Fyfe wins Fremantle's first Brownlow
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The Fremantle Dockers might not have a premiership trophy in the cabinet after 21 seasons in the AFL, but they can now boast their first Brownlow Medallist after outstanding midfielder Nat Fyfe won the award last night. Fyfe was a raging favourite to take home, 'Charlie', and he led the count from round four, opening up a huge 10-vote lead by the time the votes for round 14 had been read out.
At that point, Fyfe had amassed 29 of the 31 votes he would ultimately receive, but from there injury and a slight form slump took their toll on the long-haired Docker, and West Coast's Matt Priddis, who won the award against the odds last year, began to make a move. Fyfe played his last home-and-away match in round 21 having received his last votes against Richmond in round 17. Priddis polled two votes in round 21 to take his total to 27 and with two rounds remaining, he was still a mathematical chance to steal the Medal and go 'back to back'.
But Priddis did not poll again and Fyfe finished four votes clear of his fellow West Australian to become the first Docker to win the coveted award. The two players had fought it out for the 2014 medal, with Priddis pipping Fyfe by picking up two votes in the final round last year. (Fyfe would have been ineligible to win in any case, having been suspended during the season.)
Hawthorn's Sam Mitchell finished in third place with 26 votes. He had a white-hot patch from rounds eight to 10, polling the maximum three votes three weeks in a row. It was the third time in Mitchell's career he achieved a top-three finish, having also done so in 2012 and 2013. He also finished fourth in 20017.
Two Sydney midfielders, Josh Kennedy and Dan Hannebery, occupied fourth and fifth places in the count, Kennedy collecting 25 votes and Hannebery 24. Adelaide's Patrick Dangerfield capped a fine season with the Crows with a 22-vote sixth place finish. Dangerfield is widely tipped to become a Cat next year, with a move to Geelong seemingly a formality.
Richmond's Dustin Martin was rewarded for a fine season with 19 votes, as were two other midfielders, Fremantle's David Mundy and Callan Ward. North Melbourne's ruckman Todd Goldstein finished in 10th place with 18 votes. Goldstein had been seen by some as a chance to take home the award but he finished 13 votes adrift of Fyfe, reminding all football follower's that the Brownlow Medal is not the big man's award that it once was.
2015 Brownlow Medal leaderboard
31 - Nat Fyfe (Frem)
28 - Matt Priddis (WCo)
26 - Sam Mitchell (Haw)
25 - Josh Kennedy (Syd)
24 - Dan Hannebery (Syd)
22 - Patrick Dangerfield (Adel)
21 - Dustin Martin (Rich)
19 - David Mundy (Frem)
19 - Callan Ward (GWS)
18 - Todd Goldstein (NM)
Leading vote-getters by club
Adelaide: 22 - Patrick Dangerfield, 12 - Scott Thompson, 10 - Taylor Walker, 7 - Eddie Betts, 6 - Brodie Smith
Brisbane: 9 - Dayne Beams, 7 - *Stefan Martin, 5 - Dayne Zorko, 4 - Tom Rockliff
Carlton: 12 - Marc Murphy, 6 - Tom Bell, Patrick Cripps, 3 - Matthew Kreuzer, 2 - Zach Tuohy
Collingwood: 17 - Dane Swan, 15 - Scott Pendlebury, 9 - Steele Sidebottom, 8 - *Taylor Adams
Essendon: 10 - Dyson Heppell, 7 - Jobe Watson, 6 - Brent Stanton, 5 - Joe Daniher, 3 - Ben Howlett
Fremantle: 31 - Nat Fyfe, 19 - David Mundy, 14 - Aaron Sandilands, 10 - Lachie Neale, 6 - Stephen Hill
Geelong: 13 - *Joel Selwood, 7 - Steven Motlop, 6 - Josh Caddy, Mitch Duncan, Cameron Guthrie, Harry Taylor
Gold Coast: 7 - Harley Bennell, 6 - Charlie Dixon, 5 - Gary Ablett, Aaron Hall, Tom Lynch
GWS: 19 - Callan Ward, 12 - Jeremy Cameron, 7 - Adam Treloar, 6 - Dylan Shiel, 4 - Stephen Coniglio
Hawthorn: 26 - Sam Mitchell, 13 - *Luke Hodge, 9 - Jarryd Roughead, 8 - *Jordan Lewis
Melbourne: 14 - Bernie Vince, 10 - Nathan Jones, 5 - Jesse Hogan, 4 - Max Gawn
North Melbourne: 18 - Todd Goldstein, 8 - Shaun Higgins, Andrew Swallow, *Jack Ziebell, 7 - *Drew Petrie
Port Adelaide: 16 - Travis Boak, 13 - Robbie Gray, 10 - Brad Ebert, 6 - Ollie Wines, Chad Wingard, 5 - Sam Gray
Richmond: 21 - Dustin Martin, 17 - Trent Cotchin, 9 - Anthony Miles, 8 - *Brett Deledio, Alex Rance
St Kilda: 12 - David Armitage, Jack Steven, 6 - Nick Riewoldt, 5 - Leigh Montagna, 4 - Josh Bruce
Sydney: 25 - Josh Kennedy, 24 - Dan Hannebery, 12 - Tom Mitchell, 9 - Luke Parker, 8 - *Lance Franklin
West Coast: 28 - Matt Priddis, 17 - Andrew Gaff, 12 - Josh Kennedy, 7 - Nic Naitanui, Luke Shuey
W. Bulldogs: 13 - Marcus Bontempelli, 11 - Jack Macrae, 8 - Matthew Boyd, Mitch Wallis, 7 - Luke Dahlhaus
*Ineligible
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