AFL
1 year ago
Champion Data’s Brownlow Medal winner, top 3 roughie and top 5 prediction
By SEN
Leading footy analyst Daniel Hoyne has provided Champion Data’s predictions for the 2024 Brownlow Medal.
The count takes place tonight with Carlton captain Patrick Cripps the favourite narrowly ahead of Collingwood star Nick Daicos.
Two-time reigning champion Lachie Neale is also in the mix while the likes of Marcus Bontempelli, Zach Merrett and Caleb Serong are being tipped to poll well.
Hoyne is expecting this year’s winner again to poll at least 30 votes as seven of the last nine Brownlow Medallists have.
Champion Data’s 2024 Brownlow prediction
“I’m going with Patrick Cripps,” Hoyne said on SEN Breakfast.
“If you think of the players that are winning the footy at contest and clearance, that’s Cripps.
“We’ve also seen impact on the scoreboard, very much like he did in 2022 when he was kicking goals as a midfielder.
“I think he’s going to be hard to beat.”
Top 3 roughie
“The roughie that could potentially finish top three or top five is Jason Horne-Francis.
“We’ve got him as Port Adelaide’s leading vote getter and we’ve actually got him finishing third in the Brownlow.
“The impact he has, he’s contest and clearance player and he impacts scoreboard. His polling history from last year (16 votes) was a bit of an indication.”
Top 5 prediction
“Cripps by a little bit of a margin, Daicos second, Horne-Francis third, Lachie Neale fourth and Bontempelli fifth.”
1 - Patrick Cripps (Carlton)
2 - Nick Daicos (Collingwood)
3 - Jason Horne-Francis (Port Adelaide)
4 - Lachie Neale (Brisbane)
5 - Marcus Bontempelli (Western Bulldogs)
Hoyne also took a look at Sydney’s leading vote getters with many believing Isaac Heeney will poll the most for the Grand Final-bound Swans.
But Champion Datas has other ideas.
“We’ve got Errol Gulden actually having the most votes for Sydney,” Hoyne said of the Swans.
“Given what Gulden did last year (27 votes), that gives him recognition, and given that Isaac Heeney hasn’t been recognised purely because of the role that he’s played previously. We don’t have that polling history there (for Heeney whose season-best is eight votes).
“We’ve got Chad Warner coming in second for Sydney just behind Gulden and the Heeney just behind Warner.”
The Brownlow Medal coverage kicks off at 7:30pm AEST tonight.
