SuperFooty experts pick the 2014 Brownlow winner

CAN Gary Ablett hang on, will Joel Selwood claim his first Brownlow or can Buddy kick off Grand Final week with a bang? Our experts have their say.

AFL second semi-final: Geelong vs North Melbourne at the MCG. Joel Selwood 2nd qtr .Pic: Michael Klein.

WHO will take Charlie home in 2014? SuperFooty’s experts put their reputations on the line to predict the top three in the AFL’s top individual award.

SHANE CRAWFORD

1 Joel Selwood (Geel)

2 Lance Franklin (Syd)

3 Scott Pendlebury (Coll)

Selwood deserves his chance to win after coming so close in recent seasons.

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SCOTT PENDLEBURY

1 Robbie Gray (Port)

2 Joel Selwood (Geel)

3 Gary Ablett (GC)

Robbie won the AFL Coaches Association award and the coaches see the game better than anyone.

MARK ROBINSON

1 Joel Selwood (Geel)

2 Gary Ablett (GC)

3 Josh Kennedy (Syd)

Selwood can’t be ignored. Great start, great finish and a few in between. In the play all the time.

Joel Selwood finished the year with a huge game against Brisbane. Picture: Colleen Petch

JON RALPH

1 Lance Franklin (Syd)

2 Jordan Lewis (Haw)

3 Gary Ablett (GC)

Maybe it’s wishful thinking, but Buddy is a rock star at the top of his game. Changed the course of enough Sydney matches.

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GLENN McFARLANE

1 Joel Selwood (Geel)

2 Gary Ablett (GC)

3 Lance Franklin (Syd)

Suspect Selwood may overhaul his former teammate late, perhaps in the final round. Almost won last year and get his chance this season.

JAY CLARK

1 Joel Selwood (Geel)

2 Gary Ablett (GC)

3 Matt Priddis (WC)

Keep the handkerchief near as Selwood overtakes Ablett in the final round and then pays tribute to the Gold Coast champ on an emotional night.

A Brownlow after missing the last seven games would add to Gary Ablett’s greatness. Picture: Adam Head

JON ANDERSON

1= Gary Ablett (GC)

1= Joel Selwood (Geel)

3 Josh Kennedy (Syd)

Ablett does the impossible on the field, now he can do the same off it by sharing the medal with Selwood. Who better to share it with than his mate Gazza?

SCOTT GULLAN

1 Robbie Gray (Port)

2 Joel Selwood (Geel)

3 Jordan Lewis (Haw)

Port is the story of the year, Gray was its best player. Lots of touches but importantly kicked goals, which umps love.

SAM EDMUND

1 Gary Ablett (GC)

2 Joel Selwood (Geel)

3 Robbie Gray (Port)

Perhaps I’m a hopeless romantic, but wouldn’t it be magic to see Gaz win a third Brownlow? And make history? I reckon an even season, without a runaway favourite, gives him a chance.

Robbie Gray kicked 39 goals this season. Picture: Sarah Reed

WARWICK GREEN

1 Gary Ablett (GC)

2 Joel Selwood (Geel)

3 Lance Franklin (Syd)

I think Ablett will rack up 27 or 28 votes by the time he drops out of the voting in Round 16, and then it’s just a matter of whether Selwood can catch him.

MICHAEL WARNER

1 Joel Selwood (Geel)

2 Gary Ablett (GC)

3 Dustin Martin (Rich)

Selwood was stiff last season not to share the spoils with Gazza. Iced his first Brownlow with a three-vote effort against Brisbane in Round 23.

REBECCA WILLIAMS

1 Joel Selwood (Geel)

2. Gary Ablett (GC)

3 Jordan Lewis (Haw)

Pipped by one vote last year, the door has opened for Selwood to claim a deserved Brownlow after Ablett’s injury. Another great season for one of the best on-field leaders in the game.

BRUCE MATTHEWS

1 Josh Kennedy (Syd)

2 Joel Selwood (Geel)

3 Dyson Heppell (Ess)

Consistent high-possession tallies and the Swans’ healthy win-loss record will deliver the onballer a narrow victory.

Josh Kennedy and partner Ana Calle prepare for the Brownlow count. Picture: Phil Hillyard

DARYL TIMMS

1= Joel Selwood (Geel)

1= Gary Ablett (GC)

1= Jordan Lewis (Haw)

It’s going to be tight at the top — a three-way tie. Ablett had it won before going down with a shoulder injury and his absence has allowed Selwood and Lewis to make up the shortfall.

SAM LANDSBERGER

1 Robbie Gray (Port)

2 Josh Kennedy (Syd)

3 Gary Ablett (GC)

The umpires love it when Gray boots goals. In the seven games in which he has polled Brownlow votes, he kicked at least three majors in six of them. Add the fact he led the AFL in score involvements and it stacks up as a Brownlow season — just ask the coaches.

MATT WINDLEY

1 Gary Ablett (GC)

2 Joel Selwood (Geel)

3 Dyson Heppell (Ess)

Gazza was an unbackable favourite when he went down in Round 16, and remember pundits were already saying he’d probably have enough votes to win. Don’t think anyone else has put in enough “three-voters” since to catch him.

MARK HAYES

1 Joel Selwood (Geel)

2 Gary Ablett (GC)

3 Jordan Lewis (Haw)

Following the recent trend of requiring at least two great years to win the medal, Selwood has served his apprenticeship and will get the one that narrowly escaped him last year.

Jordan Lewis finished the year like a freight train. Picture: Colleen Petch

THE VERDICT

Joel Selwood 9

Gary Ablett 5

Robbie Gray 3

Josh Kennedy 1

Lance Franklin 1

Jordan Lewis 1

BROWNLOW MARKET

$2.50 Joel Selwood

$3.50 Gary Ablett

$6 Robbie Gray

$9 Jordan Lewis

$10 Josh Kennedy (Syd)

$11 Dyson Heppell

$17 Scott Pendlebury, Matt Priddis

$21 Lance Franklin

$34 Trent Cotchin

$41 Travis Boak

$67 Dayne Beams

$81 Dustin Martin, Aaron Sandilands, Luke Parker

$101 Michael Barlow, Nick Dal Santo, Patrick Dangerfield, Brandon Ellis, Bryce Gibbs, Nathan Jones, Tom Liberatore, Ben McGlynn, Dion Prestia, Nick Riewoldt, Rory Sloane, Scott Thompson (Adel)

Odds: TAB

Originally published as SuperFooty experts pick the 2014 Brownlow winner