Ex-AFL player suggests rejig of Brownlow Medal voting following betting scandal

Former Carlton and Brisbane player Brendan Fevola believes the AFL should consider looking at other means of deciding the Brownlow Medal amid the recent betting scandal.

The prestigious award was brought into disrepute following the arrest of four men, including an AFL umpire.

Field umpire Michael Pell has reportedly been arrested in relation to allegations he engaged in misconduct that could corrupt betting outcomes.

It has been reported that Pell leaked confidential information to the other men to assist with placing bets.

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The penalty if found guilty is up to 10 years imprisonment.

Fevola believes that umpires shouldn't be in charge of determining who takes the AFL's highest individual honour.

"I don't think they (umpires) should be able to vote on it," Fevola said on Melbourne radio channel FoxFM.

"They shouldn't be able to vote on it because they have enough to worry about throughout the game then worry about after the game to see who played well because sometimes they don't see it all because there's three different umpires."

Fevola did offer a solution going forward and thinks both coaches are more than equipped to hand down the votes of each home-and-away game.

"It should be up to the coaches from each team," Fevola claimed.

"They give 10 votes to a player who is best on ground, which could be from either side. They (coaches) do it properly."

At the moment, the AFL Coaches Association hands down votes from both coaches on game day on a 5-4-3-2-1 basis, meaning a player can receive a maximum of 10 votes.

Dayne Zorko is also an advocate for a change in how the Brownlow Medal is decided.

Speaking on SEN, Zorko felt that the umpires are not the right party to ultimately choose who the winner is, especially given the last 24 hours.

“I don’t know how the information gets out or who or what is involved, but it’s not a great look,” Zorko said.

“The social media stuff that I’ve been reading and sifting through is they’re saying this is another reason why umpires shouldn’t have to vote straight after the game. Leave it up to an expert panel to decide, don’t leave it up to the umpires and take that responsibility off them.

“I agree, I’d give it (Brownlow voting) to someone who has been watching the game and sitting up high and understands what’s happened throughout the whole game and decide from there.”

Collingwood player Mason Cox and former St Kilda coach Grant Thomas also shared their opinions on a potential change.

What an incredibly appropriate time to take Brownlow voting away from umpires (terribly inappropriate for a host of logical reasons) & appoint independent people assigned to every game to vote on most influential, impacting players (not just possessions & midfielders).

— Grant Thomas (@Thomo_Grant) November 14, 2022

Always confused as to why umpires decide the Brownlow. You would think someone watching the game would have a better idea the impact someone has than someone that should be busy adjudicating the game live. pic.twitter.com/GChcIcF9IU

— Mason Cox (@masonsixtencox) November 14, 2022

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How is the Brownlow Medal decided?

The Brownlow Medal is conducted by field umpires immediately after every home-and-away match throughout the season.

On a 3-2-1 basis, the umpires decide who is the best three players on the day, with three being the maximum votes a player can receive per game.

However, a player is ineligible for the award if they have been suspended throughout the season.

On three occasions, players have been deemed the best player of the year but were unable to receive the award.

• 1996 - Corey McKernan received the same number of votes as James Hird and Michael Voss but was suspended earlier in the season.
• 1997 - Chris Grant ironically polled the most votes on Brownlow night but was suspended for striking in the year, meaning Robert Harvey won.
• 2012 - Jobe Watson was awarded with the medal but unfortunately was found to be involved in the Essendon Drug Saga and was stripped of the honour. Trent Cotchin and Sam Mitchell agreed to be joint-winners.

List of previous winners

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Multiple Brownlow Medal winners

 Brownlow Medal joint winners

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