AFL umpires denied access to stats before deciding on Brownlow Medal votes

AFL umpires have had their pleas to see statistics before deciding on Brownlow Medal votes denied in the last two years, it can be revealed. JON RALPH has full details.

A delegation of senior AFL umpires have been refused access to Champion Data statistics to help them with Brownlow Medal voting despite making a direct plea to the AFL in the past two seasons.

Senior umpiring sources confirmed that the umpiring group’s leadership department have been rebuffed in the past two years despite asking to have those stats as part of their decision-making process.

The AFL umpires are adamant that they continue to nail the worthy winner of the AFL’s most prestigious individual award.

Their decision making is in line with many of the AFL’s biggest awards including the AFL MVP, AFL Coaches Awards and many of the AFL’s media awards, which are also midfielder-focused.

But increasingly with wider access to statistics and a focus on scrutinising individual votes the umpires have been pilloried for what are considered glaring mistakes by the fan base.

AFL Umpires Association boss Rob Kerr confirmed on Tuesday night there were some umpires keen to access stats, while others were less emphatic.

“Some want stats, some are a bit ambivalent. My view is there is a middle ground to be found,” he said.

Patrick Cripps won the Brownlow Medal with a record 45 votes. Picture: NewsWire/ Michael Klein

“The accusation would be that (the voting) becomes driven by stats but if we let the umpires pick the best five players and then they had a look at the stats on those five players to make sure the stats confirm or challenge what they have seen, and they can adjust from there.

“There was a discussion about it 12 or 18 months ago, and probably in the end the AFL said we would rather not (use stats).”

Collingwood’s Josh Daicos didn’t poll a vote despite winning 34 touches in round 13, while brother Nick Daicos won a single vote despite collecting only 15 disposals and 64 ranking points.

Harrison Petty also was awarded three votes for a 13-possession one-goal tally.

There were 17 instances where a player polled three Brownlow Medal votes but received no votes from the AFL Coaches in their own award, won by Nick Daicos.

While Carlton’s Patrick Cripps was a worthy winner of the award his 45-vote tally was an eye-opener given it was triple the tally of 1986 joint winners Robert Dipierdomenico and Greg Williams.

Recently retired AFL umpire Shane McInerney told the Herald Sun he was increasingly in favour of stats for umpires.

“The umpires do a great job but Brownlow night exposes some anomalies and takes away the focus from what was a great achievement by Patrick Cripps. The umpires would like some support and the next question is what the support is. There has been commentary in the past where umpires might have used devices (phones) at their disposal to sort through that stuff (access stats) and the AFL made sure those aids aren’t available.

“So umpires are the right group to be awarding those votes and it doesn’t need to be paralysis by analysis but some basic info would help. Get rid of the howlers. They do need some support.”

A number of AFL umpires want to access stats after games to assist with giving Brownlow votes. Picture: Getty Images

Cripps finished 26 votes ahead of the brilliant Marcus Bontempelli and polled more votes combined that bottom-three clubs West Coast, Richmond and North Melbourne.

The umpires would like stats to assist their vote polling rather than govern it, believing that after they assess about five players it would help them rule out howlers.

AFL football boss Laura Kane said early this year she was not in favour of giving statistics to umpires because she did not want a Champion Data award.

She instead believes in backing in the umpires in a unique award which she believes has stood the test of time.

But at that stage it was not known the AFL umpiring group had actually requested they be handed statistics.

The advent of the four-umpire system also means all four umpires are being used, when an emergency umpire was once able to make a Judgement on the best players in the game while watching on.

AFL umpires are told they are unable to access their phones in any way to access stats post-match after a crackdown on Brownlow Medal integrity.

AFL football boss Laura Kane and CEO Andrew Dillon. Picture: Michael Klein.

The AFL is also unwilling to consider a change to the eligibility criteria for suspended players despite Isaac Heeney roaring to a five-vote lead as he polled a record 21 votes after round 10 before fading from calculations.

The league confirmed on Monday there was no consideration being given to a year-ending review of Brownlow eligibility or Rising Star eligibility despite star contenders Harley Reid and Sam Darcy missing out on the award judging the game’s best young talent after suspensions.

Heeney was suspended for a week for a strike on Jimmy Webster using an MRO rule change that had come in for the first time this year in the 100-year history of the Brownlow Medal.

At every other time in the history of the game he would have been eligible to win the Brownlow Medal because he would have been fined rather than suspended for his accidental strike to Webster’s face.