The AFL's Brownlow medal is the most prestigious individual award in the land, with those crowned as winners etched into football's rich and long history.
In its 100th year of acknowledging the game's fairest and best player for any given season, umpires still play a pivotal role, recording their 3-2-1 votes, a system that has long been in place in Australian Rules Football.
The award is named after Charles Brownlow, a former Geelong footballer (1880-1891), club secretary (1885-1923) and VFL president (1918-1919) who passed away in 1924.
Fittingly, the first recipient of the Brownlow was none other than Cats legend Edward "Carji" Greeves", who the club has honoured in their best-and-fairest award.
So, what other crazy facts are there about the Brownlow?
Four players in V/AFL history have been crowned on three separate occasions as the league's best player for a particular season.
Brisbane's Lachie Neale could join this illustrious group with his third medal on Monday night, adding to the 2020 and 2023 awards.
Given the longevity of some clubs in both the V/AFL, the tally for which clubs have the most Brownlow medals is skewed.
Nevertheless, here are the leaders:
Fitzroy and Essendon have 8; Richmond, Melbourne and Geelong have 7; Hawthorn and Carlton have 6. North Melbourne holds 5; Brisbane has 4; West Coast has 3; Fremantle has 2; Gold Coast, Brisbane Bears, Adelaide and Port Adelaide all have 1.
GWS is the only club in the 18-team competition to not have a Brownlow medal.
Under the 3-2-1 voting system, Richmond's Dustin Martin (2017) and Port Adelaide's Ollie Wines (2021) claimed 36 votes in their respective years.
Geelong's Patrick Dangerfield is likely to become the V/AFL's most-voted player in Brownlow medal history, sitting 14 behind former teammate Gary Ablett Jnr.
(Retrieved from AFL Tables)
*Still playing
Geelong's Patrick Dangerfield, nearing the all-time amount of Brownlow votes, is also tipped to topple Gary Ablett Jnr for the most three-vote games.
Brisbane's Lachie Neale could also run close after a stellar 2024 season but will be in line to lead the pack in 2025 and beyond.
(Retrieved from AFL Tables)
*Still playing
AFL lovers would see this list of players as stiff not to have 'Charlie' dangling from their necks.
Collingwood's Scott Pendlebury and Geelong's Joel Selwood immediately come to mind as those unlucky not to be awarded the Brownlow medal across their glittering careers, while Western Bulldogs captain Marcus Bontempelli has come agonisingly close on multiple occasions.
(Retrieved from AFL Tables)
*Still playing
Recognised as a midfielders award, the Brownlow medal has historically favoured those playing in and amongst the contest more often than not.
A line from the Melbourne Herald, in 1938, stated: "Under the present method, men playing on the full-forward or full-back lines have little chance of winning the award usually being won by men most constantly in the play who can stand out in comparatively weak sides."
And throughout history's winners, there is little to argue regarding that fact.
Nevertheless, there have been, albeit rare, some recipients who aren't primarily midfielders.
Monday night could be the fourth time a player has topped the count but has been ineligible for the award.
Sydney's Isaac Heeney has had a stellar 2024 season, but an errant swinging arm that hit St Kilda's Jimmy Webster caught the eye of the Match Review Officer (MRO), who handed down a one-week suspension.
The Swans were unable to overturn the ban and, therefore, Heeney's chance of winning the Brownlow medal.
In 1996, North Melbourne's Corey McKernan received the same number of votes as Hames Hird and Michael Voss but was unable to stand alongside the champions of our game.
The following season, Western Bulldogs' Chris Grant polled more votes than any other player and was the outright winner of the Brownlow medal but was sidelined due to a suspension, leaving St Kilda's Robert Harvey as a worthy recipient.
In slightly different circumstances, Essendon's Jobe Watson was stripped of his 2012 medal due to his part in the club's supplement saga, resulting in Richmond's Trent Cotchin and Hawthorn's Sam Mitchell donned as Brownlow medallists.