Some cracking games highlighted Round 8 with a thrilling draw to start the round between Collingwood and Hawthorn, followed by one of the most epic Showdowns in Adelaide that you will ever see! Meanwhile the Tigers landed their first win for the season as the Eagles continue to freefall. Injuries are playing a huge role this season with the Bulldogs struggling to cover their losses, while the Blues and Bombers might be looking for new coaches before the end of the year.
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 8 Overview
The draw on Thursday night will be an interesting one for Brownlow votes. We've got Nick Daicos potentially polling but it is a difficult one to assess. Both Daicos and Marcus Bontempelli are playing very sore, and may be rested in the coming weeks, but both are likely to poll to maintain their Brownlow Medal lead. Zac Bailey and Shai Bolton are in superb form as they rise up the leaderboard, while Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera, Max Holmes and Christian Petracca are contenders who are likely to make an impact in Round 8 polling.
Check out our 2026 Round 8 Brownlow votes below and our updated 2026 Brownlow leaderboard here!
2026 AFL Brownlow Votes - Round 8 Match Analysis
Collingwood 15.3.93 drew with Hawthorn 13.15.93
An absolute classic to kick off Round 8 as Dylan Moore kicked a goal after the siren to force a thrilling draw. Brownlow votes in draws can often be difficult, but Connor Macdonald was the best player on the ground with 28 disposals, 7 marks and 3 goals. Jai Newcombe (27 disposals, 8 clearances, 1 goal) and Karl Amon (30 disposals, 7 marks) were also good for the Hawks. Nick Daicos (34 disposals, 1 goal) was typically prolific, with Dan Houston (32 disposals, 7 marks) also providing good support.
Connor Macdonald - 3
Nick Daicos - 1
Dan Houston - 1
Jai Newcombe - 1
Western Bulldogs 15.12.102 def Fremantle 17.12.114
The Dockers confirmed their premiership credentials with an exciting win over the Dogs. Shai Bolton (30 disposals, 9 clearances, 1 goal) continued his hot form, with Luke Jackson (18 disposals, 8 tackles, 36 hitouts, 1 goal) the dominant big man on the ground. Hayden Young (20 disposals, 7 tackles, 3 goals) provided a spark, including a Goal of the Year contender, while Josh Tracey (17 disposals, 8 marks, 3 goals) and Murphy Reid (22 disposals, 1 goal) were very good. Marcus Bontempelli was clearly hampered with a persistent knee complaint but he was still excellent for the Dogs with 33 disposals, including 15 in the first quarter, 6 clearance and 2 goals.
Shai Bolton - 3
Marcus Bontempelli - 2
Luke Jackson - 0.5
Hayden Young - 0.5
Adelaide 11.10.76 def Port Adelaide 11.9.75
If the draw on Thursday night was wild, this Showdown was off the charts with both teams scoring a goal in the last minute as Brayden Cook pinched the win with just 10 seconds remaining. An absolute all-time classic! Sam Berry won the Showdown Medal for his 29 disposals and a huge 19 tackles. Wayne Milera (29 disposals, 6 marks) and Ben Keays (18 disposals, 6 marks, 3 goals) were also important. Aliir Aliir (21 disposals, 14 marks) had 8 intercept marks and was probably the Medal winner if the Power got home. Zak Butters (30 disposals, 6 tackles, 1 goal) and Ollie Wines (30 disposals, 7 tackles, 7 clearances, 1 goal) were next best.
Sam Berry - 3
Aliir Aliir - 2
Wayne Milera - 1
Essendon 11.13.79 def by Brisbane 22.11.143
Another day, another big win for the Lions as they firm in betting for the AFL Premiership. Zac Bailey was the catalyst with 4 goals from 21 disposals and 7 marks while Darcy Wilmot (32 disposals, 12 marks, 1 goal) and Dayne Zorko (27 disposals, 13 marks) feasted in the back half. Hugh McLuggage (25 disposals, 8 marks, 9 clearances, 1 goal), Will Ashcroft (28 disposals, 9 marks) and Lachie Neale (27 disposals, 7 marks, 1 goal) were also busy in the middle. Peter Wright (26 disposals, 27 hitouts, 2 goals) stood tall for the Bombers.
Zac Bailey - 3
Darcy Wilmot - 2
Hugh McLuggage - 1
West Coast 13.10.88 def by Richmond 15.9.99
The Tigers are on the board in 2026 as they overcame a huge number of injuries in their squad to defeat the Eagles. Jack Ross (29 disposals, 11 clearances) and Kane McAuliffe (28 disposals, 1 goal) won plenty of ball, Noah Balta (20 disposals, 6 marks, 20 hitouts, 6 clearances, 3 goals) was great while Seth Campbell (17 disposals, 3 goals) provided the spark. Harley Reid (26 disposals, 10 clearances, 2 goals) and Tom Kelly (30 disposals, 7 clearances, 1 goal) were best for the Eagles. First Brownlow votes of the season for Richmond.
Jack Ross - 3
Harley Reid - 2
Noah Balta - 1
Geelong 21.9.135 def North Melbourne 13.8.86
The Roos were in the fight until three-quarter time, then the Cats turned it on to run away comfortable winners. Max Holmes (29 disposals, 2 goals) was the leading ball winner, with Shaun Mannagh (18 disposals, 4 goals) and Jeremy Cameron (19 disposals, 8 marks, 3 goals) elusive up forward. Tristan Xerri (30 disposals, 7 tackles, 23 hitouts, 14 clearances) should be in the votes for his imposing display in the ruck.
Max Holmes - 3
Tristan Xerri - 2
Shaun Mannagh - 1
Carlton 9.15.69 def by St Kilda 16.12.108
It was a familiar script as the Blues led at half-time before the Saints blew the game open in the third quarter to run away with the win. Rowan Marshall (20 disposals, 9 marks, 10 hitouts, 3 goals) and Cooper Sharman (17 disposals, 9 marks, 2 goals) were dangerous targets for the Saints, while Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera (31 disposals, 1 goal) and Jack Sinclair (29 disposals, 8 marks) were busy around the ground. Nic Newman (28 disposals, 13 marks) and Oli Florent (30 disposals, 9 marks) were best for the Blues.
Rowan Marshall - 3
Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera - 2
Cooper Sharman - 1
Sydney 19.17.131 def Melbourne 17.12.114
The Swans held off Melbourne in an entertaining and high-scoring contest. Malcolm Rosas was the star with 7 goals from 14 disposals in an exciting performance from the small forward. Brodie Grundy (26 disposals, 45 hitouts, 11 clearances, 1 goal) won the highly-anticipated ruck duel with Max Gawn (18 disposals, 22 hitouts, 7 clearances, 2 goals), while Justin McInerney (29 disposals, 1 goal) and Isaac Heeney (33 disposals) were influential in the middle. Kysaiah Pickett (22 disposals, 6 tackles, 8 clearances, 2 goals) fought off a close tag while Tom Sparrow (21 disposals, 10 tackles, 6 clearances, 1 goal) continued his good season.
Malcolm Rosas - 3
Brodie Grundy - 2
Isaac Heeney - 1
Gold Coast 11.17.83 def GWS Giants 8.15.63
The Suns landed a rare win against the Giants to finish the round. Christian Petracca made easy work of slippery conditions to finish with 29 disposals, 6 clearances, 2 goals and likely another 3 Brownlow votes. John Noble (35 disposals, 12 marks, 1 goal) was excellent, while Wil Powell (21 disposals, 10 marks, 1 goal), Mac Andrew (24 disposals, 10 marks) and Noah Anderson (27 disposals, 6 marks, 1 goal) were also very good. Clayton Oliver (32 disposals, 9 clearances) and Finn Callaghan (28 disposals, 6 tackles, 7 clearances) were best for the Giants.
Christian Petracca - 3
John Noble - 2
Finn Callaghan - 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.
