The 2024 AFL season kicked off in the Northern states for the first time with the Opening Round played across four matches in New South Wales and Queensland.
As usual, we’ll share our thoughts from every match of the AFL season, along with our Brownlow vote predictions and projections using our own system which has a proven profitable history over many years. For full details on how it works, see the section at the bottom of the page. We hope you'll use our free Brownlow tips to help you find value during the season and built a green book before the big night.
For links to every round of the season and full count, head to our 2024 Brownlow Medal Leaderboard page (coming soon).
2024 AFL Brownlow Opening Round Overview
Matthew Rowell seems destined to win a Brownlow and if he continues his Opening Round form throughout the season, then he's going to be hard to stop in season 2024. He was the star of the round and possibly the only clear-cut three vote winner for the round.
Nick Daicos, Patrick Cripps, Touk Miller and Tom Green are the other Brownlow contenders who may have caught the attention of the umpires during the Opening Round.
Check out our 2024 Opening Round Brownlow votes below!
2024 AFL Brownlow Votes - Opening Round Match Analysis
Sydney 12.14.86 def Melbourne 9.10.64
Sydney started their season in style with a good win over Melbourne. Isaac Heeney filled the gap in an injury-plagued midfield with 26 disposals, 13 clearances, 7 tackles and 1 goal to be the most damaging player on the ground. Nick Blakey (26 disposals, 9 marks) and Chad Warner (26 disposals, 1 goal) were influential while Brodie Grundy (23 disposals, 9 clearances, 6 tackles, 33 hitouts) got the better of the duel with Max Gawn. Jack Viney (30 disposals, 7 tackles, 7 clearances, 2 goals) was tireless for the Dees.
Isaac Heeney - 3
Nick Blakey - 1
Jack Viney - 1
Brodie Grundy - 1
Brisbane 12.13.85 def by Carlton 13.8.86
Carlton recovered from a 46-point deficit to roll Brisbane on their home deck by a solitary point!
This might be a tough one for Brownlow votes with no clear standout best afield. Charlie Curnow helped to swing the game with 4 goals from 11 disposals and 5 marks, while Harry McKay was the hero with the match-winning goal amongst 13 disposals, 7 marks and 3 goals. Patrick Cripps (23 disposals, 1 goal), Adam Cerra (25 disposals, 7 clearances) and George Hewett (27 disposals) were all good through the middle. Dayne Zorko (19 disposals, 7 marks, 6 tackles, 2 goals) and Lachie Neale (25 disposals) were best for the Lions.
Patrick Cripps - 2
Charlie Curnow - 2
George Hewett - 1
Harry McKay - 1
Gold Coast 14.15.99 def Richmond 9.6.60
Matthew Rowell likes to start a season hot and he was on fire as the Suns demolished the Tigers. Rowell had the second most clearances in AFL history with 20 clearances among 33 disposals in a best-on-ground performance. Touk Miller (28 disposals), Noah Anderson (25 disposals, 9 marks, 8 clearances) and Sam Flanders (26 disposals) were prolific while Ben King looked good with 5 goals from 10 disposals and 6 marks. It’s hard to see any Tigers featuring in the Brownlow votes but Nick Vlastuin was their best with 20 disposals and 9 marks.
Matthew Rowell - 3
Touk Miller - 2
Ben King - 1
GWS Giants 18.6.114 def Collingwood 11.16.82
The Giants and Pies are building a fun rivalry and it was the Giants who got on top in this one!
Tom Green (30 disposals, 6 tackles, 9 clearances, 1 goal), Lachie Whitfield (33 disposals, 14 marks) and Josh Kelly (32 disposals, 1 goal) all won plenty of ball, while Brent Daniels (4 goals, 22 disposals), Callum Brown (5 goals, 11 disposals, 7 marks) and Jesse Hogan (4 goals, 12 disposals, 7 marks) all smashed the scoreboard. Nick Daicos (34 disposals, 10 clearances, 1 goal) was good while Darcy Cameron (20 disposals, 2 goals, 30 hitouts) won the ruck battle.
Tom Green - 2
Lachie Whitfield - 2
Josh Kelly - 1
Callum Brown - 1
For those who need a refresher on how our Brownlow vote predictor system works, we assign 6 votes per game so that our total votes are the same as the official 3-2-1 system, however we break up those votes as we see fit across potentially more than three players. Some games are really tough to call which way the votes will go, so a better predictive model is to split performances and assign half points to each player where there is doubt. So for example if two players dominate and it's too hard to split their performance, they are given 2.5 votes each, with the remaining 1 vote given to another player(s). This will give us a predictive total closer to their true total, rather than guessing. We can then form a 'range' for each player (i.e. a min and max we think players can poll) with the thinking behind this that the variations from the half votes will even out over the long term.
If you intend on using our Brownlow votes to bet why not consider one of the best Australian sports betting sites which offer some great features for new customers. Also be sure to check out our Twitter page at @Before_You_Bet and continue returning to the site for our AFL tips.
