Statistically best performances for 0 brownlow votes.

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Nov 12, 2002
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I think I remember reading a story about that. Two of the umpires wanted to give him three votes but one of the umpires refused to give him votes becaused he had abused him during the game. It was only a year or so ago that one of the former umpires spilt the beans about it.

A similar thing happened to Paul Couch in 1989.

In round 22, Geelong belted Richmond and Couch amassed a mere 45 disposals (as well as kicking 3 goals). Come Brownlow night - 0 votes. There wasn't much of a stink about it as won the medal anyway. But only the umpires know why he didn't get any votes that day.
 

My Blues

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Ratten had a fair year in '95, including a 44 touch game for 0 votes for the season. That included a best & fairest for the Blues in their best year too.
 

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Jun 23, 2008
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A great one I just discovered:

Mark Bairstow, Round 4, 1991 - Brisbane vs. Geelong @ the Gabba
40 disposals, 3 goals, 5 behinds in a 102-point win, no Brownlow votes.

In the same game, Bill Brownless received just 2 Brownlow votes for his 27 disposal, 14 mark, 11 goal, 4 behind performance. Ruckman Damian Bourke got the 3 votes with a 13 disposal, 8 mark, 30 hitout performance.

Going by the stats alone (I was still too young to have seen it "live", as I was born in 1988), Mark Bairstow deserved to poll a lot higher than he did in the 1991 Brownlow Medal count. 580 disposals (only twice under 20 disposals) and 43 goals and during the H&A season is an awesome return for any midfielder, but he still finished 10 votes behind the eventual Brownlow winner that year, Jim Stynes. Stynes was a worthy winner though - 25 disposals a game for a Ruckman was seemingly unheard of at the time, and was simply too good a season to be ignored.
 

Play by Numbers

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Dean Cox,

2007 round 10 Eagles (win) v Kangaroos

27 disposals, 10 marks, 2 goals, 27 HO's, 6 I50's.

There are a few games where he has absolutely dominated (way more impressive than this) for 0 brownlow votes.

Unfortunately some of them have been in the last couple of years (where he was one of our only solid players for the match) in a losing game or during the Eagles period of 05-06 where brownlow votes were going thick and fast to Judd, Kerr, Cousins.
 

Swansujelly

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Warwick Capper, Round 1, 1986 - North Melbourne vs. Sydney @ the MCG
12 disposals, 5 marks, 8 goals in a 25-point win, no Brownlow votes.

In the same game, Capper's Sydney teammate Anthony Daniher received one vote for his 13 disposals and 1 goal.

Warwick Capper, Round 5, 1987 - Richmond vs. Sydney @ the MCG
20 disposals, 10 marks, 7 goals, 5 behinds in a 20-point win, no Brownlow votes.

In the same game, Richmond's Trevor Poole received 3 votes for his 19 disposals, 0 goals and 8 frees against.

Warwick Capper, Round 11, 1988 - Brisbane vs. Richmond @ Carrara
16 disposals, 9 marks, 8 goals, 3 behinds in a 48-point win, no Brownlow votes.

In the same game, Richmond's Michael Mitchell received one vote for his 22 disposals, 0 goals and 5 frees against.

Mark Williams, Round 16, 1989 - Brisbane vs. St Kilda @ Carrara
28 disposals, 11 marks, 2 goals in a 4-point win, no Brownlow votes.

Not a mindblowing performance, but in the context of other vote-getting performances on the day, he appears to have been somewhat robbed - St Kilda's Dean Rice got 2 votes for his 11-disposal, 0 goal performance, and Brisbane's David Bain got the single vote for his 17-disposal, 0 goal performance. St Kilda's Mick Dwyer was also left voteless with his 22 disposal, 3 goal performance, as was Brisbane's Cameron O'Brien, who had 14 disposals, 8 marks, 5 goals and 3 behinds. Roger Merrett got the 3 votes with 24 disposals, 6 marks and 6 hitouts.

Barry Mitchell, Round 18, 1991 - Adelaide vs. Sydney @ Football Park
46 disposals, 2 goals (including the game-winning goal with just seconds to go) in a 4-point win, 0 Brownlow votes.

As UpForGrabs mentioned, Mitchell received no Brownlow votes in 1991, despite averaging an outstanding 31.32 disposals per game (689 disposals from 22 games), including 13 games of 30+ disposals, 3 games of 40+ disposals and only 1 game of less than 23 disposals. Mitchell had a similar season in 1992 - 29.64 disposals per game (652 disposals from 22 games) - and only received one Brownlow vote that year. It's fair to say that playing well in a poor side hurt him at this point in his career.

Greg Williams, Round 10, 1993 - Carlton vs. Melbourne @ Princes Park
44 disposals, 1 goal in a 54-point win, no Brownlow votes.

Mil Hanna received the 3 votes for his 19 disposals and 0 goals. This lack of recognition cost Williams the 1993 Brownlow Medal, as just one more vote would have seen him level with Essendon's Gavin Wanganeen at the end of the count.

goes to show you how disliked Capper was. Yes he was/is a tool, but goddam he was fun to watch..going to Brisbane was a mistake carrer wise, but he/we needed the cash
 
Oct 22, 2000
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In 1971 Wayne Richardson of Collingwood polled votes in five games - 2 x 3, 3 x 1 for a total of nine votes for the season.

Stats available online (only in the past year or two) show that he had between 37 and 48 disposals
in 11 matches.

That means he polled 0 votes in at least six matches where he had 37 or more disposals.
 

the_big_sav

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jason dunstall kicked 139 in 1992 at 6.32 goals per game.

kicked 7 goals in a 4 goal loss. long got 1 vote for 3 goals from 14 touches

6 goals in a 12 goal win. lawrence got 1 vote for 15 touches and 8 hit outs

7 goals in a 10 goal win. minton connel 7 goals in a 10 goal loss got 1.
hall 16 touches 4.2 3 votes. dunstall 17 touches 7.3

7.5 in a 1pt loss. collins 17 touches and a goal got 2 votes.

6.2 out of 8.12 in a 2 goal loss

he polled 18 votes. wynd won on 20
 

wagstaff

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Adrian McAdam kicked 7 goals (most of anybody on the ground) on his debut in 1993 for 0 votes. Perhaps he was so unknown at that time the umpires forgot to give him votes!

Paul Salmon (Rnd 19 1986 v Richmond) kicked 11 goals for a solitary vote. Meanwhile Leon Baker got BOG for a 13 possession game.

I wonder what the record is for the most goals kicked by a player in a match for no Brownlow votes.
 

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Oct 22, 2000
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<snip>
I wonder what the record is for the most goals kicked by a player in a match for no Brownlow votes.

During first few years of Brownlow there was only one vote given per match.
In 1925 Harry Davie (Melbourne) kicked 13 goals vs Carlton and received no vote.
In 1930 Gordon Coventry (Collingwood) kicked 17 goals vs Fitzroy and received no vote.
 
Oct 5, 2013
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Ablett was robbed many times by the umps

1985, rd14 - Footscray v Geelong: 28 disposals, 11 marks, 5.8 (Scratcher Neal pinches the 2 votes)
1985, rd16 - North Melbourne v Geelong: 19 disposals, 7 marks, 8.0 (flips the game on it's head in the second half) shoulda been 3 votes!
1986, rd17 - North Melbourne v Geelong: 21 disposals, 10 marks, 6.2 (had four different opponents for the day and setup two goals directly to Turner)
1987, rd2 - Brisbane v Geelong: 19 disposals, 9 marks, 8.5 (how Matthew Campbell got 3 votes is bewildering, have the game on film)
1989, rd21 & 22 - Geelong v North Melbourne/Richmond: At the peak of his powers playing half forward and not a single vote
1990, rd1 - Geelong v Hawthorn: 19 disposals, 10 marks, 5.4 (Utterly destroys Langford and the only one who kept Geelong in the game until 3qtr time)
1992, rd8 - Adelaide v Geelong: 26 disposals, 10 marks, 6.3 (played on the wing, half back and half forward)
1993, rd13 - Adelaide v Geelong: 17 disposals, 8 marks, 10.6
1995, rd8 - Richmond v Geelong: 19 disposals, 10 marks, 7.8 (ironically gets 3 votes for a similar performance three weeks later)
1995, rd17 - Sydney v Geelong: 18 disposals, 12 marks, 7.5 (Geelong by 12 goals but Paul Kelly has a dirty day and still pinches a vote)
 

stemline

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Ablett was robbed many times by the umps

1990, rd1 - Geelong v Hawthorn: 19 disposals, 10 marks, 5.4 (Utterly destroys Langford and the only one who kept Geelong in the game until 3qtr time)
Not sure that counts as robbed... when you lose by 115 points and any number of opposition players had a better game.
 

Cyclops

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A great one I just discovered:

Mark Bairstow, Round 4, 1991 - Brisbane vs. Geelong @ the Gabba
40 disposals, 3 goals, 5 behinds in a 102-point win, no Brownlow votes.

In the same game, Bill Brownless received just 2 Brownlow votes for his 27 disposal, 14 mark, 11 goal, 4 behind performance. Ruckman Damian Bourke got the 3 votes with a 13 disposal, 8 mark, 30 hitout performance.

Going by the stats alone (I was still too young to have seen it "live", as I was born in 1988), Mark Bairstow deserved to poll a lot higher than he did in the 1991 Brownlow Medal count. 580 disposals (only twice under 20 disposals) and 43 goals and during the H&A season is an awesome return for any midfielder, but he still finished 10 votes behind the eventual Brownlow winner that year, Jim Stynes. Stynes was a worthy winner though - 25 disposals a game for a Ruckman was seemingly unheard of at the time, and was simply too good a season to be ignored.

(puts on bullet proof vest and helmet) Stynes was a bit over-rated. An extremely fit bloke and a very nice human being off the pitch, he had a reputation among the few players I have spoken too as sniper and a kicker: in part this was due to a cultural clash, because in the Irish game its OK to give a bloke a bit of a kick in the shin, but they never punch (it seems like attempted murder to them) basically the opposite of our game where you can punch a bloke in the guts and its just being sociable but if you kick him: HERETIC!. I believe Stynes adjusted eventually but he remained a bit of an enforcer for his side: that's not in the Weet Bix History version of "Our Jim" the AFL likes to peddle.

That said the whole "story" of an Irish bloke becoming a decent ruckman was charming persuasive, and obviously to the umpires as well. Lets remember he was number 2 ruckman until O'Dwyer was injured and traded away, and O'Dwyer was B grade ruck-not s**t, but not top level. Stynes had the fitness to run any other ruckman into the ground but his tap work was nothing special: my old man called him a 6 foot 6 ruck rover and that was a good call as he provided the pretty talentless Melbourne midfield with another running body. He was a dynamic player who did a heap for his side, hard to match up on and made himself skilled enough to be a good midfield player but there is just no way he was the fairest or the best player in the league. Its one of the "the Brownlow is a joke" moments, there were better players and better rucks in the league in 1991. It was a lovely heart warming moment though.

Bairstow suffered from being in one of the most glittering midfields ever seen. He was running along side Buddha Hocking (Brownlow vote magnet despite being a bit of a fight starter) and the great Paul Couch (extremely nice man and Brownlow medallist) as well as some eye catching players up forward including Gary somebody: the half back line had Ken Hinkley in it, as silky a half back flanker as ever lived. Amazingly Hocking never won the medal either, perhaps fittingly as he was tough but he scored a bagful of votes nevertheless because he was a tough skilled gun. The closest current example is probably Selwood, although Hocking was harder and not a ducker. That Geelong side was dazzling, so its not surprising one of the flashy players was overlooked.

The only knock on Bairstow is he was utterly one way, I wonder if he ever laid a tackle in his life? He would get the ball pretty well, dash off with it and sock it 60 metres with his fat looking ankles, a very pretty sight on a footy ground. If his man got it then Geelong was in trouble because he would be 10 metres clear.
 

Goggin Our Best

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This one will trump the lot - concerning Hughy Mitchell who played for Essendon and after that was captain coach of Dandenong in the VFA in the 60s

Round 8 1955 Essendon versus Sth Melb

Mitchell was playing full forward and kicked 9 of Essendons ( who won ) 13 goals

He was opposed to Fred Goldsmith who played fullback for Sth Melb

Goldsmith got the 3 Brownlow votes !!! - what a joke - they reckon he got them - because he kicked the ball in alot from fullback that day

Oh yeah - and that year Goldsmith won the Brownlow Medal
 
Oct 22, 2000
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This one will trump the lot - concerning Hughy Mitchell who played for Essendon and after that was captain coach of Dandenong in the VFA in the 60s

Round 8 1955 Essendon versus Sth Melb

Mitchell was playing full forward and kicked 9 of Essendons ( who won ) 13 goals

He was opposed to Fred Goldsmith who played fullback for Sth Melb

Goldsmith got the 3 Brownlow votes !!! - what a joke - they reckon he got them - because he kicked the ball in alot from fullback that day

Oh yeah - and that year Goldsmith won the Brownlow Medal

As far as I'm aware, individual match-by-match Brownlow votes do not exist for 1955.
How do you know that Goldsmith received 3 votes for that game ?
 

Goggin Our Best

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As far as I'm aware, individual match-by-match Brownlow votes do not exist for 1955.
How do you know that Goldsmith received 3 votes for that game ?

I heard it straight from Hughy Mitchells mouth

About 10 years ago he was on Grumpy Old Men - with Bob Davis - KB and co - and he told the story ( he was still pissed off about it - good luck to Freddy he said - didnt mean it )

Apparently it was well known - because when Mitchell started to recall it - Bob Davis chipped in and said its a great story - so Bob was already aware of it - so the Brownlow votes in the 50s must have been public knowledge
 
Oct 22, 2000
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I heard it straight from Hughy Mitchells mouth

About 10 years ago he was on Grumpy Old Men - with Bob Davis - KB and co - and he told the story ( he was still pissed off about it - good luck to Freddy he said - didnt mean it )

Apparently it was well known - because when Mitchell started to recall it - Bob Davis chipped in and said its a great story - so Bob was already aware of it - so the Brownlow votes in the 50s must have been public knowledge

Thanks for that info (and the Hutchison link in the post after that).

I don't believe Brownlow votes match-by-match were public knowledge until the mid-1980s.
Not sure whether the AFL History staff still have any of the original voting slips from past years.
 

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