2022 treated us to one of the closest and unexpected Brownlow counts in recent times, with the winner still unknown when Gil McLachlan started the count for Round 23's votes. However, a best-on-ground performance in the final weekend against Collingwood saw Patrick Cripps narrowly win by a singular vote over Lachie Neale.
This year's Brownlow night is looming to be even more interesting than last year's.
Nick Daicos was the clear favourite to win the Brownlow Medal coming into Round 21, having played the most tantalising season out of all the contenders. However, a knee injury sustained against Hawthorn is expected to keep him out until halfway through September, leaving the door wide open for other contenders.
With three games to play out for the season, the race is on to see if Daicos holds on to his lead or if another player can catch up. Marcus Bontempelli and Christian Petracca both loom as the biggest threats to Daicos currently, but gaps in their performances, as well as other teammates anticipated to earn votes, may jeopardise their chances.
According to our MVP leaderboard, there are nine players who will poll heavily on Brownlow night.
We assess how Daicos, Botempelli and Petracca could fare come the AFL's 'night of nights' and which dark horses could still be in the running.
6. Jordan Dawson
Jordan Dawson's 2022 season at Adelaide was strong, but his 2023 season as captain has taken his game to a new level. Dawson has been a quiet achiever and not heavily spoken about in Brownlow contention more recently, but our MVP Leaderboard has him sitting in eighth position overall and in reaching distance with three round left.
Dawson has continued to go one-better week in and week out, with his performance against Collingwood in Round 15 his biggest achievement of the season with 35 disposals, nine marks and 12 tackles. Given the game was so close, with Adelaide only losing by two points, Dawson could take out top votes.
Strong wins from Adelaide in Rounds 4 and 5, as well as impressive individual performances from Dawson, will see him earn plenty of votes throughout the year.
