adam Goodes shared the medal.
