2019 Brownlow Medal Predictor

Adelaide 75 v Geelong 99 – Adelaide Oval

As we flagged in our pre-season preview, Geelong star Patrick Dangerfield is among a crop of top-tier footballers who will reap the benefits of the AFL’s 6-6-6 rule.  The Brownlow medal favourite collected another 32 disposals and 10 clearances relishing his newly found freedom and should be leading the Brownlow after 3 rounds.

Melbourne 112 v Essendon 130 – MCG

Titus O’Reilly said it best – ‘Melbourne will have no trouble filling their banner next week.’  The stakes were high and the Dees weren’t up to it.  By contrast,  Essendon relied on another trial by media to find a win.  Led by Dyson Heppell’s 27 possessions the Dons are on the board.

Carlton 74 v Sydney 93 – MCG

A win isn’t far away for the poor ol Blues. Gallant In defeat, it was the likes of Isaac Heeney and Josh Kennedy that proved the difference in a tight contest.

GWS 125 v Richmond 76 – Giants Stadium

Led by tall forwards Jeremy Cameron (seven goals) and prolific midfielder Lachie Whitfield, GWS came up trumps against an injury depleted Tigers outfit. With a statline that reads 42 disposals, 12 marks and eight inside 50s, Lachie Whitfield may still finish runner-up for the 3 votes after Jeremy Cameron kicked 7 goals collecting an astonishing 30 disposals while doing so.

Brisbane 107 v Port Adelaide 90 – Gabba

3 Rounds in and Lachie Neale is the recruit of the year. Averaging a lazy 38.3 possessions, he’s a short price to be leading the Brownlow. Oh, and Brisbane are 3 and zip.

Collingwood 76 v West Coast 98 – MCG

Andrew Gaff is a handy inclusion to a side that are defending premiers. 35 disposals and five clearances, the classy midfielder hardly put a foot wrong in front of the 60000 strong MCG crowd. Amazing what winning a Grand Final can do to a team’s confidence playing away from home.

Western Bulldogs 68 v Gold Coast 73

Gold Coast are fast becoming everyone’s 2^nd favourite team and a gutsy win away from home only enhanced that.  Difficult one to allocate when the losing side has 4 of the top disposal winners though.  Jack Martin no certainty for three but looks the best chance with 23 touches and 5 shots on goal.

Hawthorn 87 v North Melbourne 71

Overcoming a sluggish start, Hawthorn rolled over the top of a marshmallow-like Kangaroos side who struggled to go with the Hawks after the pressure went up a notch. Jaeger O’Meara continues to enhance the reputation of Hawthorns rehab team with another dominant 31 possession game and should go close to best on in the impressive come from behind win.

Fremantle 71 v St Kilda 66 – Optus Stadium

Nathan Fyfe got knocked out and wont poll a vote. What the first half also provided was proof when Michael Walters is invested and playing midfield he’s a dangerous proposition. 

Richmond 66 v Collingwood 110 – MCG

If you’re a fan of Supercoach you’d understand that if the top 12 individual scores were attributed to one team, the other side probably didn’t go so well.  That side is Richmond and you can forget about them polling a Brownlow vote in this one. Adam Treloar’s going to feature with 39 possessions and a goal with De Goey’s 5 goal masterclass possibly falling in behind him.

Sydney 62 v Adelaide 88 – SCG

Round 2 knee-jerk reaction: Sydney are cooked.  When they needed to up the tempo and chase down a deficit, the challenge looked beyond them.  Rory Sloane’s intensity was instrumental but with 26 disposals and a goal, we’re leaning towards Brad Crouch.

Essendon 65 v St Kilda 76 – Marvel Stadium

For St Kilda, it was consistency and an even spread of contributors that did the damage.  Jade Gresham’s two goals and 25 touches looks the most likely game for 3 votes.

Port Adelaide 88 v Carlton 72 – Adelaide Oval

Gallant in defeat, the Blues fell just short of a Port Adelaide side surprising most with two wins to open their season.  The same Boak/Rockliff combo as round 1 were influential in  victory racking up 70 possessions between them and should land the 3 & 2 respectively.

Geelong 126 v Melbourne 46 – GMHBA Stadium

Melbourne has setup a mouth-watering wooden spoon clash with their crosstown rivals Essendon by outdoing the Dons first two weeks efforts and losing by 80 points taking over bottom place on the ladder. Geelong dominated from the get go and with some new found space and time, Dangerfield flourished, collecting 37 possessions and kicking two goals.

West Coast 104 v GWS 52 – Optus Stadium

Don’t be surprised if West Coast go through the season not dropping a game at Optus and don’t be surprised if Luke Shuey polls 20+ on Brownlow night. 28 possessions and two goals gets him top votes in this one.

North Melbourne 87 v Brisbane 107 – Marvel Stadium

A maturing Lions outfit is fast becoming a scary proposition and with the likes of Lachie Neale at the helm collecting 40+ disposals, the sky is the limit!

Hawthorn 87 v Western Bulldogs 106

An exhilarating nine-goal final term sealed what was an extraordinary victory.  Five goals down at the final change the Dogs managed to secure a stunning 19-point victory over a Hawks side down to two on the bench and out on their feet.  Nine of their midfielders managed 20 disposals or more and hats off to the few who land the 3/2/1 in order. Macrae and O’Meara should feature though.

Gold Coast 61 v Fremantle 58

2019s easy beats are not so easy to beat. Alex Sexton leads the Coleman Medal. Could he be leading the Brownlow? Probably not but wowee!

Carlton 64 v Richmond 97 – MCG

20 mins in and it looked like Carlton’s JLT hype balloon was about to sink like a lead balloon.  But for the first time for what feels like an eternity, Carlton actually looked alright after a disastrous opening quarter.  Cripps of course fired again in another Carlton loss racking up 21 contested possessions however with the W, we’re leaning towards Trent Cotchin’s 31 possessions as the standout game.

Collingwood 65 v Geelong 72 – MCG

You get the feeling every big game Tim Kelly plays will be a bittersweet one for the Cats faithful.  All but signed for the Eagles in 2020, it was the classy midfielders 31 possessions and 9 clearances that catapulted the Cats to a massive first up victory against premiership favourites Collingwood.

Melbourne 61 v Port Adelaide 87 – MCG

In what was the first of many boilovers for the opening round, Port Adelaide produced a flawless second half performance to stun the fancied Demons. With four debutants and another two playing their first game for the club, there was plenty to like about Ken Hinkley’s side on Saturday afternoon. Five goals to Justin Westhoff and 44 possessions to Tom Rockliff look to be the stand out performances in the 26 point win.

Adelaide 55 – Hawthorn 87 – Adelaide Oval

Considering their own fans didn’t give them much of a chance, Hawthorns 22 point win proved to us all that maybe it’s best to see a sample of the real stuff before investing our hard earned. Another pre-season ‘hype’ team failed to deliver when it counted outclassed by yet another Alistair Clarkson masterclass. James Worpel’s two goals and 27 possessions was as impressive game as any in the round and will land him the three votes later in the year.

Bulldogs 82 v Sydney 65 – Marvel Stadium

A sluggish Swans left it too late falling short to a Bulldogs side much resembling their 2016 triumph. The young side dominated territory outnumbering Sydney at the contest allowing the likes of Bont and Jack Macrae to collect possessions at will.

Brisbane 102 v West Coast 58 – Gabba

If you went four from four in your tipping on Saturday you’ve got no idea… The Lions finished off what was a crazy day of results kicking 12 of the final 14 goals to run out comfortable 44 point victors against the defending premiers. An even spread of contributors makes this one hard to allocate however we’re expecting Hugh McCluggage’s 20 possessions/ 1 goal game and Lachie Neale’s 29 possessions to feature in the umpires voting.

St Kilda 85 v Gold Coast 84 – Marvel Stadium

Alan Richardson was one relieved man come 4pm Sunday. 30 minutes earlier he may just have been clearing his schedule for a year’s holiday. Despite that and a nervous last term featuring plenty of fumbles, his side managed to scrap their way to victory and save him from any early scrutiny. You’ll be doing well to land the trifecta in this one but Seb Ross’s 27 possessions and Jack Billings 28 should see the two midfielders feature heavily in the 6 votes.

GWS 112 v Essendon 40 – Giants Stadium

Woosha must be starting to feel the pressure. No longer is the drug saga a reasonable excuse for insipid performances. A 72 point drubbing will have him and the underperforming Dons in the spotlight throughout the week. GWS on the other hand lead by a dominant Stephen Coniglio looked like a team that has plenty of depth regardless of an off season cleanout.

Fremantle 141 – North Melbourne 59 – Optus Stadium

Once again, the punters took the Ross Lyon bluff. An uninspiring JLT and a less than ideal lead up looked to have counted for little as they made the Kangaroos look second rate in front of a packed crowd at Optus stadium. Usually this means 3 votes to Nat Fyfe and most likely in this case, yes, however Cam McCarthy’s 5 goals & 20 touches could genuinely challenge.