AFL footy boss reveals umpire 3-2-1 ‘Brownlow’ votes for Origin

AFL Executive General Manager of Football Greg Swann says the change to Brownlow rules has been well received by the league’s umpires.

In 2026, umpires will be able to look at statistics when voting on the award for the first time in a bid to quell controversial decisions.

While statistics will play a part in voting this year, Swann doesn’t expect things to change much, as the umpires will still speak about who they perceived as best-on before looking at the figures.

He also revealed that the concept was trialled during the Victoria v WA Origin game, where the umpires cast votes while also taking stats into account.

Swann revealed that they had Nick Daicos as best on ground, which went against the shock call by Victorian coaches who gave the E.J Whitten Medal as the Vics’ best player to defender Lachie Ash.

“Yeah, it was (well received by the umpires),” Swann told SEN Breakfast.

“They'll still go in and have a chat (about who they think is best on, before looking at stats).

“We’ve trialled it, we did it during the Origin game, and it worked really well.

“They have a chat, and then they have a look at the stats and make their votes. 

“Yes (they disagreed with the coaches). I’m happy to say it because it was only a trial.

“They had Daicos 3, Bontempelli 2, and Jesse Hogan 1.”

While Swann agreed with the umpires’ perception of the game, he thinks that the difference between how they and the coaches saw the match just shows why the league has different awards up for grabs during the season.

“But again, I think it's just one of the things when everybody has a different opinion in the game,” Swann said. 

“I mean, there were certainly plenty of people who may have agreed with that or disagreed, but obviously, Lachie Ash was really good from the coach's perspective, but it's probably why we do have different awards. 

“The Coaches Award is really highly valued because obviously the coaches vote on it, and then the Brownlow's a different model again. 

“But for those that were at the game, I don't think those votes were way off mark, and obviously the coaches from the Vics had Ash, who was really good, and Jesse Hogan won the medal for WA, so they weren’t far off the mark.”

Swann also discussed this year’s rule changes and much more with Kane Cornes and David King on SEN Fireball.