At the AFL’s night of nights it was the Carlton captain that shone the brightest to take home his second Brownlow Medal while some other stars also took home awards.

Cripps breaks all-time record under 3-2-1 system

Going into the night as one of the favourites, Cripps delivered big-time to receive a record 45 votes under the 3-2-1 voting system. It surpassed the previous record of 36 votes held by Dustin Martin in 2017 and Ollie Wines in 2021. It was the 29-year-old’s second Brownlow Medal after his previous triumph in 2022.

Cripps said that he knew he had a good chance to win it coming into the night and expressed his gratitude for receiving such a high honour.

“So many guys have great years, but I knew it was my most consistent year,” he said.

“I’m super grateful to be up here. It’s something I don’t take for granted.”

Daicos caps off season nicely

Collingwood’s Nick Daicos was also a favourite coming into the night after a great season with injury arguably costing him the award last year. The 21-year-old was able to play a full season this year and finished up on 38 votes. This result would have given him the most ever under the new voting system if not for Cripps polling so well. After a slow start to the count which saw him poll just four votes up until round seven he came home very strong to poll votes in 18 of the last 20 rounds.

Other awards handed out

West Coast’s Harley Reid took out Goal of the Year for his running goal, while Nick Daicos kicked the other two goals that were nominated.

Collingwood’s livewire forward Bobby Hill took out Mark of the Year, pipping North Melbourne’s Zane Duursma and fellow pies teammate Jamie Elliot for the award.

Adelaide ruckman Reilly O’Brien took out the highly respected Jim Stynes Community Leadership Award for his advocacy work with South Australian school students on mental health. Adelaide Crows CEO Tim Silvers said the club was very proud of O’Brien’s work in the community.

“He epitomises everything about prioritising others and showing genuine care – which is one of our club’s core values,” he said.

He was one of the five nominees for the award with Fremantle’s Bailey Banfield, Sydney’s Harry Cunningham, and Tom Berry (Gold Coast) and his brother Jarrod (Brisbane) also recognised for their work with charities and in the community.

Bontempelli struggles

Despite making the All-Australian team and being named captain of the side, Western Bulldogs star Marcus Bontempelli struggled to poll votes throughout the count. With many people tipping him to win the Brownlow Medal, he was never in contention to win it across the night. He still finished with 19 votes but he would’ve hoped for a better result.

Fans weren’t happy with some parts of the count with several people taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, to share their shock and disappointment.

“Bont must lip the umpires all day – genuinely scandalous vote giving,” they said.

Another person said: “Name me a more iconic duo than Marcus Bontempelli and Brownlow Night robbery.”

Other stars get well rewarded

There were also some other gun players that polled well on the night, with Zak Butters (29 votes), Caleb Serong and Isaac Heeney (28), Tom Green (27), Adam Treloar (26), Errol Gulden, and Matt Rowell (25) and Jai Newcombe (24) all having breakout seasons for their respective clubs.

Photo: Patrick Cripps evading Jackson Nelson.jpg by Flickerd is available HERE and is used under a Creative Commons Licence. This image has not been modified.