Brownlow Medal 2022: Who will poll the most votes in the last 8 rounds?

We’ve listed FIVE players who hit some fine form after the bye.

STAFF WRITER | September 15, 2022 - 1:24pm

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This year's Brownlow Medal, as always, will be hotly contested with a host of stars all touted as probable winners of 2022's proceedings.

The likes of Clayton Oliver, Patrick Cripps, Lachie Neale, Touk Miller and Andrew Brayshaw, amongst others, are all names that are no doubt set to be in the race at the pointy end of the evening with very fine margins splitting them apart.

However, despite there being some players set to poll on a consistent basis, there will too be a select group that comes home with a wet sail in the final weeks of the season to shake up the order as a result of late-season purple patches.

Going off of Zero Hanger's MVP polling, here are five players who are likely to poll heavily in the closing eight rounds of what was a spell-binding home-and-away season.

Of course, umpires have a different view on the game and - as punters have learned the hard way in the past - Brownlow votes are extremely subjective meaning that anything technically can happen.

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Zach Merrett (Essendon)

The Bombers midfielder would've enjoyed a stonking final two months of the 2022 season.

In Zero Hanger's MVP count, Merrett was unanimously voted the best player on the ground by the panel in three of his last eight games, and also garnered votes in three other rounds to signify his blistering form toward the back-end of the year.

The games where he was seen as the best player were against Sydney (23 disposals, 3 goals, 6 tackles), the Pies (38 disposals, 9 clearances) and North Melbourne (38 touches, 10 clearances, 1 goal) meaning that it'd take something from left-field to prise Merrett's grasp off of the three votes in those encounters.

The 26-year-old had some more fruitful outings against the Suns, Tigers and Lions, however, his claim to the maximum amount of votes in those games may be a little less bulletproof.

Either way, it'd be wise to keep your eye on the Bombers midfielder in the closing rounds of the season.

Touk Miller (Gold Coast)

One of the hot favourites for the award this year is Suns ball-magnet Touk Miller, who had yet another prosperous season under coach Stuart Dew.

The 26-year-old received the maximum amount of votes in the MVPcount for his Round 19 effort against the Lions (34 disposals, 7 tackles), and was flagged as very likely to receive three votes against the Eagles the following week (31 disposals, 15 clearances, 10 tackles).

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Miller also has good potential to poll in Rounds 16, 17 and 22, meaning that he is set to be amongst the fastest finishers in the final two months of the year.

Should the Gold Coast stalwart be ahead at the halfway mark of Sunday's proceedings, there could be ample reason for those who put money on him to get very excited considering the momentum he showed in the closing stages of the home-and-away season.

Patrick Cripps (Carlton)

Another red-hot favourite - and the winner of Zero Hanger's MVP along with Miller - is Blues skipper Patrick Cripps. The midfield bull easily had his best year to date at the club, however, narrowly avoided being deemed ineligible for this year's count after dodging suspension in Round 21.

Cripps was unanimously voted best-on by the panel in his side's season-defining loss to the Pies, racking up 35 disposals and 12 clearances, and could also be on track to poll votes in Rounds 16, 19 and 20 should the umpires look favourably upon him.

Although not having the most white-hot end to the year, there is a widespread sentiment amongst punters that this could be the year that Cripps claims his first Brownlow due to his blistering form in the opening two months of the season.

Luke Davies-Uniacke (North Melbourne)

A bit of an under-the-radar player on this list is Roos midfielder Luke Davies-Uniacke, who put on some admirable displays in the closing stages of the year.

The 23-year-old was marked by the whole Zero Hanger MVP panel as best-on in both Round 17 (33 disposals, 12 clearances and 11 tackles) and Round 22 (37 disposals, 11 clearances, one goal)

Davies-Uniacke also is a slight chance to poll in both Rounds 18 and 19, with his form in the second half of the year meaning that he is likely to come home with a wet sail despite his side's disappointing campaign in season 2022, claiming the most votes for the Roos on the night.

Chad Warner (Sydney)

Another player who hasn't been massively earmarked by punters to be there at the business end of proceedings but strung together a notable back-end of his campaign is Swans young gun Chad Warner.

The 21-year-old received the maximum amount of votes from the panel in Round 18 off the back of 35 disposals, 7 clearances and 1 goal as Sydney sunk the Dockers in Perth.

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The week prior, Warner also had a stonking outing against the Bulldogs with 25 disposals, 2 goals and four clearances, and is also on track to poll some votes in both Rounds 16 and 21 through admirable displays.

Whilst teammate Callum Mills is Sydney's lead candidate to take home 'Charlie', Warner is shaping up to be the Swans' second-best poller of the night should he be recognised for his displays.