Brownlow Medal live updates: Why Bailey Smith may no-show night

A number of former winners, including Brisbane legend Simon Black, who will present the premiership cup if the Lions win the grand final on Saturday, have arrived ahead of tonight’s Brownlow Medal.

Neila Bontempelli, the wife of Western Bulldogs player Marcus Bontempelli, has delivered the first head-turning look of the night.

Neila opted for a silver robe-style dress, featuring a V-neck with a contrasting black hem. A bright red feather component is pinned to the waist.

Feathers are clearly in this season!

The most important arrival of the night - The Armaguard security van and armed personnel who will escort the sealed votes from the van all the way to the table of AFL boss Andrew Dillon.

His team will then determine who has won the award about an hour before the count starts and begin planning from there.

As of now, nobody knows who has won and the votes remain under lock and key.

Geelong star Bailey Smith is reportedly a chance to skip tonight’s Brownlow Medal.

News Corp is reporting that he is yet to confirm his attendance, after undergoing shoulder surgery last week.

Smith was one of the more entertaining parts of last year’s count, wearing sunglasses and pestering AFL boss Andrew Dillon.

We will keep an eye out to see if he rocks up. Could get awkward if he doesn’t, given he is the second favourite to win it.

The Brownlow Medal might be the smallest medal in world sport, and yet it carries as much prestige as any in Australian sports.

That’s it, that’s the post. Just wanted to remark on how genuinely tiny it is. Imagine if Max Gawn won it? You wouldn’t be able to see it.

The Brownlow Medal’s glamorous red carpet is officially underway, and we have our first look of the night!

Western Bulldogs star Rory Lobb and wife Lexi have kicked things off with a bang! Lexi is wearing a brown and black dress with a dramatic feather hem, while Lobb has opted for a traditional tux.

Nick Daicos is projected to win tonight’s Brownlow by a fair margin, with many of the belief he could set a new all-time record for votes polled.

To do so, he would have to surpass Carlton captain Patrick Cripps, who polled 45 in 2024, ironically beating Daicos’ 38 to win the medal.

The thought of any player polling 45 votes in one season was unheard of even five years ago and yet here we are.

Beyond Cripps, 2025 winner Matt Rowell polled 39 (ironically to beat Daicos again).

Dustin Martin polled 36 in 2017, as did Ollie Wines in 2021 and Patrick Dangerfield polled 35 in 2016.

Daicos’ 38 is the record for most votes without winning the medal.

Confirmed: Lachie Neale will front the AFL Tribunal at 5pm tomorrow.

The Lions will attempt to argue his one-game ban for a gut punch to Jack Ginnivan down to a fine.

His chance to play in this year’s grand final depends on it.

The five players sanctioned by the Sydney Swans are expected to return the club in some capacity this week, AFL Media’s Cal Twomey reports.

Isaac Heeney, Chad Warner, Nick Blakey and James Jordon were banned from playing after a night out during round 23 and have not been back at the Swans’ headquarters with the group since that tumultuous week.

But as reported by the AFL, it is understood the players are to return to the club this week, with the club still working through how that looks and whether formalised exit meetings will occur.

There is also the possibility of the players addressing the wider playing group before they go on their breaks.

It was previously reported they would not return to the club until November.

In case you missed it, this year’s Brownlow will have a major shift to the voting.

The AFL announced earlier this year that field umpires would receive official player performance statistics.

Umpires are strictly prohibited from accessing outside sources or using mobile devices until their Brownlow Medal votes are submitted after each game, but in 2026, were provided a data set that had information such as kicks, handballs, disposals, marks, contested marks, tackles and other statistics.

The move follows years of controversy surrounding the umpire-voted system.

There was widespread criticism of last year's count, specifically in round 20 when St Kilda's Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera was remarkably overlooked for the three votes.

The change itself is a controversial one. 2007 Brownlow Medallist Jimmy Bartel does not like it and believes stats will have too big of a sway on umpire voting calls.

“Look, the Brownlow doesn’t need fixing,” Bartel told 3AW.

"The journos have their template for the year. The Tuesday morning article they have teed up every year saying the Brownlow needs fixing and it's mind boggling that they keep going down that path and they've eventually managed to persuade Greg Swann and his crew down there."