The bye rounds are over as we enjoyed a full slate of matches for Round 17. However the fixture threw up an interesting quirk as the top nine teams took on the bottom nine. There were no upsets as all the favourites won with Sydney the only lower half team to get a win as they were favoured against Fremantle at home. It means Freo have dropped out of the 8 with only nine teams in contention for finals.
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 2025 Brownlow Medal Leaderboard page and check out the latest Brownlow Odds.
2025 AFL Brownlow Round 17 Overview
Another big round is in the books with two young guns in the Brownlow votes once again in Round 17 to build a little gap over the remaining contenders at the top of our Brownlow leaderboard. Noah Anderson and Nick Daicos are both a chance to get the three votes this round and they are the players to beat at the moment. It was also a round where a few forgotten stars rekindled their Brownlow chances with Zach Merrett, Tom Liberatore, Max Holmes and Hugh McLuggage climbing back up the leaderboard with strong performances.
Check out our 2025 Round 17 Brownlow votes below and our updated 2025 Brownlow leaderboard here!
2025 AFL Brownlow Votes - Round 17 Match Analysis
North Melbourne 13.7.85 def by Western Bulldogs 20.14.134
The Bulldogs crashed the party for North Melbourne’s 100 year celebrations with a comfortable victory. Tom Liberatore enjoyed his 250th game with 27 disposals, 10 tackles, 6 clearances and 2 goals in a best-on-ground performance. Marcus Bontempelli (25 disposals, 10 tackles, 2 goals) and Ed Richards (26 disposals, 9 clearances) were good as ever, while Aaron Naughton (5 goals, 14 disposals, 9 marks) was dynamic up forward. Colby McKercher (32 disposals, 9 marks, 1 goal) was the stand out for the Roos, while Nick Larkey (5 goals, 9 disposals, 6 marks) started on fire before fading late.
Tom Liberatore - 3
Aaron Naughton - 2
Marcus Bontempelli - 1
Carlton 8.11.59 def by Collingwood 17.13.115
Always a big game but the Pies were far too good for the Blues who continue to spiral in season 2025. Jamie Elliott was a star up forward with 4 goals from 15 disposals and 8 marks and will be hard to top for the three Brownlow votes. Nick Daicos (36 disposals, 7 marks, 7 clearances, 1 goal), Brayden Maynard (21 disposals, 9 marks) and Jack Crisp (24 disposals, 8 marks, 1 goal) were also among the best for the Pies. Not much to cheer about for the Blues but Zac Williams (19 disposals, 3 goals) was good up forward before being subbed out in the last quarter.
Jamie Elliott - 2.5
Nick Daicos - 2.5
Brayden Maynard - 1
West Coast 8.4.52 def by GWS Giants 16.15.111
The Giants travelled west and did what they had to do with a percentage-boosting victory over the Eagles. Finn Callaghan had a career-best 37 disposals, 6 clearances, 1 goal and 854 metres gained to be best on ground. Josh Kelly (27 disposals, 2 goals), Xavier O’Halloran (27 disposals, 6 clearances, 2 goals) and Tom Green (35 disposals, 7 marks, 9 clearances) were all busy while Toby Greene (18 disposals, 8 marks, 3 goals) was lively up forward. Harley Reid crashed and bashed in one of his best games to collect 24 disposals, 7 tackles and 7 clearances.
Finn Callaghan - 3
Josh Kelly - 2
Xavier O’Halloran - 1
Essendon 11.8.74 def by Gold Coast 18.7.115
It was a competitive contest but the Suns clicked in the last quarter to record an important win for their top eight chances. Noah Anderson (30 disposals, 8 marks, 7 clearances, 2 goals) should be in the Brownlow votes once again, with Joel Jeffrey (32 disposals, 10 marks, 1 goal), Touk Miller (25 disposals, 7 tackles, 1 goal) and Matt Rowell (15 disposals, 17 tackles) also important in the win. However best on ground was likely Essendon skipper Zach Merrett who enjoyed being back in the middle with 40 disposals and 12 clearances. Sam Durham (27 disposals, 12 clearances) was also a valuable contributor.
Zach Merrett - 3
Noah Anderson - 2
Joel Jeffrey - 0.5
Sam Durham - 0.5
Geelong 18.16.124 def Richmond 7.10.52
A percentage-boosting win for the Cats as they had winners all over the ground. Max Holmes (36 disposals, 7 marks, 6 clearances, 1 goal), Gryan Miers (29 disposals), Tom Atkins (17 disposals, 17 tackles), Jack Martin (25 disposals, 9 marks, 1 goal) and Zach Guthrie (25 disposals, 14 marks) were all instrumental in the win, while Jeremy Cameron kicked his 700th and could’ve had a bag as he kicked 4.5 from 19 disposals and 11 marks. Rhyan Mansell (22 disposals, 8 marks, 3 goals) was one of the best for Richmond.
Max Holmes - 3
Gryan Miers - 2
Jeremy Cameron - 1
Brisbane 18.12.120 def Port Adelaide 14.8.92
The Power challenged but the Lions fought them off late to record a good win. Zac Bailey was a star with 26 disposals and 5 goals in a brilliant performance. Hugh McLuggage (29 disposals, 7 clearances, 1 goal) and Lachie Neale (29 disposals, 6 marks, 1 goal) were also good for the Lions. The Power duo of Zak Butters (31 disposals, 6 tackles) and Connor Rozee (31 disposals) are also going to challenge for votes.
Zac Bailey - 3
Hugh McLuggage - 2
Zak Butters - 1
St Kilda 10.14.74 def by Hawthorn 14.10.94
The Saints were gallant but the Hawks fought them off to get the points. Lloyd Meek (20 disposals, 6 tackles, 59 hitouts) stood tall while Jarman Impey (22 disposals, 7 marks), Jai Newcombe (22 disposals, 7 tackles, 7 clearances, 1 goal) and Josh Battle (23 disposals, 7 marks) tried hard. The best players on ground were arguably with the Saints as Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera (43 disposals, 6 marks, 1004 metres gained) continued his All-Australian form, while Max Hall (27 disposals, 6 marks, 3 goals) was superb. Jack Macrae (26 disposals, 10 tackles, 1 goal), Jack Steele (25 disposals, 15 tackles) and Marcus Windhager (27 disposals, 1 goal) were all busy for the Saints.
Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera - 3
Max Hall - 2
Lloyd Meek - 1
Sydney 14.10.94 def Fremantle 12.11.83
The Swans held on against the Dockers to be the only team from the bottom half of the ladder to get a win this round. Brodie Grundy (20 disposals, 33 hitouts, 12 clearances, 1 goal), Errol Gulden (25 disposals, 7 marks, 8 tackles, 1 goal), Callum Mills (26 disposals), Chad Warner (24 disposals, 6 tackles, 1 goal) and Jake Lloyd (20 disposals, 9 marks, 2 goals) all found plenty of ball, while tagger James Jordan was arguably the most important in the win by restricting Caleb Serong to just 11 touches, while kicking 2 goals for himself.
Brodie Grundy - 3
Errol Gulden - 2
Jake Lloyd - 0.5
Chad Warner - 0.5
Adelaide 13.12.90 def Melbourne 11.11.77
The Crows were challenged but did enough to get the points against an impressive Melbourne team. Izak Rankine was sensational with 5 goals from 16 disposals to be best on ground. Ben Keays (24 disposals, 2 goals) and Jordan Dawson (25 disposals, 7 tackles) were also valuable for Adelaide. Jack Viney (30 disposals, 9 tackles) and Kysaiah Pickett (24 disposals, 2 goals) were very good for Melbourne.
Izak Rankine - 3
Ben Keays - 2
Kysaiah Pickett - 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.
