'Ridiculous' handicap that's hurting Brownlow Medal's credibility as 'midfielder's award' goes under microscope

Like clockwork, AFL pundits and fans are calling for a shake-up to the Brownlow Medal voting system in the emotion-charged aftermath of Matt Rowell's win on Monday night.

The Suns star polled 39 votes to beat Collingwood's Nick Daicos - the hot pre-count favourite - by seven, and Geelong's Bailey Smith by 10.

Rowell is a superstar but he was arguably not even Gold Coast's best player this season. His skipper Noah Anderson was tipped to poll more votes, and backed by some to take out the top gong.

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He finished Monday's count in equal sixth place with 25 votes.

Anderson and Smith shared the AFL coaches award with 103 votes apiece. Rowell was third on 97 and Daicos was fourth on 96.

The AFLPA award - voted by the players themselves - went to Daicos.

The discrepancy in the three top awards this season will raise plenty of eyebrows and reignite debate as to how the Brownlow Medal should be voted on.

The Brownlow is considered the pinnacle individual award in the game but it attracts criticism every single year.

Field umpires - of which there are four for each game - are tasked with casting votes.

As soon as each game finishes, the four umpires work together to assign votes on a 3-2-1 system, with the player they judge best afield given the maximum three votes.

The criticism typically comes when the votes cast by umpires differ significantly from what fans, coaches, commentators, and players viewed during the game.

In round 20, St Kilda star Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera was undoubtedly the best player in an epic comeback against Melbourne, and yet Demons player Jack Viney was given the three votes.

"I love the fact that it's different," Melbourne legend Garry Lyon said on SEN radio on Tuesday.

"They don't have the stats, the umpires - which I think is ridiculous by the way - but if you ever go watch a game of footy, and you're not given access to stats, you're going to come up with a very different best on ground. That's just the way it is.

"I love the uniqueness of the Brownlow. You can have your own opinion on it, you might be outraged."

Plenty of critics believe umpires should be allowed to view player stats before casting their votes for each game.

There are strong cases for both sides of that argument.

A player's impact on a game can't always be measured by statistics. A midfielder might touch the ball 35 times but it doesn't necessarily make them the best player on the field.

Nonetheless, those who play in the middle of the field almost always take home Charlie (the Brownlow's nickname) on the big night.

Some argue umpires are skewed towards midfielders simply because they stand closest to them, whereas they don't fully appreciate the work a defender or forward does.

Giants forward Jesse Hogan kicked seven goals and took nine marks against Geelong in round nine, yet wasn't voted in the best three players on the ground.

"The top 28 (vote getters on Monday night) were all midfielders or ruckmen," Lions onballer Dayne Zorko told SEN radio on Tuesday.

"As a player we sort of sit there and go 'if you're not a mid you're probably not going to win', which is probably not fair. (Geelong forward) Jeremy Cameron polled pretty high, he was the exception.

"It is clearly a midfielder's award, we have known that for years. I don't know how they do it different, but I'm sure (AFL football boss) Greg Swann down there will come up with an incredible idea."

In the wake of Rowell's medal win, umpires have been grilled about which games they gave him three votes in, with many critics pointing to his number of disposals compared to others on the day.

But while Rowell may not touch the ball as much, the impact he can have off it is immense. He is a tacking machine whose pressure around the contest often wins the Suns the ball.

"I don't know how you simplify it and make it easier for the umpires," Zorko said.

"I don't know whether there's a senior official who umpires and at the end of the game he just does the votes, maybe they don't need all four to have a buy in.

"Some of our players not even getting votes last night and they are going to be polling extremely high in our best and fairest."

Questions are once again being asked of the Brownlow's voting process given the prestige the award carries.

There are a number of alternatives the AFL could consider if it wishes to shake up the system.

The coaches award and the AFLPA award arguably hold more heft than the Brownlow given it is judged by those who supposedly know the game best.

Alternatively, take the voting out of the hands of those who are directly involved in the game.

In the NRL, the Dally M votes are cast by a select group of former players, as well as experienced commentators and journalists.

The benefit, supposedly, is the impartial nature of the system. Those deciding the votes shouldn't have any connection to the players they are judging.