Brownlow 2015: Sam Mitchell Brownlow winner signed jumper appears online

UPDATE: HAWTHORN’S Sam Mitchell was oblivious to an online stuff-up by the AFL that suggested he would win the Brownlow Medal while the count was ongoing.

HAWTHORN star Sam Mitchell says he had little idea of the leak scare drama that was unfolding online as he made a failed charge for last night’s Brownlow Medal.

The AFL has apologised “without reservation” for an enormous stuff-up after a Mitchell “2015 Brownlow Medallist” jumper appeared for sale on its website while the count was ongoing.

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Mitchell, who was well in the mix at the time to win the prestigious medal that was eventually claimed by Nat Fyfe, became the target of a huge betting plunge after the memorabilia appeared in the digital AFL shop, with the image rapidly shared on social media.

The signed guernsey, stamped “concept purposes only”.

Twitter went wild as speculation grew that the result of the count had been revealed, prompting Mitchell to shoot from odds of $11 to $3 to win as punters made sure they were on board just in case the leak was indeed real.

The league was quick to apologise, insisting the memorabilia featuring Mitchell was merely a mock-up that had been created for advertising purposes, along with five other players, and that had gone live by accident.

Epic fail on website. AFL had six Brownlow memorabilia options ready to go 4 when winner named. Human error went live with no result known.

— Patrick Keane (@AFL_PKeane) September 28, 2015

AFL apologises without reservation to all fans / supporters who have been misled as count continues to proceed live in Melbourne.

— Patrick Keane (@AFL_PKeane) September 28, 2015

Mitchell says he only became aware of the issue when the AFL apologised, but that his wife Lyndall had found it hilarious.

“I was probably lucky — I found out after Patrick Keane had tweeted and the thing had come out,” he laughed today.

“Leah, our (club) media manager, sent a text saying ‘don’t listen, it’s all not true.’

“My wife did have a little laugh at my expense and said ‘you should have bought one! It’s the only way you’re going to get one of those’.

“I’m not sure what point of the count that came out, but I think when Fyfe got 10 in front, I think most people did the maths and thought I was no chance by then, so it was a pretty relaxed second half of the night.”

BROWNLOW TRACKER: EVERY VOTE FROM EVERY GAME

Mitchell says Fyfe is a deserving winner of the medal, and that his acceptance speech will go down as one of the greats.

“It was outstanding to sit and watch — just so genuine,” he said.

“The way he said it was for his club and that it was bigger than him, his home town … he is a very charismatic guy.

“I think everyone thinks he’s a worthy winner and he was outstanding in his season on the field, and then the way he accepted his award, I think he grew in everyone’s thoughts which you wouldn’t have even thought was possible before the night.”

FYFE WOWS CROWD: WAS THIS THE BEST BROWNLOW SPEECH EVER?

Hawthorn player Sam Mitchell was still smiling as he spoke to the media the day after the Brownlow Medal ceremony.

Mitchell will play in his fifth Grand Final on Saturday, and says the fact the Hawks fell short of the Eagles a fortnight ago “is probably not a bad thing”.

“I don’t think it knocks the confidence of the team overall,” he said.

“Clearly it shows us that they can beat us, and that’s probably not a bad thing. They’ve played some great footy all year.

“There’s some changes from that game … there’s lots of things that will be similar. Thankfully we’ll be in a different jumper, which will be nice. We take a little bit of confidence out of (the hope that) we can’t play that badly again. There’s a lot on the line, so we’re looking forward to it.”

The Hawks will train today, with Jack Gunston expected to again be put through his paces as he looks to prove his fitness for Saturday.

“He could be dong a Nat Fyfe and playing on a broken leg but telling you he’s right to go,” Mitchell said of his teammate.

“He’ll tell you he’s fine and that he’s good to go, but it’s going to be up to the more strenuous stuff that happens later in the week.”

MEGA-GALLERY: ALL THE BROWNLOW RED CARPET FASHION

Brownlow Medal 2015 | Create infographics