Super draft strikes again

IT WAS always thought a member of the 2001 "super draft" had a stranglehold on last night's Brownlow Medal.

IT WAS always thought a member of the 2001 "super draft" had a stranglehold on last night's Brownlow Medal; it's just the winner was one that few people had figured.

All the attention had fixed firmly on the three favourites - Collingwood's Dane Swan, Geelong's Gary Ablett and Hawthorn's Luke Hodge - who were products of that rich draft from nine years ago.

But it was Carlton captain Chris Judd, a man who was the last player named on the All-Australian team interchange bench, who overcame the odds and three games missed due to a carryover suspension from last season to win.

Truth be known, if it hadn't been for his "pressure point" grip on Michael Rischitelli in last year's elimination final, last night's count would have been all over bar the shouting long before most of the guests had even left the room for their first toilet break.

As it turned out, by the time the 27-year-old had left for his own pit stop at the conclusion of Round 20, he had an unassailable lead.

It was never meant to be for Swan, who finished third with 24 votes, six behind Judd, whose tally of 30 matched that in 2004, his other winning year.

Ablett split the pair with 26 votes.

Incredibly, Swan, who won almost all of the other awards in 2010, polled only two best afields, compared to Judd's eight and Ablett's five.

Perhaps instead of adding some extra ink to his arms, he should consider shaving his head, as the past two winners have done.

Even Judd admitted he was "spinning out" about becoming the 13th multiple winner of the medal.

Judd's fiancee Rebecca Twigley, confessed she gave him "absolutely no chance" before last night's count.

But after it, she said the pair would soon be on a lookout for a new safe to store his medal collection.

It's incredible what a difference 12 months makes. Judd was runner-up to Ablett last year, but innocently got more publicity for being embroiled in Brendan Fevola's "Brownlow booze-up".

Judd's second medal was the fourth won by members of that 2001 draft - with Ablett last year, Jimmy Bartel in 2007 and himself in 2004.

To compound the misery for those Collingwood people wishing for a good omen victory heading into Saturday's Grand Final, Judd even got the three votes in Round 6 against the Magpies, a game the Blues lost by 53 points. Swan polled two votes in the game.

The Blues skipper even got two 'shock' votes in the Round 13 game against Fremantle after Adam McPhee did a tagging jog on him.

For Swan, though, a Grand Final winners' medal on Saturday will surely erase any disappointment about last night.