It was the first full round of the 2026 AFL season with nine big games of action across Round 1. Sydney and Gold Coast have impressed with their fast play and big scoring set to provide an exciting trend for the season. The Western Bulldogs are also 2 from 2 and looking ominous, while North Melbourne kicked off the season with a very positive note with a thumping victory. At the other end, the Saints will be disappointed to be 0-2 after being the most-hyped team of the pre-season, the reigning premiers Brisbane are also 0-2 and looking shaky, while West Coast might not get off the bottom of the ladder all season.
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 2026 Brownlow Medal Leaderboard page and check out the latest Brownlow Odds.
2026 AFL Brownlow Round 1 Overview
New Gold Coast recruit Christian Petracca might be the very early Brownlow leader after two best-on-ground performances in the opening rounds of the season. He's getting lots of touches, kicking goals and getting noticed by the umpires! He wasn't the only star of Round 1 with Marcus Bontempelli in sublime form, while Nick Daicos, Harry Sheezel, Bailey Smith, Max Gawn and Noah Anderson are also likely to poll votes this round!
Check out our 2026 Opening Round Brownlow votes below and our updated 2026 Brownlow leaderboard here!
2026 AFL Brownlow Votes - Round 1 Match Analysis
Carlton 10.15.75 def Richmond 9.17.71
The Blues held on, but only just, against a wayward Tigers team to grab their first premiership points of the season. Young gun Jagga Smith (32 disposals) had 16 touches in the first quarter alone, while Sam Walsh (30 disposals, 6 clearances) and Patrick Cripps (32 disposals, 9 clearances) were also prolific. Jayden Short (29 disposals, 10 marks, 1 goal) and Sam Lalor (16 disposals, 2 goals) impressed for Richmond.
Jagga Smith - 3
Patrick Cripps - 2
Sam Walsh - 1
Essendon 13.5.83 def by Hawthorn 21.19.145
The Hawks were far too good for the Dons on Friday night. Josh Ward (26 disposals, 6 marks) and James Sicily (26 disposals, 11 marks) were the leading ball winners while Jack Gunston (5 goals, 10 disposals, 8 marks), Nick Watson (4 goals, 17 disposals, 6 marks) and Connor Macdonald (24 disposals, 2 goals) were all lively up forward. Zach Merrett (32 disposals, 1 goal) was best for Essendon against the team he wanted to play for, but won't get any votes in this one.
Nick Watson - 2.5
Jack Gunston - 2.5
James Sicily - 0.5
Connor Macdonald - 0.5
Western Bulldogs 21.8.134 def GWS Giants 7.11.53
The Bulldogs smashed the Giants in impressive fashion with Marcus Bontempelli set to collect another three votes for his 33 disposals, 6 marks, 6 clearances and 3 goals. Aaron Naughton (6 goals, 15 disposals, 11 marks) and Sam Darcy (4 goals, 16 disposals) were superb up forward, Matthew Kennedy (27 disposals, 6 marks, 8 clearances, 1 goal) and Tom Liberatore (29 disposals, 7 marks, 6 tackles, 6 clearances, 1 goal) were tough in the middle, while Tim English (22 disposals, 6 marks, 23 disposals) was too good in the ruck. Lachie Ash (31 disposals, 13 marks) and Finn Callaghan (27 disposals, 2 goals) tried hard for the Giants.
Marcus Bontempelli - 3
Aaron Naughton - 2
Tim English - 0.5
Tom Liberatore - 0.5
Geelong 16.14.110 def Fremantle 14.16.100
The Cats recovered from a 35-point deficit to run over the top of the Dockers. Max Holmes (32 disposals, 7 marks, 8 tackles) provided the spark to ignite the Cats, Bailey Smith (31 disposals, 7 marks, 1 goal) was busy through the middle while Shannon Neale (5 goals, 9 disposals) and Jeremy Cameron (23 disposals, 10 marks, 3 goals) were excellent up forward. Luke Jackson (27 disposals, 8 tackles, 22 hitouts, 10 clearances, 1 goal) will likely be in the votes, while Caleb Serong (30 disposals, 8 clearances, 1 goal) was busy for the Dockers.
Max Holmes - 3
Luke Jackson - 2
Jeremy Cameron - 0.5
Shannon Neale - 0.5
Sydney 15.14.104 def Brisbane 8.12.60
The Swans recorded a great win over the premiers but it came at a cost with superstars Errol Gulden and Isaac Heeney both leaving the game late with injury. Gulden had been good with 20 disposals, 6 marks, 8 tackles and a goal up until that point. Riley Bice (28 disposals, 6 marks) was the leading ball winner, Tom McCartin (27 disposals, 8 marks) and Nick Blakey (25 disposals, 6 marks, 1 goal) were good, while Joel Amartey (5 goals, 13 disposals, 8 marks) hit the scoreboard. Dayne Zorko (30 disposals, 11 marks) and Lachie Neale (28 disposals, 9 clearances) stood out for the Lions.
Joel Amartey - 3
Nick Blakey - 2
Tom McCartin - 1
Collingwood 11.13.79 def Adelaide 13.15.93
The Crows won a hard-fought match against the Pies to get their season off to a winning start. Wayne Milera (34 disposals, 6 marks) and Josh Worrell (27 disposals, 8 marks) controlled things across half-back while Alex Neal-Bullen (26 disposals, 7 marks, 1 goal) and Josh Rachele (24 disposals, 6 marks, 1 goal) were influential. Nick Daicos (33 disposals, 6 marks, 2 goals, 790 metres gained) should feature in the votes in a losing effort, while Dan Houston (32 disposals, 11 marks) also continued his strong start to the year.
Wayne Milera - 3
Nick Daicos - 2
Josh Worrell - 1
North Melbourne 17.11.113 def Port Adelaide 9.13.67
The Roos are on the march after winning their Round 1 clash against the Power in emphatic fashion. Dylan Stephens (29 disposals, 11 marks, 1 goal) played his best game for the club, while Harry Sheezel (31 disposals, 8 marks), Luke Parker (24 disposals, 8 marks, 1 goal) and Luke Davies-Uniacke (24 disposals, 6 marks, 6 clearances) were excellent. Zak Butters (23 disposals, 7 tackles, 9 clearances) and Connor Rozee (24 disposals, 7 marks) tried hard for the Power but didn’t get much support.
Dylan Stephens - 3
Harry Sheezel - 2
Luke Davies-Uniacke - 1
Melbourne 18.12.120 def St Kilda 15.17.107
Melbourne have unleashed an exciting new brand of football under new coach Steven King to defeat the Saints. Max Gawn (22 disposals, 36 hitouts, 1 goal) was relentless all day while Jacob van Rooyen (6 goals, 14 disposals, 7 marks) had his best game for the club. Max Hall (26 disposals, 6 clearances, 4 goals) looks likely to pick up votes, while Jack Sinclair (31 disposals, 7 marks) was also very good.
Max Gawn - 3
Jacob van Rooyen - 2
Max Hall - 1
Gold Coast 20.11.131 def West Coast 10.12.72
The Suns continued their hot start to the season as they easily accounted for the lowly Eagles. Christian Petracca could be the early Brownlow leader with another superb game that featured 23 disposals, 6 clearances and 4 goals. Jarrod Witts (20 disposals, 51 hitouts, 7 clearances, 1 goal) was superb in the ruck while Noah Anderson (34 disposals, 1 goal) and Joel Jeffrey (28 disposals) won plenty of ball. Milan Murdock (22 disposals, 2 goals) was arguably the Eagles best player on debut.
Christian Petracca - 3
Jarrod Witts - 2
Noah Anderson - 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.
