Melbourne great Max Gawn fears the umpires’ new access to statistics before casting Brownlow Medal votes will strip the award of its “aura”.
Umpires will have access to 17 statistics, including impact areas such as clearances, score involvements, intercept possessions and spoils.
They will also be privy to more generic statistics such as goals, behinds, disposals and marks.
But Gawn is against the access and believes it takes away from what is a data-free award.
“I think it’s lost the whole aura of the Brownlow, but in 15 years that will be the new normal,” he told Triple M’s Mick in the Morning.
“The initial change is the aura is gone. (Umpires) had howlers, but they normally get it right.
“(Nick) Daicos still came second, so, they get it normally quite right.
“They are voting for something kinda cool, more how they go about it on the field from the umpire’s point of view rather than numbers.”
The change to the process comes after Gold Coast Sun Matt Rowell took out last season’s medal with 39 votes.
Rowell’s triumph would have been the record in any other year bar the one before, which was swept away by Carlton’s Patrick Cripps with 45.
The umpires came under particular fire last season after a Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera game where Melbourne’s Jack Viney collected best afield.
St Kilda’s Wanganeen-Milera kicked four goals – including the winner after the siren – and had 34 possessions in the best individual performance of the year., but the umpires only gave him two votes.
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