Love it or hate it, the Brownlow Medal is the biggest individual award in the AFL.

As prestigious as it is often maligned, taking home ‘Charlie’ provides the winner/s the most recognition of anyone in the AFL, even if it seems to have become an exclusively midfielders’ award in recent times.

However just who should be voting on the award along with positional representation are debates perhaps best left for another time and forum.

As we did with the Rising Star and the Coleman medal, it’s time to dive a little deeper and look into some of the more unlikely players who can make a charge for the league’s highest individual honour come September.

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Callum Mills 

18 votes in 2021

It’s rare that players poll so well in their breakout season, but Mills’ move to the midfield finally eventuated and it brought great success to the Swans and to himself.

The 24-year-old’s game is perfectly suited to the midfield, with his tenacious tackling ability matched by his excellent fitness that helps him spread away from the contest and use his kicking to set up teammates in better positions.

Incredibly, Mills ranked top 20 in the competition for both tackles and effective disposals, a rare combination amongst the league’s best players, and his 2.7 rebound 50 and 4.2 inside 50s highlighted his unbelievable work ethic that helped him buck the breakout trend.

Mills had over 30 disposals in 8 of his 18 games, was given best-on-ground honours 5 times and had games with double-digits in marks, tackles and clearances.

The issue with the star Swan has generally been his fitness and 2022 is no different, entering the season off a very restricted break.

Mills was extremely prolific in the practice match against the Kangaroos and will need to be the leader of this group as Josh P Kennedy is transitioned out of the midfield.

One would suspect the Swans are in for a top-four finish, which bodes well for a player fresh off averaging one Brownlow vote per game.

Punters- South Melbourne/Sydney have had a league-high 14 Brownlow medal winners in history. TopSport is presently paying $23 about Callum Mills become the 15th in 2022. 

Josh Kelly 

21 votes in 2017

Depending on how you rate the Giants’ chances this season Josh Kelly simply has to be in your Brownlow calculations.

They’re still an extremely talented team with a heap of depth across all lines of the field, and Kelly looks like he’s entering the season fully fit and back to his best after an impressive preseason performance.

Against the Magpies, Kelly had 41 disposals at 85% efficiency, 8 clearances, 5 rebound 50s and 4 inside 50s in a complete performance reminiscent of the 27-year-old at his very best.

Despite not reaching his great heights of 2017, where he averaged 29.5 disposals, 6.5 tackles, 5 inside 50s and 5 clearances a game, Kelly has still polled 40 votes in the last 4 seasons and is clearly liked by the umpires.

2021 being seen as a disappointment makes us all harsh critics of Kelly, who averaged 26 disposals and 5.6 tackles a game, kicking 16.15 and not missing a match across the entire year.

Not since 2015 has Kelly played in more losses than wins, resulting in an average of 0.56 votes per game in that time.

Punters- The Giants are the only active AFL club without a Brownlow medal win. At TopSport, Josh Kelly is paying $41 about that situation changing in 2022. 

Andrew Brayshaw 

19 votes in past 2 seasons

The amount of uncontested ball Brayshaw wins usually rules him out of Brownlow contention, historically, particularly given he isn’t exactly an in-and-under type.

In the future, we can expect Caleb Serong to be a factor in the Fremantle race, but in the meantime Angus Brayshaw has managed to poll 19 votes in the last couple of seasons, even though the Dockers have finished with 15 wins and 22 losses in these games.

The 22-year-old has the aura of a leader, the type that can carry his team across the line. Like it or not, there are certain intangibles that the umpires are attracted to on the field that inevitably assists players amass votes.

Once Round 5 hit, Brayshaw flicked a switch and became the league’s most consistent, unheralded contributor – he had at least 25 disposals in 14 of 16 games and had at least 8 marks in 6 games.

Perhaps the lack of extremely prolific games is restrictive and some may point towards a lack of x-factor hurting Brayshaw.

Yet a more prominent role in clearance situations will inevitably increase his contested numbers and angle him towards a better avenue to votes.

A potential finals finish for the Dockers only helps the chances of their young star.

2022 could be that year.

Punters- The Brownlow medal has been won by a player from a non-Victorian team in 6 of the last 9 seasons. At TopSport you can get $51 about Angus Brayshaw continuing that trend. 

Zak Butters 

5 career votes

Could the Power have back-to-back Brownlow Medallists?

That in itself is pretty unlikely, but Butters is the player across the entire competition that everyone will want to be watching this year, if not only for the highlights he’ll provide.

Touted for a midfield role, Butters already showed us what he’s capable of in Round of 2021 against Essendon, when he had 36 disposals, 6 clearances and 6 tackles, polling himself a Brownlow vote in the process.

The 21-year-old is one of the most skilled players in the competition and has the aggressiveness and desire in the contest to pursue the ball and opponent even beyond the logical conclusion of a contest.

Sure, Butters mightn’t win the Brownlow medal in 2022, but if he has the breakout season he is capable of having, the former first-round pick will poll 15 votes and surprise all the experts.

The Power are a complete unknown again this season, but Butters isn’t and his future is as bright as the medal that will hang around the neck of the best midfielder in the competition come September.

Punters- Not since the Eagles with Chris Judd and Ben Cousins (2004 and 2005) has a club provided back-to-back Brownlow medalists. TopSport are offering $91 about Zak Butters giving the Power another winner in 2022. 

Josh Dunkley 

15 votes in 2019

Granted, we finish with a personal favourite, but we seem to have forgotten just how good Josh Dunkley is, given the prolific nature of preferred Brownlow options Marcus Bontempelli and Jack Macrae.

Yet we know that if Dunkley gets his allotted midfield time, he can poll handsomely – in 2019, after he landed that lovely role in the midfield in Round 7, he polled 15 votes in 16 games, averaging 33.9 disposals, 6.6 tackles, 6.6 clearances, kicking 8.5 with a further of 7 goal assists.

He faced his fair share of turmoil after the 2020 season, wanting to depart the Bulldogs, finally staying and then suffering a serious injury ruling him out for 3 months in the middle of the season.

Despite his late-season return, Dunkley never quite looked fully fit and played a predominately forward-of-centre role.

With plenty to prove in 2022, the Bulldogs are certain to shake things up and look to move a little further away from the predictable midfield setup they’d adopted previously.

Bontempelli is sure to feature more in attack, affording more midfield time for Dunkley and his best mate Adam Treloar.

Quite clearly, the Bulldogs were a better team in 2019 when the 25-year-old took up a permanent spot in the midfield and will surely realise that this can be the recipe to reach the greatest of heights once again.

Expect Dunkley to play predominately in the midfield and post some big numbers – he’s sure to poll plenty in 2022 if he can stay fully fit.

Punters- Only the Swans (14) have won more Brownlow medals than the Doggies (10), however it’s been 14 years since Adam Cooney last bought Charlie home to Whitten Oval. At TopSport, Josh Dunkley is paying a hefty $251 about the club winning an 11th in 2022. 

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