AFL 2025: AFL 2025: Brownlow medallist Gavin Wanganeen says voting ‘needs to change’

A winner of the prestigious Brownlow Medal says it's time for a change in the award but is strongly against the use of statistics.

Brownlow medallist Gavin Wanganeen says the voting in the AFL’s top individual award “needs to change” but believes giving umpires stats could further inflate the issue.

Carlton star Patrick Cripps won his second Brownlow in 2024 with a whopping 45 votes, which was more than double the 18 Wanganeen won the award with in 1993.

The Essendon and Port Adelaide champion, who is supporting the “Always respect, always DrinkWise” campaign ahead of Gather Round, is urging umpires to look outside of the engine room.

“My personal view, and I think it’s a lot of people’s view, they have to start looking outside the midfielders,” Wanganeen said.

1993 winner Gavin Wanganeen wants more focus on forwards and defenders in the Brownlow Medal. Pictures: DrinkWise

“The forwards and the backs, those players play important roles in helping their team win games.

“A 40-possession game with a goal is a damn good game but a forward’s 15 possessions with three goals is the equivalent to a 40-possession game.

“A defender who has had 15 possessions, with six intercepts and seven rebounds, who started chains to allow their team to score is equivalent to a 40-possession game – that’s what they’re not getting right.”

Wanganeen won the Brownlow, a premiership and All-Australian honours in one year as Essendon’s reliable small defender.

He is strongly against umpires using statistics in the voting process, insisting players who impact a game should be prioritised over those who accumulate “fluff possessions”.

Carlton skipper Patrick Cripps won the top gong last year with 45 votes. Picture: Darrian Traynor/Getty Images

“It’s the quality of those stats, so there shouldn’t be stats, absolutely not, stats should not be the priority,” he said.

“For instance, a 40 or 35-possession game; how many of those are actually effective? Half of those could be fluff possessions which are blindly banged off the boot.

“A forward getting 20 possessions, they’re quality, damaging possessions. It’s all about the quality, not the number.”

DrinkWise is promoting moderation in drinking at football matches and will have a large presence across this weekend’s Gather Round.

Originally published as AFL 2025: AFL 2025: Brownlow medallist Gavin Wanganeen says voting ‘needs to change’