The 2023 Brownlow Medal awaits on Monday evening, with the league's best and fairest competitor set to be recognised at Melbourne's Crown Palladium.
This year's count appears likely to go right down to the wire, with Western Bulldogs captain Marcus Bontempelli and Collingwood father-son gun Nick Daicos representing the two main favourites to take out the prestigious award.
Daicos was considered the runaway winner prior to injuring his knee in Round 21, leaving the door open to a potential Bontempelli swoop, with the likes of Melbourne's Christian Petracca, Port Adelaide's Zak Butters, and Sydney's Errol Gulden also slated to press for consideration on Monday.
The question is, though, did 'Bont' do enough in Daicos' three-game absence to get over the top of the magnificent Magpie in the umpires' unpredictable voting?
We made our top-three prediction in anticipation of Monday night's count.
3. Third place: Christian Petracca (Melbourne)
Having finished second in our MVP voting this season, Petracca (224 votes) appears well-placed to stage a considerable Brownlow assault on Monday night.
Petracca, who averaged 27.8 disposals per game this season, ranked first in the league in score involvements per game in 2023. He also ranked tops in total inside-50s and total contested possessions.
Midfielder
Disposals
Tackles
Clearances
Put simply, he was integral to Melbourne's cause, particularly in the protracted absence of midfield running mate Clayton Oliver, who was bogged down by a hamstring issue.
Petracca's main competition for this year's crown, coming as no surprise to anybody, is Bulldogs captain Bontempelli and star Magpies utility Nick Daicos.
While Daicos' late-season injury absence opens the door to Petracca potentially surpassing the Pie when the votes are counted, the Dees' prolific midfielder-forward will find it difficult to get by the dominant Bontempelli, who has already earned a suite of league honours this year.
