Brownlow Medal 2022 result: Patrick Cripps wins, every vote from every game, overall leaderboard
Patrick Cripps has won the 2022 Brownlow Medal – and he has his legal team to thank. The Carlton skipper opens up about the journey. Plus, recap every game, every vote.
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A marathon four-hour tribunal fight which cleared Patrick Cripps of a controversial bumping charge has helped secure the inspirational Carlton captain this year’s Brownlow Medal.
The superstar onballer was suspended for two games for flattening Brisbane Lions’ Callum Ah Chee in Round 21 but a last-ditch bid from Carlton’s legal team over an error of law ensured Cripps took out the game’s top honour on Sunday night.
It came down to the final round when Cripps polled three votes for his monster 35-possession performance in the heart-breaking one-point loss to Collingwood at the MCG to poll 29 votes ahead of Brisbane’s Lachie Neale (28) and Gold Coast’s Touk Miller (27)
Cripps, 27, trailed Neale by two votes heading into the final game of the season but polled the maximum votes to pip the Lions’ midfielder by one in a thrilling count.
BROWNLOW TRACKER: RECAP EVERY VOTE BELOW
Cripps has his legal representative Christopher Townshend QC to thank for helping clear the Carlton skipper and cap his stunning comeback year after two down seasons which saw him poll only 15 votes for the 2020-21 campaigns.
Cripps was asked on stage about the Round 21 suspension and subsequent tribunal hearing, with host Hamish McLachlan saying the Blues skipper had called in “Dennis Denuto” for legal support.
Denuto is the famous lawyer from Aussie hit comedy The Castle best known for his “the vibe” defence.
Cripps has never played in an AFL final but was thrilled to win the Brownlow Medal, saying he had never lost faith in his ability despite carrying a huge mental and physical load.
Cripps said he was “mentally fried” after decisions to sack coaches David Teague and Brendon Bolton in recent seasons.
“We’ve been at the bottom but we feel like we are building and that really drives me and motivates me,” Cripps said.
“I actually don’t know whether to laugh or cry. I loved footy growing up as a kid and I remember being at boarding school in WA and I would say to mum could you always sign me out on Brownlow night cause I loved watching it.
“It’s an absolute honour.
“To be honest it is nice to just win some games.
“The first seven to eight years of my journey at Carlton have been tough but I’ve always been an optimist... this year is the first time we’ve been ahead of the ledger.
“I love playing footy, I love playing with my mates.”
Cripps, who is from Western Australia, re-emerged as a superstar of the competition this year averaging 28 touches to help lead the Blues back up the ladder after two tough years.
He enjoyed a sensational start to the season and made his charge in the count at Round 17 (one vote), Round 19 (two votes) and Round 20 (three) to reel in Neale and Miller.
The three votes in a 29-point shock loss to Adelaide was the difference for Cripps as he racked up 41 touches.
Cripps said he also battled a stuttering problem early in his career, but now felt comfortable speaking publicly.
“I couldn’t string two words together in front of the media, no word of a lie,” Cripps said.
“I used to stutter a bit in front of the media, when I see young guys struggle in front of the media I have a lot of empathy for them.
“So I refused to do media for six months, did a lot of practice interviews and now I really enjoy it.”
Neale finished in second spot after surprisingly earning one vote in the final round loss by 58 points to Melbourne when he had 29 touches.
A tie was on the cards from the early rounds as the six major Brownlow Medal fancies polled strongly early.
It created a bottleneck at the top of the leaderboard over the first nine rounds as Neale and Cripps led the count on 16 votes ahead of Melbourne pair Clayton Oliver, Christian Petracca (13) and Andrew Brayshaw (12).
However Cripps missed out in Round 1 when he only polled one vote when he was widely considered to poll the maximum three votes after racking up 30 disposals and three goals against Richmond.
New recruit Adam Cerra and Matthew Kennedy pipped the skipper in the eyes of the umpires and meant Cripps didn’t shoot out to the significant early lead many predicted.
On the other hand Neale polled three votes in Round 11 when he was dominant in the middle in the 14-point win over Greater Western Sydney, racking up 39 possessions and two goals.
The three-vote game saw Neale make the first big move of the night to lead by two votes over Cripps. At that point Neale also shortened in live betting to $1.57 on the back of the Round 11 clash after starting out a $2.75 favourite with TAB.
Oliver tracked Neale closely over the first half of the count with the consistent Demon polling votes in eight of the first 10 matches to rack up 16 votes as Melbourne went undefeated.
The reigning premier were heavily fancied to go back-to-back at that point with Petracca also starring to sit fourth on 15 votes approaching the half way mark of the season.
Fremantle’s Andrew Brayshaw, 22, was also trying to become the youngest winner since Richmond’s Trent Cotchin won it at the same age with Sam Mitchell in 2012 when Jobe Watson was stripped of the award.
Brayshaw enjoyed a consistent season and catapulted up the leaderboard earning back-to-back three votes in Rounds 12 and 13 to jump into outright second behind Neale on 20 votes before his bye.
Cripps re-emerged as a major threat in Round 14 when he joined Brayshaw on 20 votes in equal second position on the back of a surprising two-vote game in the 15-point loss to Richmond.
Cripps had 34 disposals but only nine kicks and wasn’t expected to poll, but the umpires rewarded his bullocking work in the stoppages.
Teammate Sam Walsh had 34 touches but missed out with the umpires, along with Harry McKay (four goals), Tom Lynch (three goals) and Liam Baker (27 touches).
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