#{ matt petracca }

[thecoltsparks-a]

​Closed Starter: @matt-petracca

Colton looked at the long line that was coming out of the coffee shop and part way down the road. “I forgot today was free donut day.” He said with a small sigh to the person who was standing nearby. “I could probably go back to my house and make a coffee faster than waiting here.” He said, although Colton knew quite well that he was going to end up staying here and waiting in the line. The man had an issue when it came to turning down free stuff, even though he could more than afford a donut. 

[fazcinatingblog]

Make it hurt less

I'm sorry, if only Nick's pesky teammates hadn't stolen votes off him earlier in the count.

Pffft, that stupid lion, he's already got a Brownlow GIVE SOMEONE ELSE A TURN.

Sigh. I wish pesto petracca had polled better. I wish Ash Johnson had won mark of the year. I wish Noah Anderson had actually won, turned to his date Matthew and lent in for a kiss and Matt smiles wider and bits of grass froth out of Matt's mouth and Noah pauses right before his lips touch Matt's and asks "where's this from?" And Matt answers "the lawn outside Nana's house" and Noah presses his lips against Matt's and then leans back, smiles, says "I think that's your best yet" and then goes up on stage to collect his medal.

[tctteredwings]

for: @matthew-petracca location: matt's place

"I come bearing coffee," Leo announced as his friend opened the door, smiling brightly and holding the cup aloft. "You doing okay?" He knew that Matt had a habit of working a little too much, so whenever he got a chance to try and make the other man's day a little brighter, he would.

[matthew-petracca]

Welcome to New York {MATTHEW PETRACCA} !! They are a {34} year old {CIS MALE} who uses {HE/HIM} pronouns. They’re a/an {PEDIATRIC SURGEON} who has been in town for {ONE YEAR}, who lives in {BROOKLYN}. When looking at {MATT} you automatically think of {DOUBLE SHOTS OF ESPRESSO, ORGANIZED CHAOS, CLARK KENT GLASSES} but that probably makes sense since they also remind you of {GRANT GUSTIN}. You can always hear {YOU’RE ON YOUR OWN KID} by {TAYLOR SWIFT} coming from their place. Who knows what kind of trouble they’re going to get themselves into.

tw: divorce, cancer

Matt grew up in Florida with his younger sister. His mom was a dental hygienist and his father worked a standard office job. He has a pretty standard childhood. He was close with his sister, who he was always over protective of. His mom was a dental hygienist and his father worked a boring office job and they fought constantly, but didn’t get a divorce until their kids were grown and out of college.

Matt was a smart kid, too smart for his own good. From a young age, he was bored and started acting out in class just to entertain himself. He was constantly getting in trouble in elementary school for trying to crack jokes and disrupting the class. He was labeled a problem child until the third grade when a teacher even considered that he wasn’t a dumb kid, he was just bored and couldn’t sit still. He ended up getting tested and being diagnosed with ADHD. After that, he was still the class clown, but at least he was able to sit still.

He excelled in high school, when he was finally able to take classes that challenged him enough to keep his brain occupied. And it was in his sophomore year honors english class that he met his first girlfriend. Despite Matt being the class clown that was friends with everyone, he was still awkward as hell when it came to girls. He asked her to go to the homecoming game with him, which was awkward and uncomfortable, considering neither of them knew anything about football, nor did they care about it. Thankfully, neither of them knew how to admit they didn’t want a second date, so they went on another one. This time it was to a bookstore, a place they were both comfortable in. What was only supposed to be an hour, turned into hours of them browsing the aisles of the bookstore, laughing and talking.

When it was time to go to college, Matt got into the University of Pennsylvania, with the plan to go premed. His girlfriend went to school in New York, and despite the fact that most high school couples didn’t make it past Thanksgiving break, the pair managed to make it work. It wasn’t uncommon for them to find the cheapest bus they could and see each other every few weekends, even if they spent the majority of the weekend studying together.

In college, Matt was a social butterfly, joining clubs and going out on weekends. He made friends everywhere he went, something that is still true today.

After graduating with honors, Matt took a year off to apply to medical school, and to focus on getting married to his high school sweetheart. They had a small wedding, promising each other they would have a bigger wedding to renew their vows once they both finished their schooling and had some money. Unfortunately their marriage didn’t last. Matt went to medical school in Massachusetts, and his wife wanted to stay in New York for grad school. They weren’t in a place where they could put their relationship first, unfortunately. And despite how much they loved each other, it wasn’t enough and they filed for divorce before their first anniversary.

Heartbroken from his divorce, he made his way through his first year of medical school. He was experiencing health issues, but he assumed it was stress from school and divorce, and told himself it would all clear up once his break rolled around. Unfortunately it didn’t and his sister forced him to go to a doctor to get checked out. After a whole slew of tests, he was diagnosed with lymphoma. As a result, he took a year off of medical school to undergo treatment and recover. Thankfully, he has been in remission ever since.

Once he was in remission, he was able to go back to medical school and graduate. He was matched to a residency program in Boston, where he thought he would stay. Until a job offer he couldn't refuse brought him to New York.

Matt has found his home in the city, even though he still gets lost once a week on the subway. Thanks to his outgoing and friendly personality, he was able to make tons of friends, even though his job doesn’t always allow him to see them. And although he isn’t always the most present friend, he is the most loyal. He will drop everything for those he cares about, and do anything for them. And he’s sorry he didn’t respond to your text three days ago, he wasn’t ignoring you, he just forgot. When he has free time he is usually exploring the city, making conversation with and befriending anyone who is willing.

[sublimeobservationarcade]

AFL Ruckman Brodie Grundy Was Made For The Bloods

Over 40, 000 AFL fans packed the SCG for the Sydney Swans vs Melbourne Demons opening round of the 2024 season. What were the main takeaways from this novel opening match. AFL ruckman Brodie Grundy was made for the Bloods and played with real heart and soul to get them over the line. He nullified Max Gawn as the game went on and put in a massive last quarter to turn the tide the Swans way. Grundy had 22 disposals, 15 contested, 9 clearances, 6 tackles, 4 marks and 31 hit outs. Sydney defeated Melbourne 12.14 to 9.10. The Demons had outscored the Swans in the third term to threaten their chances of victory. ���The clash between Grundy and former teammate Max Gawn was a pivotal duel even if it took until the last term for it to greatly influence the result as Sydney surged late to clinch a 22-point triumph over Melbourne in the season-opener on Thursday night.” (https://www.afl.com.au/news/1082826/afl-match-report-sydney-swans-v-melbourne-demons-opening-round)

Grundy Excelled In The Ruck For Sydney Against Gawn

Isaac Heeney played in the middle, as the big bodied mid the Swans so needed. He was a big part of why they won this match. Sydney went into this game without Luke Parker and Callum Mills. Early on they were outmuscled and outbodied in the middle by Melbourne. Viney, Oliver, and Petracca were dominant out of the centre in the first half. The Demons seemed poised to possibly over run Sydney, as they did in round 24 last year. That this did not eventuate was on the back of Grundy, Heeney, and a lift by the whole Blood’s team in the final quarter. “Bayley Fritsch booted four goals for the Demons, including three in a blistering third term that looked like turning the match in the visitors' favour.” (Martin Pegan)

Sydney Swans Beat Melbourne In Opening AFL Round

Chad Warner really picked up his effectiveness in that last term, as did Gulden on the wing. Nick Blakey was a standout performer breaking the lines and delivering the ball deep into attack on numerous occasions. It was a slippery night and the ball was like a big red oval of soap. Hardly anyone could hold a mark, especially anyone over 184 cm. Logan McDonald finished with a goal but was well held by the big Demon defence for much of the match. It was not a night for big forwards at either end. It was a humid evening more suited to players like Papley and Rowbottom. Hayden McLean managed a couple of goals and supported Grundy well in the ruck. Sam Wicks came on late and played like a real senior footballer kicking a goal and applying pressure up forward.

Grundy Plays Like A Ruck Rover & Competes Hard Brodie Grundy plays like an old style ruck rover and is just what the doctor ordered for the Swans in the middle. As a longtime follower of the Swan’s fortunes the team has been lacking this kind of physical presence for at least a decade in the ruck. Grundy himself said in an interview last night – it is only one match – but hallelujah the much needed big man has arrived at last! Brodie plays with real intent and he got better as the night went on. Not even a blue bottle sting behind the ear on the morning of the match could stop Brodie from playing his heart out! Melbourne were tough and played hard to make this a hard fought victory.

Good Signs For Swans Going Forward In 2024 Season James Jordon, the former Dee, tried hard and showed signs of becoming a valuable acquisition into the Swans lineup. Dane Rampe was good down back directing forays forward on the back of his experience. Lewis Melican got better as the game wore on. Ollie Florent was good early on and never stopped contributing. Will Hayward popped up in the second half for a couple of valuable goals. Justin McInerney played hard and never shirked a contest. There were good signs from Matt Roberts as a young player with a future for Sydney. It Was Hot In Sin City Tonight It was a hot, humid and slippery night at the SCG for the AFL opener and Sydney got the chocolates in the end. It was a hard in and under type of contest. The Bloods wanted to win more in that last quarter. It was a celebration of 150 years of South Melbourne/Sydney and a legion of past greats were at the game for a special function. Names like Greg Williams, Peter Bedford, Graham Teasdale, and Paul Kelly – all Brownlow Medal winners - were in attendance. Coach John Longmire was proud as punch in the end at the efforts of his young charges. A great victory over a quality opponent. ©WordsForWeb

Big shoes to be filled!!! Read the full article

[bongaboi]

Lachie Neale: 2023 AFL Brownlow Medal Winner

STAR Brisbane midfielder Lachie Neale has won the 2023 Brownlow Medal, becoming just the 16th player in VFL/AFL history to win the prestigious award multiple times after prevailing in a thrilling count on Monday night.

Neale, who won the 2020 Brownlow Medal in a dominant season and will be playing to win his first premiership in Saturday's Grand Final, polled 31 votes to win from Western Bulldogs captain Marcus Bontempelli on 29.

The brilliant onballer was confirmed as the winner only after collecting three votes in the final round of the season, with five players entering round 24 as winning chances.

Collingwood star Nick Daicos (28 votes) finished third after entering the final round level with Neale, with Sydney wingman Errol Gulden (27), Port Adelaide star Zak Butters (27), and Melbourne Norm Smith medallist Christian Petracca narrowly behind on 26.

It was Neale who surpassed them all, however, after saving his seventh best on ground performance until the final round of the year, receiving his Medal in Brisbane as he prepares for Saturday's Grand Final.

Neale joined club great's Jason Akermanis (2001) and Simon Black (2002) in winning the Brownlow Medal during the week of a Grand Final appearance, with Michael Voss (1996) making it five Medals in total for Brisbane.

The former Docker, who joins ex-teammate Nat Fyfe as a dual winner, was rewarded for a season in which he averaged 27.4 disposals across 23 home-and-away games, averaging 8.1 clearances as one of the game's stoppage specialists.

It was a different season for Neale compared to his 2020 win, which also saw him poll 31 votes but instead win by a massive 10 votes from runner-up Travis Boak, also collecting the AFL Players Association MVP and AFL Coaches Association Player of the Year.

The ball-winner, who was runner-up to Patrick Cripps last year, was caught by surprise as he emerged as a winning threat through the evening.

He was the first player to win the most prestigious individual award without being named in the All-Australian team since West Coast midfielder Matt Priddis in 2014.

"It doesn't sit very well at the moment. I'm sure it will sink in at a later date. I'm pretty rattled to be honest," Neale said after being presented with his Medal by coach Chris Fagan at a function with teammates in Brisbane.

"I did not expect this, and to be amongst some of those names that have won two is unbelievable. To be in Brisbane, preparing for a Grand Final, is amazing. I haven't been involved in this week for a decade, so I'm excited."

It was heartbreak for Bontempelli, who was also runner-up in 2021. Daicos, meanwhile, led the count for seven weeks after round 17 but couldn't hold on.

The young Magpies star, in just his second season, was the pre-count favourite and made a fast start as expected, polling 13 votes to lead after six rounds with three early best-on-ground performances.

His votes dried up over the next four rounds, however, with the midfielder overlooked for votes in some of the bigger performances of his season, including a 41-disposal game against Greater Western Sydney in round nine.

Petracca and Neale instead made a run and jockeyed at the top of the leaderboard through the middle stages, with Neale taking the lead back for a three-week run after round 14.

Gold Coast midfielder Noah Anderson was the surprise vote-getter, sitting as high as equal second after 15 rounds following his fifth best-on-ground performance and remaining in striking distance thereafter.

The leading contenders all pressed with big games in round 16, with Daicos collecting his second consecutive set of three votes to move into second place on the leaderboard, just one vote behind Neale.

The 20-year-old continued to surge in a stunning run of post-bye form and took the outright lead in round 17 during a run of four consecutive best-on-ground performances.

Daicos had a battle on his hands knowing injury would strike early in the round 21 clash against Hawthorn, but he held the lead all the way to the final round of the season.

BROWNLOW MEDAL 2023 LEADERBOARD

Lachie Neale (Brisbane Lions) – 31

Marcus Bontempelli (Western Bulldogs) – 29

Nick Daicos (Collingwood) – 28

=4. Zak Butters (Port Adelaide), Errol Gulden (Sydney Swans) – 27

Christian Petracca (Melbourne) – 26

=7. Caleb Serong (Fremantle), Jack Viney (Melbourne) – 24

=9. Noah Anderson (Gold Coast Suns), Patrick Cripps (Carlton) – 22

[bridgeporthq]

The following characters have 48 hours to post or contact the main:

@leannerhodes (2 posts)

@karnajoykeenan (2 posts)

@shelbythompxon (2 posts)

@matt-petracca (2 posts) 

Please unfollow the following:

N/A

The following members are on hiatus:

JJ - November 21st

Mis - November 27th

Jess - November 28th 

[michicks]

closed | @matt-petracca​ location | Corn Maze, Pumpkin Patch & Fall Fun at Rhodes Family Farm

Mic looked over  at the other male, before looking back up at the entry sign for the maze. “You  sure you  are ready for this?” He asked him with a small grin. “I mean, I just don’t want you to be so scared or something that you  won’t be able to sleep tonight.” He grinned teasingly. Mic personally hated being  scared, so he wasn’t looking forward to it as he figured it would live  up to its reputation. Then again it might just have  been something his sibling had told him so he wouldn’t do it, only to give them a reason to tease him for it. 

[beathethompson]

closed | @matt-petracca​

Bea looked over at the stranger standing next to her in the queue in the café. “Oh, sorry --” She excused herself, taking a small step backwards. “You can go ahead. I am still trying to decide on which one of the season specials to test  out first.” She added with a small smile, “I am pretty sure I will land on a pumpkin spiced latte, but I do have  to admit the hazel nut once doesn’t sound too shabby either.”

[cityofdreamsgossip]

A little birdie told me that Dani and Graham hooked up on Valentine’s Day 👀

“Oh, did they now? Who is going to tell Matt? It’ll break his poor little heart.”

@danielle-m @grmhodson @mattpetracca

[dobriksyear]

They are just living their best life! 💛

[eringilfoys]

[davidsvlogs]

can we talk about how good Alex looks here?!

[matt-petracca]

Oh, look! It’s [MATTHEW “MATT” PETRACCA]! I heard they’re [33], a [MALE], and use [HE/HIM] pronouns, have been in town for [ONE YEAR] and are actually from [FLORIDA]. They are currently working as a [PEDIATRICIAN] and living in [DOWNTOWN BRIDGEPORT]. You know I personally think they look like [GRANT GUSTIN], but that’s crazy, right?

TW: Divorce, Cancer

Matt grew up in Florida with his younger sister. His mom was a dental hygienist and his father worked a standard office job. He has a pretty standard childhood. He was close with his sister, who he was always over protective of. His mom was a dental hygienist and his father worked a boring office job and they fought constantly, but didn’t get a divorce until their kids were grown and out of college. 

Matt was a smart kid, too smart for his own good. From a young age, he was bored and started acting out in class just to entertain himself. He was constantly getting in trouble in elementary school for trying to crack jokes and disrupting the class. He was labeled a problem child until the third grade when a teacher even considered that he wasn’t a dumb kid, he was just bored and couldn’t sit still. He ended up getting tested and being diagnosed with ADHD. After that, he was still the class clown, but at least he was able to sit still. 

He excelled in high school, when he was finally able to take classes that challenged him enough to keep his brain occupied. And it was in his sophomore year honors english class that he met his first girlfriend. Despite Matt being the class clown that was friends with everyone, he was still awkward as hell when it came to girls. He asked her to go to the homecoming game with him, which was awkward and uncomfortable, considering neither of them knew anything about football, nor did they care about it. Thankfully, neither of them knew how to admit they didn’t want a second date, so they went on another one. This time it was to a bookstore, a place they were both comfortable in. What was only supposed to be an hour, turned into hours of them browsing the aisles of the bookstore, laughing and talking. 

When it was time to go to college, Matt got into the University of Pennsylvania, with the plan to go premed. His girlfriend went to school in New York, and despite the fact that most high school couples didn’t make it past Thanksgiving break, the pair managed to make it work. It wasn’t uncommon for them to find the cheapest bus they could and see each other every few weekends, even if they spent the majority of the weekend studying together. 

In college, Matt was a social butterfly, joining clubs and going out on weekends. He made friends everywhere he went, something that is still true today. 

After graduating with honors, Matt took a year off to apply to medical school, and to focus on getting married to his high school sweetheart. They had a small wedding, promising each other they would have a bigger wedding to renew their vows once they both finished their schooling and had some money. Unfortunately their marriage didn’t last. Matt went to medical school in Massachusetts, and his wife wanted to stay in New York for grad school. They weren’t in a place where they could put their relationship first, unfortunately. And despite how much they loved each other, it wasn’t enough and they filed for divorce before their first anniversary. 

Heartbroken from his divorce, he made his way through his first year of medical school. He was experiencing health issues, but he assumed it was stress from school and divorce, and told himself it would all clear up once his break rolled around. Unfortunately it didn’t and his sister forced him to go to a doctor to get checked out. After a whole slew of tests, he was diagnosed with lymphoma. As a result, he took a year off of medical school to undergo treatment and recover. Thankfully, he has been in remission ever since. 

Once he was in remission, he was able to go back to medical school and graduate. He was matched to a residency program that brought him to Bridgeport, ME at Bridgeport Memorial in pediatrics. 

Matt has found his home in Bridgeport and he hopes to stay once his residency is complete. Thanks to his outgoing and friendly personality, he was able to make tons of friends, even though his job doesn’t always allow him to see them. And although he isn’t always the most present friend, he is the most loyal. He will drop everything for those he cares about, and do anything for them. And he’s sorry he didn’t respond to your text three days ago, he wasn’t ignoring you, he just forgot. When he has free time he is usually exploring the city, making conversation with anyone who is willing, and befriending the few people in town he hasn’t already. 

[valxortega]

Castaway Cove with @matt-petracca 

Today had been shit and Valeria needed a pick me up. Which is why she had invited her friend Matt to get cocktails and then go play putt putt at castaway Cove. Doing the course tipsy certainly added a new level to the fun. “ if you could only eat one flavor of ice cream for the rest of your life,what would it be?” She arched her brow questionably before positioning herself, game face on. She threw couple practice swings before missing. She threw down her club in annoyance. “Listen.. that balls a slippery mother fucker! Good luck, pal.”

[tkmedia]

The best Brownlow count in years… shame thousands couldn’t see it thanks to streaming debacle

Port Adelaide star Ollie Wines claimed the 2021 AFL Brownlow Medal in the most exciting count in quite some time… but an archaic TV rights situation meant many footy fans couldn’t watch a minute of it. Here are the big talking points out of the AFL’s night of nights. 7Plus… minus all the good stuff The integration of streaming services into everyday life has now given people an expectation that whatever they want to watch is now just a click away. With Kayo Sports a staple of every self-respecting sports fan’s monthly expenses, plus new faces such as Stan Sport and Paramount+ entering the market, we’ve grown accustomed to simply booting up our laptops or opening our phones and tuning in. But it seems Channel Seven – and the AFL – aren’t with the program, as it were. Because the first indication for thousands – if not more – Australians that something was amiss was when they logged onto Seven’s streaming service, 7Plus, for the Brownlow count – only to find no trace of it. Great news for Border Security fans, to be sure… but AFL lovers everywhere were left feeling rightly jilted. We only have smart TVs and there’s no #brownlow on @7plus WTF. Also no paid streaming option via @AFL either… how is this a thing in 2021?! @Channel7 — christie fekete (@ChristieFekete) September 19, 2021 I'm trying to stream the Brownlow on 7Plus (forgive me, I'm in lockdown!). But I'm getting Border Security instead. Either Peter Dutton is about to cause a big boil over by beating the Bont or something is going wrong here?#Brownlow — Richard Hinds (@rdhinds) September 19, 2021 Advertisement Can any ???? experts explain @7AFL’s logic in not making its #BrownlowMedal coverage available on @7plus? There must be a reason… — Marc McGowan ????✍️????????‍???????? (@ByMarcMcGowan) September 19, 2021 The reason why is simple: Seven don’t have streaming rights for any of their AFL-related content. After Telstra ended their AFL Live Pass access at the beginning of 2021, they now belong exclusively to Foxtel and Kayo Sports … who, as it happens, can show everything EXCEPT the two biggest events on the calendar. Namely: the Brownlow Medal and this Saturday’s grand final, which are the sole domain of Seven. It took Seven until the count started to notify expectant fans venting on Twitter that they wouldn’t be able to stream the count on 7Plus. PSA: due to rights restrictions, the #BrownlowMedal cannot be streamed on 7plus. You can watch live and free on Channel 7. — 7AFL (@7AFL) September 19, 2021 While the network took the lion’s share of the blame on social media last night, they’re not solely to blame for the shemozzle. It’s a farce in this day and age that supposedly the biggest sporting competition in Australia can prevent a network from live-streaming an event it has exclusive access to. Can you imagine Channel Nine doing the same with the State of Origin series? Fixing the contract up must be a priority for the AFL, and surely will be after Monday night’s debacle. It’s a shame it comes as too little, too late for many fans left in the lurch. Advertisement And fair warning – unless you’ve got access to a special set-top box in this list, you’re going to need to break out the ‘rabbit ears’ to catch the grand final on Saturday night. Ollie Wines – Brownlow Medallist, and straight-up savage Heading in as the favourite after an outstanding season, averaging over 32 disposals in Port Adelaide’s run to the preliminary final, Wines secured his place among the game’s elite with a maiden Brownlow, for himself and the club. Fascinatingly, he did it despite the very thing that arguably gave him that favouritism – a lack of teammates to take votes off him – being flipped on its head. Where Melbourne stars Clayton Oliver and Christian Petracca were expected to drag each other down, and ditto Bulldogs pair Marcus Bontempelli and Jack Macrae; it was Wines’ partner in crime Travis Boak’s 25 votes which was the highest club runner-up tally of the night. Boak’s outstanding polling, particularly early in the night, makes Wines’ achievement of equalling Dustin Martin’s record of 36 votes all the more impressive. In 16 of 22 games, he was deemed to be among the three best players afield – a record he now holds on his own.

(Photo by Daniel Carson/AFL Photos via Getty Images) Sealing the result with two votes on Bontempelli’s Bulldogs in Round 23, the unassuming country lad from Echuca, in Victoria’s north, then proceeded to win the footy world over with plenty of blunt honesty in his victory speech. When notified by host Basil Zempilas of his record-equalling haul, Wines responded simply: “I’m not sure about the numbers, but 36 sounds like a lot.” Always a keen footy fan, his favourite player growing up was another Echuca product in former Carlton swingman Andrew Walker; he’d reveal a hilarious anecdote about a call to radio station 3AW in “the early 2000s” to talk about his idol with legendary caller Rex Hunt. Advertisement Reckon you'll be able to get onto talkback tomorrow Ollie ????#Brownlow pic.twitter.com/O8cIBJRFD7 — AFL (@AFL) September 19, 2021 Wines then had them rolling in the aisles when he singled out a few Power teammates who had tagged along to Perth, despite little chance of polling many votes themselves. “We’ve got a really good crew come over tonight. A lot of the boys jumped on because I was a bit of chance, so I’m sure they’ll enjoy the night. “There were a lot of guys who weren’t a chance of polling votes – Tom Clurey… he asked for the after party invite, so he’s got that!” Finishing off the night with an impromptu phone call from Power president David Koch, the Brownlow will surely be some consolation for Wines after his team’s preliminary final defeat to the Bulldogs. It certainly was for his family. Scenes @ North Melbourne pic.twitter.com/fLHQDGCDVL — Maddie Wines (@maddiewines) September 19, 2021 Advertisement Forget ‘midfielder’s medal’, the Brownlow is a ‘favourite’s medal’ The last non-midfielder to win the Brownlow was Sydney legend Adam Goodes back in 2003 – and he was a ruckman who would win another ‘Charlie’ as a midfielder three years later. It’s no secret that the AFL’s most prestigious award is now exclusively the domain of the on-ballers. When Taylor Walker’s 9 votes is the most by any permanent forward, and Tom Stewart’s 8 the highest by a backman, you’ve got yourself a pretty clear discrepancy. However, in recent years the line has been pushed even further: it’s no longer enough to just be a midfielder to take home the Brownlow. Now, unless you’re one of the red-hot favourites being touted as a chance for months leading into the night, you might as well enjoy a cup of tea and turn in for an early night. Since Matt Priddis took home a surprise Brownlow in 2014, six of the seven medals have been won by the pre-count favourite. Wines, albeit a far closer-run choice among pundits than the overwhelming fancies of Patrick Dangerfield, Dustin Martin and Lachie Neale in recent years, polled accordingly. Don’t get me wrong: Wines, and those before him, are all indisputably worthy winners for outstanding seasons. But was his season really so astounding as to merit a Brownlow-record 36 votes (tied with Martin’s 2017 tally) and SIXTEEN appearances in the best three on the ground? You could say the same for Neale in 2020, who was adjudged by the umpires as best man afield ten times in seventeen home-and-away rounds, for a tally of 31. Perhaps the most glaring example of this is at the Western Bulldogs. Runner-up Marcus Bontempelli finished narrowly second behind Wines with 33 votes; while teammate and disposal machine Jack Macrae, the man who this year broke the record for the most disposals ever in an AFL season, finished with… 12. Not saying he should be leading but…. Umpires, let me introduce Jack Macrae. 12 votes!!?? pic.twitter.com/CTQ8P1TDTF — Alister Nicholson (@AlisterNicho) September 19, 2021 Advertisement Suggestions that the umpires have enough on their plate to be awarding Brownlow votes as well are fair, but it’s not going to rectify this situation. The obsession with the game’s biggest stars in the weekly cycle that is AFL media has made it just about impossible to head into a game without your eye being automatically drawn to the Bontempellis, the Wineses, the Dangerfields. If they’ve been the hot topics on every footy show all weekend long and then rack up 30 touches, regardless of their effectiveness, is anyone surprised when they continue to poll so spectacularly? All the while, the efforts of not just the gun forwards, backs and ruckmen of the game, but now the unassuming Macrae-style midfielders too, go largely ignored. For better or for worse, it seems we’re stuck with this trend. A bunch of hot candidates in 2021 at least made it interesting… but another Neale-esque count rout next year would be less than ideal. History made as records crumble by the bucketload Has a Brownlow ever produced so many new records? Well, the first one maybe, and those ones where two umpires gave the votes, but you get the idea. We’ll start with the obvious ones: Wines’ 36 votes equals Dusty’s highest-ever haul, while his 16 vote-winning games stands alone. It was a massive night for all the other top contenders, too; with Wines, Bontempelli (33), Oliver (31) and Carlton sensation Sam Walsh (30), it was the first Brownlow ever to feature four tallies in the 30s. The previous best? Two – between Martin and Patrick Dangerfield in 2017, Dane Swan and Sam Mitchell in 2011, and – one from the archives – Collingwood’s Des Fothergill and South Melbourne’s Herbie Matthews in 1940. Speaking of old-timers, the ageless David Mundy became the oldest man ever to poll more than 20 votes, getting to 20 on the dot at the age of 36. Not to be outdone, 33-year old Travis Boak (25 votes) is now the oldest man to poll 25 or higher. But it wasn’t a big night for others. Collingwood defender and premiership Bulldog Jordan Roughead set a new bar for the most games without a single vote, at 192. He beat out the previous holder, Geelong’s Tom Lonergan (191)… who was thrilled to pass on the baton. Note to all MC’s… delete from all future intro’s ???????? https://t.co/r9nChWw5HG — Tom Lonergan (@tomlonergan13) September 19, 2021 Disappointingly, though, one eight-year streak came to an end with Wines’ win. Lift your game, Echuca. Echuca has a McDonalds, so the streak is over. https://t.co/8j0jB3xxJ4 — Max Laughton (@maxlaughton) September 19, 2021 Read the full article