Gather Round was a mostly wet one in Adelaide with plenty of rain and slippery conditions on the field. That didn't slow the Swans as they were too strong for the Suns to rise to the top of the ladder. The Hawks stunned the Dogs, while the Cats, Giants and Crows were also impressive. Richmond are now the only team yet to taste a victory after Essendon surprised everyone with an upset win over a disappointing Melbourne.
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 5 Overview
Gather Round seems a good round if you took some value on some of the other Brownlow fancies outside of Nick Daicos or Marcus Bontempelli. We should see the likes of Isaac Heeney, Finn Callaghan, Lachie Neale, Bailey Smith, Max Holmes, Zak Butters and Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera all poll well this round to tighten the gap, or perhaps even take over the lead, in the Brownlow Medal count!
Check out our 2026 Round 5 Brownlow votes below and our updated 2026 Brownlow leaderboard here!
2026 AFL Brownlow Votes - Round 5 Match Analysis
Adelaide 17.12.114 def Carlton 12.14.86
In a competitive game, the Crows wrestled the lead at half time before the rain came to make it a tough slog for both teams. Josh Rachele was electric early with 4 goals and finished with 26 disposals and 6 clearances to be best on ground. Izak Rankine (22 disposals, 7 tackles, 2 goals) was back to his best while Sam Berry (29 disposals, 6 tackles) did the grunt work in the middle. Sam Walsh had 15 touches in the first quarter before ending with 28 disposals and 8 tackles, while Patrick Cripps (29 disposals, 9 tackles, 7 clearances) also stood tall.
Josh Rachele - 3
Izak Rankine - 2
Sam Walsh - 0.5
Patrick Cripps - 0.5
Collingwood 5.9.39 def by Fremantle 7.3.45
God this was a shocking game. Yes, there was some rain but the constant bombing down the line and stoppage after stoppage was painful to watch. The Dockers decided to start trying in the last five minutes and that was enough to win the game. We should be taking votes away rather than handing them out for this one, but Luke Jackson (17 disposals, 9 tackles, 38 hitouts) was the difference as he stood tall as the solo ruck when Sean Darcy went down. Luke Ryan (25 disposals, 10 marks) did as he pleased behind the ball, with Jordan Clark (28 disposals) and Caleb Serong (24 disposals, 7 clearances) useful contributors. Nick Daicos (31 disposals) showed his class in the slippery conditions and Jack Crisp (23 disposals, 6 marks, 1 goal) was solid.
Luke Jackson - 3
Luke Ryan - 2
Nick Daicos - 1
North Melbourne 9.12.66 def by Brisbane 13.14.92
The Roos hung in there in windy conditions in the Barossa but Brisbane’s class shone through in the end. Lachie Neale (30 disposals, 10 clearances) was a strong four-quarter performer while Zac Bailey (21 disposals, 2 goals) was lively. Jy Simpkin (27 disposals) played a great role in the midfield, with Luke Davies-Uniacke (27 disposals, 8 tackles, 7 clearances, 1 goal) also very good, while Luke Parker (25 disposals, 9 marks) was gallant in defence.
Lachie Neale - 3
Luke Davies-Uniacke - 2
Zac Bailey - 1
Essendon 17.11.113 def Melbourne 10.7.67
The Bombers are on the board for season 2026 to snap their 17-game losing streak against the Dees. Archie Roberts was phenomenal with 42 disposals, 15 marks and a goal to be best on ground. Zach Merrett (31 disposals, 1 goal) and Darcy Parish (33 disposals, 7 clearances) also won plenty of ball, while Peter Wright (18 disposals, 8 marks, 14 hitouts, 8 clearances, 1 goal) was effective as a ruckman against Max Gawn (22 disposals, 34 hitouts, 11 clearances, 1 goal). Kysaiah Pickett (28 disposals, 8 tackles, 2 goals) was again the stand out for the Demons.
Archie Roberts - 3
Zach Merrett - 2
Kysaiah Pickett - 1
Sydney 14.16.100 def Gold Coast 9.14.68
The Swans were too good for the Suns as Isaac Heeney starts to firm up in the Brownlow betting markets. Heeney had 33 disposals, 11 tackles, 10 clearances, 2 goals and 12 score involvements to be a clear best on ground. Brodie Grundy (20 disposals, 12 tackles, 36 hitouts, 7 clearances) was again a force in the ruck, while Tom Papley (17 disposals, 7 tackles, 3 goals) and Chad Warner (22 disposals, 6 tackles, 6 clearances, 2 goals) both showed brilliance that might catch the umpire’s eye. Reigning Brownlow medallist Matt Rowell (32 disposals, 7 tackles, 8 clearances) tried hard for the Suns.
Isaac Heeney - 3
Chad Warner - 2
Tom Papley - 1
Hawthorn 15.14.104 def Western Bulldogs 8.16.64
The Hawks were too strong in the stoppages to out-muscle the Dogs and claim a big victory. Jai Newcombe (28 disposals, 14 clearances, 1 goal) led the way in the middle, Jack Ginnivan (28 disposals, 9 marks, 1 goal) and Mitch Lewis (18 disposals, 10 marks, 3 goal) were lively in the forward half, with James Sicily (24 disposals, 13 marks) holding strong in defence. Brownlow favourite Marcus Bontempelli (26 disposals) was good but might not see any votes in this one.
Jai Newcombe - 3
Jack Ginnivan - 2
Mitch Lewis - 1
Geelong 17.20.122 def West Coast 11.10.76
The Eagles were competitive early but the Cats ran away with a comfortable win. Bailey Smith (34 disposals, 7 clearances, 1 goal) has shorted up in Brownlow betting, while Max Holmes (34 disposals), Tanner Bruhn (28 disposals, 6 marks, 7 tackles) and Tom Atkins (30 disposals, 11 tackles, 6 clearances) were also busy. Tom McCarthy (28 disposals) and Bailey Williams (20 disposals, 35 hitouts, 7 clearances) were best for the Eagles.
Bailey Smith - 3
Max Holmes - 2
Tanner Bruhn - 1
GWS Giants 20.11.131 def Richmond 11.9.75
The Giants flexed in the last quarter to run away with a strong win against the winless Tigers. Finn Callaghan (37 disposals, 6 clearances), Clayton Oliver (31 disposals, 8 clearances) and Jake Stringer (21 disposals, 1 goal) were impressive with their clearances around the stoppages as young ruckman Nick Madden (16 disposals, 7 tackles, 43 hitouts) got his hand on the ball first. Lachie Ash (35 disposals) and Toby Greene (29 disposals, 6 marks, 1 goal) also won plenty of the Sherrin. Tim Taranto (25 disposals, 10 clearances, 1 goal) was best for Richmond.
Finn Callaghan - 3
Lachie Ash - 2
Toby Greene - 1
Port Adelaide 9.13.67 def by St Kilda 12.9.81
Gather Round finished with another wet-weather battle as the Saints did enough to hold off the Power. Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera might have landed his first Brownlow votes of the season with 28 disposals, 9 tackles, 6 clearances and 2 goals in a best-on-ground performance. Callum Wilkie (23 disposals, 15 marks) and Hugo Garcia (26 disposals, 10 clearances, 1 goal) also played important roles. Votes may head to the Power with Zak Butters (31 disposals, 6 tackles, 1 goal) and Jason Horne-Francis (26 disposals, 7 clearances, 2 goals) both doing everything they could to get the Power up. The side story to this one was Zak Butters being reported for umpire abuse, eventhough he denies saying anything malicious. It will be interesting to see if it affects voting on Brownlow night.
Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera - 3
Zak Butters - 2
Jason Horne-Francis - 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.
