AFL umpires to submit Brownlow votes without statistical view after 2023 outliers

After some controversial voting in last year’s Brownlow count saw a surprise winner in Lachie Neale take home the Medal, the AFL will persist with the same formula for how umpires see the game.

BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA – SEPTEMBER 25: Lachie Neale of the Lions gives a speech after being awarded with the Brownlow Medal during the 2023 Brownlow Medal at The Gabba on September 25, 2023 in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo by Albert Perez/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

The AFL will again ensure umpires do not have access to statistics before lodging Brownlow Medal votes as it backs the right of umpires to form their own view on the game’s best players.

The 2023 Brownlow Medal saw Lachie Neale (31 votes) defeat Marcus Bontempelli (29 votes) and Nick Daicos (28 votes) on a night where umpires had the same six players atop the leaderboard as the AFL Coaches Association award.

Neale was not in the All Australian team and was the biggest shock winner since Matt Priddis in 2014 on a night that threw up an array of surprise votes.

Neale secured three Brownlow Medal votes for a 20-possession display that included only seven kicks in round 5, while Port Adelaide’s Jason Horne-Francis got three votes for a 13-disposal game going at only 58 per cent effectiveness.

In all there were 16 instances where players got three Brownlow votes but no coaches votes and 19 occasions where a player got 10 coaches votes but no Brownlow votes.

Umpires will continue to place Brownlow votes without seeing statistics. Pic: Michael Klein

An umpiring insider told this masthead last year it was the first recent vote done with “full integrity compliance” after a crackdown on access to mobile phones in the wake of the Michael Pell 2022 Brownlow Medal controversy.

The former umpire suggested the fourth umpire often had access to Champion Data stats while watching games as an emergency before the introduction of the four umpire system last year.

That umpire also said umpires had often snuck a peek at stats on their phones in the rooms post-match before the crackdown.

Those umpires had often been keen to minimise any errors in their votes given how seriously they take the task of voting for the AFL’s most prestigious individual award.

But in an era of more scrutiny on every Brownlow Medal vote it is a tougher job than ever before.

The AFL’s view is that the Brownlow Medal is a unique award selected by the umpires who have done a remarkable job picking the game’s best player over the years.

Giving umpires access to statistics might only intensify the trend of handing star midfielders votes, but it could cut out the howlers by helping decide lineball voting calls.

While Neale might have been considered lucky to receive some early-season votes he also missed out despite a nine-clearances, 25-possession game against Geelong.

Lachie Neale was a surprise winner in 2023. (Photo by Albert Perez/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Carlton’s Coleman Medallist Charlie Curnow finished 20th in the Brownlow Medal while teammate Patrick Cripps was ninth but only fifth in the Blues’ best and fairest.

Taylor Walker finished 23rd in Brownlow voting as the next-best tall, with Jeremy Cameron 30th, James Sicily 33rd, Joe Daniher 35th and Tim English 37th.

But the AFL Coaches Association award and most media awards also shun key position players, so handing umpires statistics would not necessarily correct that imbalance.

The AFL’s crackdown last year came on the back of Michael Pell’s arrest last year for allegedly leaking Brownlow Medal votes.

No charges have been laid against Pell.

Originally published as AFL umpires to submit Brownlow votes without statistical view after 2023 outliers