Daicos’ 98 per cent reality as AFL’s night of nights looms — Brownlow Medal 2026 ultimate guide

Football’s night of nights is almost here, along with our ultimate guide to the 2026 Brownlow Medal.

The game’s top individual honour will be awarded at Monday night’s count, as Collingwood superstar Nick Daicos eyes a maiden win – entering as favourite for a fourth straight year.

Watch all the build-up to the 2026 AFL Grand Final, with expert analysis and full Grand Final day coverage plus exclusive commentary on the replay, on Fox Footy via Kayo | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.

WHEN IS THE BROWNLOW MEDAL?

The Brownlow Medal will be held on Monday September 21, the traditional slot at the start of the week leading into the grand final.

Coverage will kick off from 7.30pm (AEST), with the count to then get underway from 8pm.

WHERE IS THE BROWNLOW MEDAL HELD?

The Brownlow Medal count will be held at Crown Palladium in Melbourne.

HOW CAN I FOLLOW THE BROWNLOW MEDAL COUNT?

Foxfooty.com.au will have live coverage of the full Brownlow Medal event.

That’ll include the red carpet, every vote in our live Brownlow Tracker, all the news – including Goal of the Year and Mark of the Year winners – plus the wash-up the following morning.

You can tune into the Brownlow Medal on Channel 7 from 7:30pm (AEST) in Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth and stream it on 7Plus or via the AFL Live app.

MORE BROWNLOW PREVIEWS

ANALYSIS: Nick Daicos’ staggering 50-vote reality… and how he could still lose

ROUND-BY-ROUND: Monster cheat sheet for the EIGHT players who should poll best

HOW IS THE BROWNLOW MEDAL DECIDED?

Umpires vote 3-2-1 for the best and fairest players in every match. The player who receives the most votes at the end of the home and away season is declared the winner.

Should two or more players lead the count in a tie, multiple winners are crowned.

Players who were suspended are deemed ineligible.

WHEN WILL THE BROWNLOW MEDAL WINNER BE ANNOUNCED?

The Brownlow Medal count begins at 8pm AEST, and expect the winner to be confirmed at around 10:10pm AEST.

Key timings (all times approximate, AEST)

5:15pm: Red carpet guest arrivals commence

7:30pm: Red Carpet broadcast commences

8:00pm: Brownlow Medal count broadcast begins

8:35pm: Mark of the Year Winner announced

8:50pm: Retirees segment

9:00pm: Goal of the Year winner announced.

9:25pm: Jim Stynes Community Award winner announced

10:10pm: Brownlow Medal winner announced

10:45pm: Brownlow Medal broadcast concludes

WHEN ARE THE GOAL OF THE YEAR AND MARK OF THE YEAR WINNERS ANNOUNCED?

Both the Goal of the Year and Mark of the Year winners will be revealed on Brownlow Medal night, at approximately 9pm and 8:35pm respectively.

HOW MANY VOTES DO YOU NEED TO WIN THE BROWNLOW?

Historically, you needed to poll 30-plus votes to take out ‘Charlie’.

From the start of the 18-team AFL era until 2023, the Brownlow winner averaged just under 31 votes.

But everything changed in 2024, when Nick Daicos polled a record-setting 38 votes… and lost by seven to Patrick Cripps’ utterly ridiculous total of 45 votes.

The second-most votes in history were polled in 2025, when Matt Rowell won with 39 votes, with Nick Daicos (32) again finishing second.

It’s unclear whether this is a two-year aberration or the new normal with votes being more heavily concentrated amongst the top contenders.

The 2022 and 2023 counts were much more normal, won with 29 and 31 votes respectively, but given Nick Daicos’ performance in 2026 we’re much more likely to see the vote record challenged again than a return to those levels.

The previous record for the most votes in a season under the current system was 36, set by Dustin Martin (2017) and Ollie Wines (2021).

WHO ARE THE BROWNLOW MEDAL FAVOURITES?

Favourite. Singular.

Collingwood’s Nick Daicos is the shortest-priced favourite to win the Brownlow Medal in our records (since 2010), surpassing even back-to-back pre-count certainties Patrick Dangerfield (2016) and Dustin Martin (2017).

They entered their winning nights as short as $1.16 and $1.05, respectively. But after taking his game to another level in 2026, and without any other clear challengers, Daicos is a staggering $1.02 favourite with Pointsbet to finally claim Charlie.

Converting those odds to a percentage chance, Daicos is 98% likely to win the Brownlow.

Daicos polled a record-setting 38 votes in 2024 yet still lost to Patrick Cripps, who polled 45; last year, as the favourite for the third consecutive year, he was stunned by Matt Rowell who polled around 14 more votes than expected.

If there’s an unthinkable upset, it could come from Geelong’s Bailey Smith ($51), who was second-favourite last year and continued to shine in his second year at the Cattery.

Champion Data predicts Smith will finish second with the Western Bulldogs’ Marcus Bontempelli ($41) looking likely to hold onto his crown as the greatest player to never win a Brownlow.

Two-time winner Patrick Cripps ($67) is the only other player with double-digit odds, after a sensational year leading Carlton from 1-8 into the finals.

BROWNLOW MEDAL WINNER ODDS

Nick Daicos $1.02

Marcus Bontempelli $41

Bailey Smith $51

Patrick Cripps $67

Jordan Dawson, Jai Newcombe, Will Ashcroft, Isaac Heeney, Lachie Neale $101

Kysaiah Pickett, Luke Jackson $151

Others available at $251 and longer

All odds via Pointsbet as of 1pm Sunday

WHAT ABOUT THE SUSPENDED SYDNEY SWANS PLAYERS?

The five Sydney players suspended by their side for breaching club standards cannot attend the Brownlow Medal count, but they are still eligible to win it.

Isaac Heeney and Chad Warner’s names are likely to be called frequently, performing well as the Swans won 18 games on route to a top-two finish, though it is unlikely either will win and create a very awkward situation for the league.

Nick Blakey, Riley Bice and James Jordon are not contenders to win, though Blakey has polled a handful of votes over the past few seasons.

With the Swans having lost their preliminary final, their players will still attend on Brownlow night rather than having a function in Sydney.

It’s understood Charlie Curnow, Dane Rampe, Brodie Grundy, Logan McDonald and Tom McCartin will represent the club.

NOTABLE INELIGIBLE PLAYERS

Darcy Fogarty (Adelaide Crows)

Riley Thilthorpe (Adelaide Crows)

Taylor Walker (Adelaide Crows)

Zac Bailey (Brisbane Lions)

Harris Andrews (Brisbane Lions)

Will Hayward (Carlton)

Bailey Humphrey (Gold Coast Suns)

Ben Long (Gold Coast Suns)

Dylan Moore (Hawthorn)

James Sicily (Hawthorn)

Josh Weddle (Hawthorn)

Paul Curtis (North Melbourne)

Tristan Xerri (North Melbourne)

Jason Horne-Francis (Port Adelaide)

Liam Baker (West Coast Eagles)

Harley Reid (West Coast Eagles)

WHICH PLAYERS ARE INVITED TO THE BROWNLOW MEDAL?

Adelaide Crows

Jordan Dawson

Sam Berry

Wayne Milera

Izak Rankine

Josh Rachele

Brisbane Lions (function at the Gabba)

Lachie Neale

Harris Andrews

Josh Dunkley

Charlie Cameron

Logan Morris

Conor McKenna

Carlton

Patrick and Monique Cripps

Ollie Florent

George and Alice Hewett

Jagga Smith and Chloe Forster

Sam Walsh and Georgia Groves

Collingwood

Nick Daicos and Arlette Amor

Darcy Moore and Brayden Maynard

Scott and Alex Pendlebury

Steele and Alisha Sidebottom

Isaac Quaynor and Orki Rahimi

Josh Daicos and Annalise Dalins

Essendon

Andrew and Emma McGrath

Zach and Alexandra Merrett

Nate Caddy and sister Keira

Archie Roberts and Mia Busch

Sam Durham and Paris Bishop

Fremantle (function at Optus Stadium)

Alex Pearce

Bailey Banfield

Shai Bolton

Luke Jackson

Caleb Serong

Geelong

Bailey Smith and Chris Pang

Patrick and Mardi Dangerfield

Jeremy Cameron and Indiana Putra

Ollie Dempsey and brother Zac

Max Holmes and Jess Butler

Gold Coast Suns

Christian Petracca

Matt Rowell

Noah Anderson

Ben King

Touk Miller

GWS Giants

Lachie Ash

Finn Callaghan

Toby Greene

Lachie Whitfield

Clayton Oliver

Hawthorn

Jack Gunston and Dani Shreeve

James and Emma Sicily

Jarman and Annabelle Impey

Jai Newcombe and Georgia May

Nick Watson

Melbourne

Max and Jess Gawn

Kade Chandler and Amy Steele

Kysaiah Pickett

Tom Sparrow

Jack and Jaz Steele

North Melbourne

Harry Sheezel and his dad

Nick Larkey and Gina Lamont

Luke Davies-Uniacke and Timnah Poratt

Jy Simpkin and Chloe Wheatland

Luke and Kate Parker

Port Adelaide

Miles Bergman

Aliir Aliir

Zak Butters

Mitch Georgiades

Ollie Wines

Jason Horne-Francis

Richmond

Toby and Hayley Nankervis

Dion Prestia and Brooke Bailey

Tim Taranto and Tash Hoole

Nathan and Tayla Broad

St Kilda

Callum Wilkie and Izzy Lokan

Jack Sinclair and Jessica Edwards

Max Hall and Ruby Dixon

Brad and Samantha Hill

Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera and Liam Henry

Sydney Swans

Charlie Curnow

Dane Rampe

Brodie Grundy

Logan McDonald

Tom McCartin

West Coast Eagles

Willem Duursma

Tim Kelly

Milan Murdock

Bailey Williams

Elliot Yeo

Western Bulldogs

Marcus and Neila Bontempelli

Tom Liberatore and Maddy Krueger

Ryley Sanders and Molly O’Hehir

Ed and Elle Richards

Aaron Naughton and Ella Morris