There have been some big performances to start the season, none more so than Christian Petracca whose career has been revitalised following his move north.
Brownlow Leaderboard - Round 1
| Rank | Name | Team | Votes | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Christian Petracca | GC | 6.00 | $6.50 |
| 2 | Nick Daicos | Coll | 5.34 | $4.00 |
| 3 | Justin McInerney | Syd | 4.07 | $501 |
| 4 | Marcus Bontempelli | WB | 3.25 | $5.00 |
| 5 | Patrick Cripps | Car | 3.12 | $67 |
| 6 | Max Gawn | Mel | 2.98 | $151 |
| 7 | Wayne Milera | Ade | 2.76 | N/A |
| 8 | Sam Walsh | Car | 2.56 | $41 |
Best Bet
The umpires receiving post-game stats is a potential game changer for Nick Daicos. Despite Collingwood’s loss to Adelaide, Daicos clearly had the strongest numbers on paper and will likely feature prominently in the votes in most games he plays this season.
He has very little competition for votes at Collingwood. In games the Magpies win, Daicos is often the standout performer and regularly in the frame for three votes.
Although Petracca has started the season strongly, Gold Coast’s midfield depth — particularly with the return of Matt Rowell — creates far more internal competition for votes.
Lay
It’s difficult to see Port Adelaide winning enough games for Zak Butters to be a genuine Brownlow contender this season.
Butters finished equal 11th last year in a team that won nine games. With Josh Carr stepping in as a first-year coach and Butters’ future continually making headlines, it’s hard to see the Power improving significantly on that win total in 2026.
He is also likely to attract more tagging attention this year. Despite sitting around the fifth line of betting, the path to the Brownlow looks extremely difficult for Butters.
Value Bet
Serong was unlucky not to poll maximum votes in Round 1 after a dominant performance against Geelong.
Fremantle’s next two fixtures present strong opportunities to collect votes. The Dockers host Melbourne in Round 2 before welcoming Richmond in Round 3 — both games they will be confident of winning.
Serong has finished inside the top ten in Brownlow voting in each of the past three seasons, making $26 an appealing price if Fremantle can string together a strong run of wins.
The Voting System - Why We Use a Weighted Average Approach
We use a weighted average system for Brownlow voting to improve accuracy and fairness when 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.
Our weighted system allows for decimal-based scoring (for example 2.5, 1.5 or 0.5), providing a more nuanced reflection of each player’s impact on the game.
The system still allocates six total votes per match, but offers greater flexibility in how those votes are distributed. This reduces arbitrary decisions and better captures subtle differences in player performance.
The result is more accurate predictions and a leaderboard that better reflects how games are viewed by fans, analysts and the broader football community.
