Brownlow Medal 2026 analysis and predictions

AFL BROWNLOW-MEDAL Staggering 50-vote reality making Nick Daicos the hottest Brownlow favourite ever... and how he can still lose McRae: Daicos heading towards captaincy | 05:23 Max Laughton from Fox Sports @maxlaughton September 20th, 2026 3:45 pm Is there any chance Nick Daicos, the biggest favourite in modern Brownlow Medal history, won’t win in 2026?

Well, the previous biggest favourite almost didn’t.

Dustin Martin’s epic 2017 season, widely proclaimed as one of the best in V/AFL history, had him as an almost-unbackable $1.05 favourite entering that year’s count.

But Patrick Dangerfield - the previous year’s winner by a whopping nine votes - came close to going back-to-back, polling 33 votes and drawing level with Martin in Round 23.

The Richmond great still won it, thanks to his 11th three-vote haul of the year. But there was at least some drama.