With both Petracca and Bontempelli missing in Round 3, Nick Daicos capitalised with a best on ground performance to move into pole position early in the season.
Brownlow Leaderboard - Round 3
| Rank | Name | Team | Votes | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nick Daicos | Coll | 8.54 | $3.00 |
| 2 | Christian Petracca | GC | 6.06 | $34 |
| 3 | Marcus Bontempelli | WB | 6.04 | $3.25 |
| 4 | Clayton Oliver | GWS | 5.84 | $67 |
| 5 | Jai Newcombe | Haw | 4.44 | $41 |
| 6 | Luke Davies-Uniacke | NM | 4.16 | $67 |
| 7 | Justin McInerney | Syd | 4.07 | $251 |
| 8 | Max Gawn | Mel | 4.06 | $151 |
Best Bet
Once again, it was a Nick Daicos masterclass in a Collingwood win, and there’s no doubt he’ll poll three votes.
36 disposals and two goals should comfortably secure the maximum votes against the Giants, and I don’t think the $3 will last much longer.
Although Bontempelli has been dominant to start the season, the Bulldogs have several players capable of taking votes off him. Daicos doesn’t have that same issue at Collingwood, and if the Magpies continue winning he should remain the clear favourite for most of the season.
Lay
I just can’t see Port Adelaide winning enough games this season for Butters to be a consistent poller.
Although the Power have a reasonably soft draw over the next fortnight with Richmond and St Kilda, they could easily drop both of those games. After that they face Hawthorn, Geelong, Adelaide, the Western Bulldogs and Gold Coast.
As it stands, Butters sits just outside our top Brownlow chances despite currently being listed among the favourites in the betting.
Value Bet
North Melbourne have a good stretch coming up, and if they can string together a few wins, Luke Davies-Uniacke will be much shorter than the $67 currently available.
LDU has polled 42 votes over the last three seasons, which is impressive considering North Melbourne has won just 11 games in that period.
His contested ball numbers fit the Brownlow profile perfectly and he’s currently averaging a career-high disposal number. Definitely one to watch.
The Voting System - Why We Use a Weighted Average Approach
We use a weighted average system for Brownlow voting to improve accuracy and fairness in assessing player performances. The traditional 3-2-1 method limits vote allocations to whole numbers, often forcing a clear distinction between players whose performances may have been nearly identical. By contrast, our weighted system allows for decimal-based scoring such as 2.5, 1.5 and 0.5, providing a more nuanced reflection of each player’s impact on the game.
This approach maintains the same total vote count per game but offers greater flexibility in how those votes are distributed. As a result, it reduces arbitrary decision-making and captures subtle performance differences more effectively.
