Essendon's Jobe Watson wins 2012 Brownlow Medal

UPDATE: BROWNLOW medallist Jobe Watson says winning the game's highest individual honour has strengthened his desire for team success.

BLEARY-eyed Brownlow medallist Jobe Watson says winning the highest individual honour in the game has only strengthened his desire for team success.

Watson, still clutching the medal this morning, admitted there was still one more prize he desperately wanted to claim.

"It's hard to know what the guys from the Swans and Hawks are feeling, but you can imagine they're beside themselves with excitement,'' Watson said.

"That feeling I had last night is something you want to emulate with your teammates and I think only the opportunity to be involved in a premiership would deliver that.''

Watson celebrated last night with parents Tim and Susie, his teammates and Essendon's recent Brownlow medallists Gavin Wanganeen (1993) and coach James Hird (1996).

But the current Bombers skipper baulked at suggestions he was now in the same company as Wanganeen and Hird.

"Those guys are both multiple premiership players and that's something that when you finish your career you want to be known as someone who has played in a premiership,'' he said.

"That is certainly the goal for me and that's where those guys sit, they've had the ultimate team success and that's what we all crave.''

Mark Robinson: Jobe now the family jewel

THE TOP TEN
1. Jobe Watson - 30 votes
2. Trent Cotchin - 26
Sam Mitchell - 26
4. Dane Swan - 25
Scott Thompson - 25
6. Gary Ablett - 24
7. Patrick Dangerfield - 23
8. Dayne Beams - 19
Lenny Hayes - 19
10. Josh Kennedy - 19

Watson, who joked he had picked up the flu overnight, celebrated with family and friends into the early hours of this morning.

Brownlow hot or not - vote your best and worst dressed below

The Essendon captain shot to 17 votes after Round 9, claiming votes in 12 of the Bombers’ first 13 games, before winning with 30 votes ahead of Hawthorn’s Sam Mitchell (26) and Richmond’s Trent Cotchin (26).

"Certainly I sort of started to tighten up," Watson told SEN radio.

"I knew that my second half of the year probably wasn’t as strong as the first.

Replay every round with our Brownlow tracker here

"I had Stants (Brent Stanton) next to me who was sort of doing the numbers in his head. You know when you’re a chance to get votes. That Adelaide game (in Round 19 where he scored three votes) seemed a long way away from when it actually arrived.

"I was sitting there for a long time. It’s one of those things that happens, you get a little bit of relief. But certainly I was starting to get a little bit nervous.’’

Who polled at your club

Watson capped a stellar season by polling 30 votes, four ahead of Hawthorn's Sam Mitchell and Richmond's Trent Cotchin.

Last year's winner Dane Swan polled 25 despite missing four matches - including two on a club-imposed suspension.

Proud dad Tim and mum Susie were at Crown Palladium last night to watch football hail their son.

Watson Sr came close to medal glory three times - he was tied third to Geelong's Paul Couch in 1989, tied fourth to Footscray's Brad Hardie in 1985 and fifth to Bulldog Kelvin Templeton in 1980.

Mega red carpet picture gallery

When Jobe grabbed his third best on ground votes in Round 9, he surged to 17 votes, already equalling the best performance of his father in a season.

It seemed that midfield mate Brent Stanton might steal too many votes off him, only two behind his skipper after seven rounds.

But Watson kept going while the umpires' recognition dried up for the similarly ball-winning Stanton.

Watson's brilliant start in the the first half of the season reflected the Bombers' early dominance too when they won eight of the first nine games.

He missed votes only in the one-point victory against Collingwood on Anzac Day in Round 5 as he won acclaim from the umpires in 12 of Essendon's first 13 rounds.

The Bomber captain's consistency was such that he polled in eight successive games after Anzac Day, the sequence snapped only by a 71-point loss to St Kilda in Round 15.

Jobe Watson

By then he had amassed 26 votes to lead by five. It was a nervous wait as Essendon's season disintegrated before Watson picked up a surprise three votes in a narrow loss to Adelaide in Round 19.

And one against North Melbourne in another loss in the next round restored his buffer ahead of the surging Ablett, Mitchell and Thompson who had crept within four of the lead.

"I thought the season, the way Trent Cotchin finished and Gary (Ablett) and the consistancy of Scotty Thompson... I think he was the most consistent all year so I was siting on my hands and hoping I would get in," Watson said after being crowned the winner.

The Bombers skipper paid tribute to his parents for their role in helping mould him on and off the field and credited his dad for motivating him through a dramatic slump in form.

"I think my parents have done a lot of work to be an example of how to live and how to behave," he said.

Watson became the first Bomber to win the award since his current coach James Hird claimed the honour in 1996 in a tie with Michael Voss.

Hird said it was Watson's sheer determination that had helped him to rise to the top of the AFL ranks.

"…I don't think there could be anything better in our season than Jobe winning the Brownlow right now.
"We obviously want to go on and be great as a team, but for our captain to do what he did tonight is incredible and we're so proud of him," Hird said.

"We've seen him work his backside off.

"I've seen Jobe develop from a young boy to where he is now and it's just an amazing transformation."

Jobe Watson

Ablett was in contention for a second medal, but faded to finish on 24 votes.

It became clear early in the count that the umpires rated Ablett's performances irrespective of the final siren scoreboard.

That trend started when he was voted best afield in the opening two rounds despite Gold Coast being smashed by Adelaide and St Kilda by 69 and 92 points.

And the little midfield master continued the chase after a second Brownlow with five best-on-ground performances - all in losing games - leading to the Suns' bye in Round 13.


If you don't mind, umpire - what the umps missed

Despite the Suns winning only three games, Ablett was the standout so many times. He started the season with a staggering 42, 40 and 45 touches in his first three games before missing two games with a knee injury.

But the 2009 medalist quickly fired up again, including 53 disposals to earn three votes against Collingwood in Round 10.

And he maintained that ball magnet magic touch in the second half of the season.

Surprisingly, Ablett polled only three votes in the Suns' wins over Richmond, the Giants and Carlton in the second half of their dismal season.

 - with Eliza Sewell