NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Brownlow Medal

The Charles Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal, is the medal awarded to the "best and fairest" player in the Australian Football League during the regular season (ie not including finals matches) as decided upon by umpires. It is regarded as the most prestigious award for individual players in the league. Though often referred to as the "best and fairest", the official terminology is "fairest and best", reflecting an emphasis on sportsmanship and fair play. It was named after a Geelong player and long-serving administrator who was active in the early days of the Victorian Football League, Charles Brownlow. But for changing the monogram from VFL to AFL in 1990, the medallion itself has remained largely unchanged. A medal is a small metal object, usually engraved with insignia, that is awarded to a person for athletic, military, scientific, academic or some other kind of achievement. ... Best and Fairest (also known as Fairest and Best in some competitions, notably the Australian Football League) is the term commonly used in Australian sport to describe the player(s) adjudged to have had the best performance in a game or over a season for a given sporting club or... This article is about the national league in Australian rules football. ... This article is about the present day Victorian state football league. ... Charles Brownlow was a champion player, and later administrator, for the Geelong Football Club in the Victorian Football League. ...

The 2007 Brownlow Medal was awarded to James Bartel of the Geelong Football Club, who polled 29 votes. The 2007 Brownlow Medal was held at the Crown Palladium in Melbourne, Victoria on September 24, 2007. ... James Jimmy Bartel (born December 4, 1983), is a professional Australian rules football player. ... Geelong Football Club, nicknamed The Cats, is an Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League with a rich history. ...

Voting Procedure

Under the current procedures, the three field umpires (those umpires who control the flow of the game, as opposed to goal or boundary umpires) confer after each match and award 3 votes, 2 votes and 1 vote to the players they regard as the best, second best and third best in the match respectively. There have been different voting procedures for short periods in the past – votes were the responsibility of the media until the 1930s, and; in 1976 and 1977, the first two years after a second field umpire was added, each umpire individually gave his 3-2-1 – but the prevailing system has been used for the vast majority of Brownlow Medal counts.

On the awards night, the votes over the home and away (regular) season are tallied and the eligible player or players with the highest number of votes is awarded the medal. In the past, only one winner was allowed, and ties were decided on a countback system, which took into account such statistics as matches played. In 1940, Des Fothergill and Herb Matthews tied for the medal and could not be separated on countback, so neither player received the real medal. Since 1982, it has been possible for multiple medals to be awarded in the event of a tie, and in 1989, players who had tied on votes but lost on countback were given retrospective medals.the brownloaw medal was named after john coleman Year 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Des Fothergill (born July 15, 1920) was an Australian rules footballer who played in the VFL/AFL. From Collingwood Tech, Fothergill was a gifted sportsmen who made his VFL/AFL debut aged 16, for the Collingwood Football Club in 1937. ... Herbie Matthews (born 20 November 1913; died 8 June 1990) was an Australian rules footballer in the (then) Victorian Football League. ...

The integrity of the award is upheld by the tight security and secrecy surrounding the votes. Once the umpires make their decision, the votes are locked away and transported by armoured security vehicles. No one except the three umpires knows exactly who has been voted for, and as different umpires vote on different games, no one can be sure of who will win. Unlike most award ceremonies, the votes are not tallied or even opened until they are actually announced on the night, so the drama is maintained until late on the actual night, when the result sometimes comes down to the final round of votes.

The method of selecting the Brownlow has occasionally come under scrutiny. The Brownlow winners contain a preponderance of midfield players and relatively few "key-position" players, with some of the game's greatest players (for instance, Wayne Carey) never coming close to winning a medal despite having high reputations amongst their peers and coaches. The problem is that players who are most valuable to their teams are not necessarily viewed favourably by umpires, and their positions and playing style sometimes means they don't attract enough attention. Several prominent coaches, including Kevin Sheedy and Leigh Matthews (who on 202 votes has the second most Brownlow votes in history and yet never won it), have publicly criticised the selection process, proposing that coaches or players votes be used instead. The exclusion of suspended players is also debated, but the AFL's desire to promote a good image for the game makes it unlikely that this aspect of the award will change in the near future. Wayne Carey (born May 27, 1971), is regarded as one of the greatest Australian rules football players of all time. ... For the footballer who played for Everton and Ireland, see Kevin Sheedy (footballer). ... Leigh R. Matthews (born March 1, 1952) is widely regarded as one of the greatest Australian Rules footballers of all time, playing for Hawthorn in the VFL from 1969 to 1985. ...

Some bookmakers offer betting on the winner of the Brownlow. A number of well-publicised "plunges" on unlikely winners has led to increasingly elaborate security measures to ensure the Brownlow votes are kept secret until the vote count.

Ineligibility

Historically, players who are suspended at some time during the season by the AFL's disclipinary tribunal for serious on-field offences (for instance, punching another player) were ineligible for the award. Suspended players have tallied the highest number of votes for the award on two occasions. This first occurred in 1996, when Corey McKernan received the same number of votes as winners James Hird and Michael Voss, but was ineligible due to suspension. (However, McKernan would be named the AFL Players Association MVP in the same year.) In the following year, Chris Grant of Western Bulldogs had the most votes, but a one-week suspension ruled him out of the Brownlow Medal, which went instead to St. Kilda's Robert Harvey. Year 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar). ... Corey McKernan is a former Australian Football player. ... James Albert Hird (born February 4, 1973) is a retired Australian rules footballer and former captain of the Essendon Football Club. ... Michael Voss (born July 7, 1975) is an Australian rules footballer, usually playing midfield or in the forward line for Australian Football League team the Brisbane Lions. ... The Leigh Matthews Trophy is an annual award given by the AFL Players Association to the Most Valuable Player in the Australian Football League. ... Chris Grant (born December 13, 1972) is an Australian Rules Football player in the Australian Football League. ... The Western Bulldogs, formerly known, and occasionally still referred to, as the Footscray Football Club, is an Australian Football League (AFL) club based at the Whitten Oval in Footscray, an inner western suburb of Melbourne. ... The St. ... {{Infobox afl player | firstname = Robert | lastname = Harvey | birthdate = August 21, 1971 ) | birthplace = | originalteam = Seaford | heightweight = 181cm / 84kg | dead = alive | deathdate = | deathplace = | debutdate = Round 19, 6 August 1988 | debutteam = St Kilda | debutopponent = Footscray | debutstadium = Western Oval | playingteams = St Kilda (1988-present) 358 games, 208 goals | coach = notcoach | coachingteams = | statsend = round 21...

Since 2005, the criterion for ineligibility is to have 100 base points levied by the Tribunal for an infraction in the season. This means that it is now possible for a player to be suspended, but still win the Brownlow. As an example, a player carries 93.75 points from a reprimand from the previous season, and commits an infraction worth 75 base points – this brings his tally to 168.75, which is enough for a one-week suspension, even with an early plea. Despite the suspension, this player would still be eligible for the prize. Similarly, a player can be ineligible, despite not having been suspended. This most commonly happens when a player is levied 125 base points, but it is reduced to 93.75 with an early plea – sufficiently low to avoid a suspension. This new system is slightly more confusing and slightly controversial, but also slightly fairer, since a bad tribunal record from previous years will not affect a player's chances of being the fairest and best in a single year. Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Publicity

The awards ceremony has become increasingly elaborate, with footballers and their partners gradually becoming more fashion-conscious and this aspect of the night becoming widely reported by gossip columns. The ceremony is held at Crown Casino, Melbourne on the Monday 5 days prior to the AFL Grand Final. In years past, prospective Grand Final players have attended the ceremony in person. However non-Victorian Grand Finalists are refusing to attend the ceremony in Melbourne due to the inconvenience of travel in such an important week. A live video link to Brownlow functions in their home city is done instead. Gossip column A gossip column is an article in a newspaper or magazine written by a gossip columnist. ... The Atrium at Crown Crown Casino and Entertainment Complex is a casino and entertainment precinct on the south bank of the Yarra River, in Melbourne, Australia. ... Part of the pre-match entertainment at the 2006 AFL Grand Final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. ...

From 1959 until 1974 radio stations including 3UZ, 3KZ and 3AW broadcast the vote counts. SEN 1116 now covers the count. Direct television telecasts began in 1970 at the Dallas Brooks Hall and have occurred every year since. 3UZ trading as Radio Sport 927 situated in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, is Melbournes oldest commercial radio station. ... Welcome at dead of night. ... 3AW is a radio station in Melbourne, Australia on 693KHz AM. It began transmission in February 1932 as Melbournes fifth commercial radio station. ... SEN 1116 (callsign 3AK), the acronym standing for Sports Entertainment Network, is a commercial AM radio station based in Melbourne, Australia, operating on 1116 kHz. ...

Venues and TV telecast

The Seven Network is an Australian television network, owned by the Seven Media Group. ... The Seven Network is an Australian television network, owned by the Seven Media Group. ... The Nine Network, or Channel Nine, is an Australian television network based in Willoughby, a suburb on the North Shore of Sydney. ... The Seven Network is an Australian television network, owned by the Seven Media Group. ... The Seven Network is an Australian television network, owned by the Seven Media Group. ... The Seven Network is an Australian television network, owned by the Seven Media Group. ... The Seven Network is an Australian television network, owned by the Seven Media Group. ... The Seven Network is an Australian television network, owned by the Seven Media Group. ... The Seven Network is an Australian television network, owned by the Seven Media Group. ... The Seven Network is an Australian television network, owned by the Seven Media Group. ... The Atrium at Crown Crown Casino and Entertainment Complex is a casino and entertainment precinct on the south bank of the Yarra River, in Melbourne, Australia. ... The Seven Network is an Australian television network, owned by the Seven Media Group. ... The Hordern Pavilion is a building located in Moore Park, Sydney, New South Wales, on the grounds of the old Sydney Showground. ... This article is about the metropolitan area in Australia. ... The Seven Network is an Australian television network, owned by the Seven Media Group. ... The Atrium at Crown Crown Casino and Entertainment Complex is a casino and entertainment precinct on the south bank of the Yarra River, in Melbourne, Australia. ... Network Ten, or Channel Ten, is one of Australias three commercial television networks, available in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth in Australia. ... This page is for Telstra Dome, Melbourne. ... The Nine Network, or Channel Nine, is an Australian television network based in Willoughby, a suburb on the North Shore of Sydney. ... The Atrium at Crown Crown Casino and Entertainment Complex is a casino and entertainment precinct on the south bank of the Yarra River, in Melbourne, Australia. ... Network Ten, or Channel Ten, is one of Australias three commercial television networks, available in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth in Australia. ... The Atrium at Crown Crown Casino and Entertainment Complex is a casino and entertainment precinct on the south bank of the Yarra River, in Melbourne, Australia. ... The Nine Network, or Channel Nine, is an Australian television network based in Willoughby, a suburb on the North Shore of Sydney. ... The Atrium at Crown Crown Casino and Entertainment Complex is a casino and entertainment precinct on the south bank of the Yarra River, in Melbourne, Australia. ... Network Ten, or Channel Ten, is one of Australias three commercial television networks, available in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth in Australia. ... The Atrium at Crown Crown Casino and Entertainment Complex is a casino and entertainment precinct on the south bank of the Yarra River, in Melbourne, Australia. ... The Seven Network is an Australian television network, owned by the Seven Media Group. ... The Atrium at Crown Crown Casino and Entertainment Complex is a casino and entertainment precinct on the south bank of the Yarra River, in Melbourne, Australia. ...

Contents

Voting Procedure

Ineligibility

Publicity

Venues and TV telecast

See also

External links