With the AFL award season upon us and the Brownlow just a few weeks away, we decided to have a look at some of the most contentious, controversial and unbelievable Brownlow Medal moments throughout history.
4. Trent Cotchin and Sam Mitchell (2012)
The 2012 Brownlow Medal is the most contentious on this list. After Jobe Watson took home the medal with 30 votes, it wasn't until 2016 when the AFL Commission ruled Watson ineligible due to the Essendon drugs saga. This meant that Trent Cotchin and Sam Mitchell would become the newest Brownlow medallists, four years after the fact.
Both Mitchell and Cotchin had terrific seasons, with Mitchell playing an important role in taking the Hawks to the Grand Final and Cotchin notching up career-bests in disposals (27.6), inside 50s (5.3) and uncontested possessions (14.9). But Watson's year was unequalled and was the head-and-shoulders favourite to take 'Chas' home.
Could Jobe Watson have won the Brownlow without taking the supplements? We'll never know, but the fallout from the saga and its affect on the Brownlow was certainly shocking and never seen before.
