The AFL’s night of nights has concluded with Suns midfielder Matthew Rowell claiming his first Brownlow Medal and the second Gold Coast player to achieve the feat in their 15-year history.
But who shone the brightest for the other 17 clubs in the eyes of umpires? And which club tallied the most votes as a collective playing group?
The 2025 Grand Finalists led the way for the clubs with most votes, while a bottom 10 side surprisingly staked their claim inside the top five, led by a star midfielder who polled 20+ votes for a second consecutive season.
Dual-Brownlow medallist Patrick Cripps led Carlton’s voting again despite a quieter year, notably beating out George Hewett, who averaged a career-high 28 disposals per game in 2025.
Entering the night, there were a few midfield duos set to battle with each other for who could claim the most votes, with GWS and Fremantle’s pairs split by just a single vote by the conclusion of the count.
Brownlow Medal vote leader for each club
Adelaide – Jordan Dawson (27 votes)
Brisbane – Hugh McCluggage (21 votes)
Carlton – Patrick Cripps (19 votes)
Collingwood – Nick Daicos (32 votes)
Essendon – Zach Merrett (14 votes)
Fremantle – Andrew Brayshaw (26 votes)
Geelong – Bailey Smith (29 votes)
Gold Coast – Matthew Rowell (39 votes)
GWS – Finn Callaghan (21 votes)
Hawthorn – Jai Newcombe (17 votes)
Melbourne – Max Gawn (23 votes)
North Melbourne – Luke Davies-Uniacke (11 votes)
Port Adelaide – Zak Butters (21 votes)
Richmond – Tim Taranto (20 votes)
St Kilda – Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera (23 votes)
Sydney – Chad Warner (21 votes)
West Coast – Harley Reid/Liam Ryan (3 votes)
Western Bulldogs – Marcus Bontempelli (25 votes)
Club leaderboard
99 VOTES – Geelong
98 – Brisbane
95 – Gold Coast
93 – Adelaide
91 – Sydney
90 – Western Bulldogs
88 – Fremantle
83 – Collingwood
82 – GWS
80 – Hawthorn
65 – Melbourne
60 – Carlton
60 – Port Adelaide
55 – St Kilda
45 – North Melbourne
40 – Essendon
33 – Richmond
12 – West Coast