'Outrageous' early votes propel Suns star Matt Rowell to historic Brownlow Medal victory
Updated . First published at
Gold Coast midfielder Matt Rowell has stunned the favourites to win the 2025 Brownlow Medal.
Deemed the fifth favourite with the betting markets leading into the count, Rowell polled best on ground votes in his first four games and continued to pile on votes.
Some of those votes were deemed somewhat controversial, particularly compared to the performance of his teammate Noah Anderson.
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Matt Rowell of the Gold Coast Suns is seen during the 2025 Brownlow Medal at Crown Palladium on September 22, 2025, in Melbourne, Australia. Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images
Former Adelaide star Josh Jenkins labelled Rowell's vote-getting "outrageous" on social media.
The star Sun polled three votes in three games where he did not receive a single coach's vote and polled 18 of a possible 24 votes to start the count.
He would win with 39 votes, the second most votes ever polled in a single Brownlow, behind 2024 winner Patrick Cripps.
For Daicos, it is the third straight season finishing on the podium without a win.
In 2023 he led the whole way before a late-season injury cost him. In 2024, he broke the record for most votes in a season, but Cripps broke it by more.
Nick Daicos of the Magpies looks on. Getty
This year, he entered red-hot favourite, but has fallen short as Rowell put on one of the craziest voting runs in Brownlow history.
Fremantle star Andrew Brayshaw was the surprise of the night, sitting in the top three for much of the night, while Geelong midfielder Bailey Smith didn't quite get the votes in the middle of the count to make the most of what was an incredible finish.
His flurry of late votes saw the Cat finish on the podium behind Daicos and Rowell.
Rowell becomes the second Sun to win the Brownlow Medal, after Gary Ablett Jnr in 2013.
"I came in tonight and was just happy to be one of the contenders tonight," Rowell said.
"I didn't think I would win. It's amazing to be standing up here, I'm pretty speechless, as you can probably tell."
"Need to get some words going here," he added with a nervous smile.
