Brisbane Lions co-captain Lachie Neale has become the 16th player in AFL/VFL history to win two Brownlow medals after a close count on Monday night.
Neale shook his head in disbelief while getting up to accept his medal at a function with the rest of his teammates in Brisbane.
“I’m pretty rattled to be honest,” he said in his victory speech. “I did not expect this, and to be amongst some of those names that have won two is unbelievable.”
As they counted the final round, Collingwood midfielder and favourite Nick Daicos was on top of the leaderboard with Neale on 28 votes, until the second last game saw Western Bulldogs captain Marcus Bontempelli pull ahead with 29 votes. The remaining game of that round, Brisbane versus St Kilda, saw Neale poll three votes to take the lead and the medal, finishing with a total of 31.
The night wasn’t without controversy, with umpires criticised for giving Neale top votes in a game where some of his teammates played better.
Neale is the first player to win the Brownlow medal without being named in the All-Australian team since West Coast midfielder Matthew Priddis in 2014.
Photo: First Brownlow Medal (cropped) by Andrew Young is available HERE and is used under a Creative Commons licence. This photo has not been modified.
