Congratulations to Bailey Smith and Noah Anderson for sharing the award this year, but what I found most interesting is looking at data on the number of times a player polled. Throughout the year I've also been keeping track of who is polling in losses (only 17% of total votes were awarded to those in the losing team), as well as who is polling against Top8 opposition (33% of total).
The way I tracked Top8 is by looking at where the team was ranked just PRIOR to the game being played. So earlier in the year when Freo spent a lot of time out of the 8, games against them didn't count as being against top8 opposition. I know the season turned into one where there was a clear top 9, but this was the methodology.
To me the stiffest player to miss All Australian was Touk Miller (though I know that Rowell and Anderson stole all the attention). Despite missing some games he polled 16 times for a vote total of 62, the highest in the league along with Matt Rowell (16 times for 97) and Max Gawn (16 times for 92). Some other interesting findings:
Thilthorpe (11 times polled), J. Cameron (10) and Gunston (10) were standout choices for AA key forward posts, scoring 66, 59, and 39 votes respectively, though Georgiades (9 times for 33) wasn't far behind. Shannon Neale impressed by polling 8 times, but only scored 22 (top50 in league).
Rankine (10 times for 55), Bailey (9 for 46), Pickett (8 for 40) and Miers (8 for 28) were the smaller forwards who polled the most, but interesting that all of those guys ran through the middle at times and performed really well in those roles. Pretty sure that Rankine was pipped by Bailey for AA because of the incident.
Josh Worrell polled the most of any key defender (8 times for 24), and I thought he was stiff to miss AA selection (but will surely make it soon if he continues defending like he does). Vlastuin (29) and Sicily (26) were next, polling 7 times each, slightly more than Andrews (6 times for 33), Battle (5 times for 33) and Sam Taylor (4 times for 23). Is it just me or did Sam Taylor's reputation get him over the line for AA this year? He's had some good games, but in quite a few he was beaten 1 on 1 far more than in previous years.
For the running defenders, John Noble polled 9 times for 22 votes, putting him third behind Saints NWM (15 times for 87) and Sinclair (10 times for 47)...though those two don't always play defence. Blakey (35) and Zorko (29) polled 8 times, ahead of AA selections Jordan Clark (7 times for 41) and Dale (7 times for 32).
Two other defenders stand out because they averaged only 2 votes each time they polled. McCartin scored 10 votes from 5 games and Quaynor 8 votes from 4 games. Those two look just about ready to burst into their prime years. At the other end of the scale the following two averaged roughly 8 each time they played. Butters scored 87 from just 11 games and Toby Greene scored 57 from just 7 games. When they go big they go big!
-----------
Now for the interesting bit, who is polling against Top 8 opposition? These guys are most impressive to me as they're turning it on in high-quality games to get their team over the line. The list is also completely predictable! Top 10 are:
If I was an oppo coach I'd be trying to limit McCluggage instead of Neale in the finals.
In terms of PROPORTION of votes that come against top 8 opposition, the leaders are (min 5 times polled):
Logan Morris is so impressive here. This kid is going to be a star if he keeps this up. Hogan was absolutely killing it against good defences in the early rounds but unfortunately dropped away, but then Cadman took over (82% of votes against Top 8 but only polled 4 times for 22). Be interesting to see what happens in finals. Payne was a massive loss (are they still weak in this area?) and guys like Rayner and Bolton seems unsurprising in this list as they're such big game players. And I think Keane left such a good impression because he always seemed so composed when the Crows were under siege.
Now the opposite! Here is a list of guys who are beating up on poor opposition and getting less coach attention against quality sides.
Bailey Dale kinda sums up the Bulldogs season. I feel like he was poor in some games where the Dogs were put under pressure, and would have given his AA spot to Max Holmes (polled 14 times for 84). Ben King is another interesting one. He was so accurate and performed a good role deep forward, but didn't have nearly as many score involvements as the other AA forwards and maybe vulnerable against more skilled opponents.
---------
Next, here are the players who were polling in losses. This could mean they're good at standing up while teammates fall around them OR their teams just suck and so had few opportunities to win. But I'd be interested to hear your perspectives. First the totals:
NWM, Gawn and Xerri absolute standouts here. The Dees would have been screwed without their captain, and Xerri was stiff to miss AA (especially after missing a couple of games with concussion, but still coming back to dominate). Also Noah Anderson is the only top8 player here...this is one area his game has really improved (last year he dominated at home and struggled away).
Now for the proportions (min 5 times polled)
I feel like Durham is turning into a really solid player...be interesting to watch his development once Essendon starts fielding more of a team. Also promising to see Rayner rank top 10 in both lists (vs Top 8 as well as losses). Is he ready to explode this finals series?
OK, now the players rarely or never polling in losses. There are HEAPS, so to filter the list better I'm setting a minimum of polling 8 times. Does this mean these guys ride along with their teammates, or is it because they're being well held by opposition...leading to losses? Also, it's hard to poll in losses if you rarely lose! Interesting thought experiment for some of them.
Fascinating to see the midfields/runners of Brisbane and Freo feature here. Especially Jackson stands out when you compare him with other league leading rucks like Gawn, Grundy and Xerri. Would love to hear you theories in this data in particular.
Lastly, for some team stats, the team that has scored the most votes is Brisbane (485) followed by the Bulldogs (463 - shows how much they beat up on weaker opposition). Eagles polled fewest with only 87 (just 3.8 out of 30 per game)!
The teams which had the most individual players poll were Carlton and Collingwood (24 each). So interesting for Carlton given they didn't win much, though I find it odd that Ollie Hollands hasn't scored a single vote in 2 years despite playing a ton of games. Carlton fans...what's going on there? Only 13 Eagles polled, which was the lowest.
Keen to hear your thoughts about all this Coaches Votes data, and hope it helps you with your Brownlow predictions. If there's any specific data you want me to share just ask.
The way I tracked Top8 is by looking at where the team was ranked just PRIOR to the game being played. So earlier in the year when Freo spent a lot of time out of the 8, games against them didn't count as being against top8 opposition. I know the season turned into one where there was a clear top 9, but this was the methodology.
To me the stiffest player to miss All Australian was Touk Miller (though I know that Rowell and Anderson stole all the attention). Despite missing some games he polled 16 times for a vote total of 62, the highest in the league along with Matt Rowell (16 times for 97) and Max Gawn (16 times for 92). Some other interesting findings:
Thilthorpe (11 times polled), J. Cameron (10) and Gunston (10) were standout choices for AA key forward posts, scoring 66, 59, and 39 votes respectively, though Georgiades (9 times for 33) wasn't far behind. Shannon Neale impressed by polling 8 times, but only scored 22 (top50 in league).
Rankine (10 times for 55), Bailey (9 for 46), Pickett (8 for 40) and Miers (8 for 28) were the smaller forwards who polled the most, but interesting that all of those guys ran through the middle at times and performed really well in those roles. Pretty sure that Rankine was pipped by Bailey for AA because of the incident.
Josh Worrell polled the most of any key defender (8 times for 24), and I thought he was stiff to miss AA selection (but will surely make it soon if he continues defending like he does). Vlastuin (29) and Sicily (26) were next, polling 7 times each, slightly more than Andrews (6 times for 33), Battle (5 times for 33) and Sam Taylor (4 times for 23). Is it just me or did Sam Taylor's reputation get him over the line for AA this year? He's had some good games, but in quite a few he was beaten 1 on 1 far more than in previous years.
For the running defenders, John Noble polled 9 times for 22 votes, putting him third behind Saints NWM (15 times for 87) and Sinclair (10 times for 47)...though those two don't always play defence. Blakey (35) and Zorko (29) polled 8 times, ahead of AA selections Jordan Clark (7 times for 41) and Dale (7 times for 32).
Two other defenders stand out because they averaged only 2 votes each time they polled. McCartin scored 10 votes from 5 games and Quaynor 8 votes from 4 games. Those two look just about ready to burst into their prime years. At the other end of the scale the following two averaged roughly 8 each time they played. Butters scored 87 from just 11 games and Toby Greene scored 57 from just 7 games. When they go big they go big!
-----------
Now for the interesting bit, who is polling against Top 8 opposition? These guys are most impressive to me as they're turning it on in high-quality games to get their team over the line. The list is also completely predictable! Top 10 are:
| Name | Team | Polled | Votes | Vs Top 8 |
| Hugh McCluggage | BRIS | 13 | 79 | 41 |
| Max Gawn | MEL | 16 | 92 | 39 |
| Caleb Serong | FREM | 14 | 84 | 39 |
| Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera | STK | 15 | 87 | 37 |
| Marcus Bontempelli | WB | 12 | 89 | 37 |
| Zak Butters | PORT | 11 | 87 | 37 |
| Noah Anderson | GC | 15 | 103 | 36 |
| Matt Rowell | GC | 16 | 97 | 35 |
| Nick Daicos | COLL | 14 | 96 | 35 |
| Connor Rozee | PORT | 10 | 67 | 34 |
| Jordan Dawson | ADEL | 13 | 90 | 34 |
If I was an oppo coach I'd be trying to limit McCluggage instead of Neale in the finals.
In terms of PROPORTION of votes that come against top 8 opposition, the leaders are (min 5 times polled):
Name | Team | Polled | Votes | Vs Top 8 | Vs Top 8 % |
| Logan Morris | BRIS | 5 | 25 | 24 | 96.0% |
| Rory Laird | ADEL | 5 | 13 | 11 | 84.6% |
| Steven May | MEL | 5 | 13 | 11 | 84.6% |
| Cam Rayner | BRIS | 5 | 20 | 16 | 80.0% |
| Jack Payne | BRIS | 5 | 14 | 10 | 71.4% |
| Shai Bolton | FREM | 9 | 31 | 21 | 67.7% |
| Jesse Hogan | GWS | 5 | 36 | 24 | 66.7% |
| Mark Keane | ADEL | 6 | 19 | 12 | 63.2% |
| Patrick Dangerfield | GEEL | 6 | 32 | 20 | 62.5% |
| Nick Vlastuin | RICH | 7 | 29 | 18 | 62.1% |
Logan Morris is so impressive here. This kid is going to be a star if he keeps this up. Hogan was absolutely killing it against good defences in the early rounds but unfortunately dropped away, but then Cadman took over (82% of votes against Top 8 but only polled 4 times for 22). Be interesting to see what happens in finals. Payne was a massive loss (are they still weak in this area?) and guys like Rayner and Bolton seems unsurprising in this list as they're such big game players. And I think Keane left such a good impression because he always seemed so composed when the Crows were under siege.
Now the opposite! Here is a list of guys who are beating up on poor opposition and getting less coach attention against quality sides.
| Name | Team | Polled | Votes | Vs Top 8 | Vs Top 8 % |
| Jacob Weitering | CARL | 5 | 22 | 0 | 0.0% |
| Bailey Dale | WB | 7 | 32 | 0 | 0.0% |
| Andrew McGrath | ESS | 5 | 28 | 0 | 0.0% |
| Colby McKercher | NM | 7 | 26 | 1 | 3.8% |
| Ben King | GC | 7 | 24 | 1 | 4.2% |
| Callum Wilkie | STK | 5 | 32 | 2 | 6.3% |
| Harry Sheezel | NM | 6 | 25 | 2 | 8.0% |
| Marcus Windhager | STK | 7 | 24 | 2 | 8.3% |
| George Hewett | CARL | 10 | 56 | 6 | 10.7% |
| Gryan Miers | GEEL | 8 | 28 | 3 | 10.7% |
Bailey Dale kinda sums up the Bulldogs season. I feel like he was poor in some games where the Dogs were put under pressure, and would have given his AA spot to Max Holmes (polled 14 times for 84). Ben King is another interesting one. He was so accurate and performed a good role deep forward, but didn't have nearly as many score involvements as the other AA forwards and maybe vulnerable against more skilled opponents.
---------
Next, here are the players who were polling in losses. This could mean they're good at standing up while teammates fall around them OR their teams just suck and so had few opportunities to win. But I'd be interested to hear your perspectives. First the totals:
| Name | Team | Polled | Votes | Votes in Losses |
| Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera | STK | 15 | 87 | 38 |
| Max Gawn | MEL | 16 | 92 | 37 |
| Tristan Xerri | NM | 10 | 72 | 30 |
| Marcus Bontempelli | WB | 12 | 89 | 22 |
| Zak Butters | PORT | 11 | 87 | 19 |
| Tom Liberatore | WB | 11 | 53 | 18 |
| Kysaiah Pickett | MEL | 8 | 40 | 18 |
| Tom De Koning | CARL | 5 | 31 | 17 |
| Noah Anderson | GC | 15 | 103 | 16 |
| Sam Darcy | WB | 6 | 40 | 16 |
Now for the proportions (min 5 times polled)
| Name | Team | Polled | Votes | Votes in Losses | Votes in Losses % |
| Steven May | MEL | 5 | 13 | 13 | 100.0% |
| Tom De Koning | CARL | 5 | 31 | 17 | 54.8% |
| Sam Durham | ESS | 6 | 31 | 15 | 48.4% |
| Kysaiah Pickett | MEL | 8 | 40 | 18 | 45.0% |
| Cam Rayner | BRIS | 5 | 20 | 9 | 45.0% |
| Jacob Hopper | RICH | 6 | 25 | 11 | 44.0% |
| Harry Sheezel | NM | 6 | 25 | 11 | 44.0% |
| Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera | STK | 15 | 87 | 38 | 43.7% |
| Tristan Xerri | NM | 10 | 72 | 30 | 41.7% |
| Max Gawn | MEL | 16 | 92 | 37 | 40.2% |
I feel like Durham is turning into a really solid player...be interesting to watch his development once Essendon starts fielding more of a team. Also promising to see Rayner rank top 10 in both lists (vs Top 8 as well as losses). Is he ready to explode this finals series?
OK, now the players rarely or never polling in losses. There are HEAPS, so to filter the list better I'm setting a minimum of polling 8 times. Does this mean these guys ride along with their teammates, or is it because they're being well held by opposition...leading to losses? Also, it's hard to poll in losses if you rarely lose! Interesting thought experiment for some of them.
| Name | Team | Polled | Votes | Votes in Losses | Votes in Losses % |
| Hugh McCluggage | BRIS | 13 | 79 | 0 | 0.0% |
| Jeremy Cameron | GEEL | 10 | 59 | 0 | 0.0% |
| Luke Jackson | FREM | 8 | 50 | 0 | 0.0% |
| Dayne Zorko | BRIS | 8 | 29 | 0 | 0.0% |
| Gryan Miers | GEEL | 8 | 28 | 0 | 0.0% |
| Andrew Brayshaw | FREM | 11 | 62 | 1 | 1.6% |
| Lachie Neale | BRIS | 9 | 56 | 1 | 1.8% |
| Caleb Serong | FREM | 14 | 84 | 3 | 3.6% |
| Bailey Smith | GEEL | 15 | 103 | 4 | 3.9% |
| Nick Blakey | SYD | 8 | 35 | 2 | 5.7% |
Fascinating to see the midfields/runners of Brisbane and Freo feature here. Especially Jackson stands out when you compare him with other league leading rucks like Gawn, Grundy and Xerri. Would love to hear you theories in this data in particular.
Lastly, for some team stats, the team that has scored the most votes is Brisbane (485) followed by the Bulldogs (463 - shows how much they beat up on weaker opposition). Eagles polled fewest with only 87 (just 3.8 out of 30 per game)!
The teams which had the most individual players poll were Carlton and Collingwood (24 each). So interesting for Carlton given they didn't win much, though I find it odd that Ollie Hollands hasn't scored a single vote in 2 years despite playing a ton of games. Carlton fans...what's going on there? Only 13 Eagles polled, which was the lowest.
Keen to hear your thoughts about all this Coaches Votes data, and hope it helps you with your Brownlow predictions. If there's any specific data you want me to share just ask.
