Another exciting round is in the books with a couple of great matches. Gold Coast solidified their quest for a maiden finals berth as they knocked off the Pies. Adelaide passed another test as they are on track for the Top 4 as they disposed of the Bulldogs, while Fremantle are back in the Top 8 after defeating the Hawks. There's still 9 teams in contention but it's getting tight!
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 18 Overview
Another interesting round for Brownlow votes where it will be interesting to see which way the umpires lean. Both Matt Rowell and Noah Anderson, as well as Andrew Brayshaw and Caleb Serong, were very good but how will the umpires separate them? Zak Butters, Brodie Grundy, Lachie Neale, Christian Petracca and Jordan Dawson are also likely to poll votes as our Brownlow race heats up!
Check out our 2025 Round 18 Brownlow votes below and our updated 2025 Brownlow leaderboard here!
2025 AFL Brownlow Votes - Round 18 Match Analysis
Carlton 9.12.66 def by Brisbane 15.13.103
The Blues were once again pretty woeful as the Lions easily took home the four points. Josh Dunkley won the Robert Walls medal for his 28 disposals, 6 marks and 13 tackles. Lachie Neale (31 disposals, 7 marks, 8 tackles, 6 clearances), Darcy Wilmot (31 disposals, 14 marks), Will Ashcroft (29 disposals, 1 goal) and Cam Rayner (22 disposals, 2 goals) are all a chance for votes. George Hewett (33 disposals, 9 clearances, 1 goal) and Patrick Cripps (26 disposals, 6 tackles, 9 clearances, 1 goal) tried hard for the Blues.
Josh Dunkley - 3
Lachie Neale - 2
Darcy Wilmot - 1
Gold Coast 10.9.69 def Collingwood 8.15.63
A remarkable Friday night game where Collingwood were goalless to half-time, before storming home, however the Suns held their nerve for the biggest win in their club’s history! Matt Rowell was absolutely relentless all night as he collected 32 disposals, 13 tackles, 12 clearances and 2 goals in an amazing performance. Noah Anderson (32 disposals, 8 clearances, 1 goal) and John Noble (30 disposals, 8 marks) were also very good. For the Pies, Josh Daicos (32 disposals, 7 tackles, 2 goals) was the stand out as he was huge in the last quarter after being thrown into the middle to almost pinch the win. Great game!
Matt Rowell - 3
Josh Daicos - 2
Noah Anderson - 1
Western Bulldogs 15.8.98 def by Adelaide 16.13.109
The Bulldogs failed another test against a finals contender as the Crows continued their quest for a top 4 spot. Riley Thilthorpe was a beast up forward with 6 goals from 17 disposals and 9 marks to lead the way for the Crows. Jordan Dawson (27 disposals, 8 tackles, 6 clearances, 2 goals) and Daniel Curtin (26 disposals, 7 marks, 1 goal) were also very important. It could be a tricky game for Brownlow votes as Marcus Bontempelli was immense in a losing effort as the superstar gathered a match-high 37 disposals, 8 marks, 12 tackles and 8 clearances. Ed Richards (29 disposals, 7 marks, 7 clearances, 2 goals) was also busy while Aaron Naughton (11 disposals, 5 goals) provided a good target.
Riley Thilthorpe - 3
Marcus Bontempelli - 2
Jordan Dawson - 1
GWS Giants 17.9.111 def Geelong 13.7.85
The Giants were too good for the Cats with young gun Aaron Cadman emerging as a star of the game with 6 goals from 15 disposals and 8 marks. Finn Callaghan (29 disposals, 9 clearances), Lachie Whitfield (32 disposals, 11 marks) and Tom Green (24 disposals, 7 clearances) were also good for the Giants. Tom Stewart (29 disposals, 9 marks) and Bailey Smith (26 disposals, 6 tackles) were the leading ball winners for the Cats, while Shannon Neale kicked 5 goals from 7 disposals up forward.
Aaron Cadman - 3
Finn Callaghan - 2
Lachie Whitfield - 0.5
Tom Green - 0.5
Richmond 6.10.46 def Essendon 4.13.37
The worst match of the season saw the Tigers get a rare win despite failing to kick a goal in two of the quarters. The less said about this match the better. Tim Taranto was best with 34 disposals, 7 marks and 1 goal. Nick Vlastuin (23 disposals, 8 marks), Jayden Short (25 disposals, 10 marks, 1 goal) and Jacob Hopper (27 disposals, 1 goal) were good for the Tigers. Archie Roberts (31 disposals, 7 marks) and Zach Merrett (31 disposals, 6 clearances) were good for Essendon.
Tim Taranto - 3
Nick Vlastuin - 2
Archie Roberts - 1
Fremantle 12.5.77 def Hawthorn 9.10.64
Fremantle are back in the top 8 after storming home against the Hawks in a cracking contest. Sam Switkowski was the catalyst with 16 disposals, 8 score involvements and 3 goals. Andrew Brayshaw (29 disposals, 14 tackles, 6 clearances) and Caleb Serong (29 disposals, 9 clearances) were typically prolific in the middle, while Jordan Clark (31 disposals, 7 marks) was good at half-back. Karl Amon (30 disposals, 9 marks) and Jack Ginnivan (27 disposals, 1 goal) were good for Hawthorn.
Sam Switkowski - 3
Andrew Brayshaw - 2
Karl Amon - 1
Melbourne 18.11.119 def North Melbourne 12.11.83
The Dees snapped their losing streak as they were able to stay ahead of the Roos all afternoon. Christian Petracca (31 disposals, 7 clearances, 1 goal) was a force in the middle, while Jake Melksham (5 goals, 10 disposals) and Bailey Fritsch (21 disposals, 6 marks, 3 goals) were on fire up forward. Colby McKercher (29 disposals) was silky smooth to be the best for the Roos.
Christian Petracca - 3
Jake Melksham - 2
Bailey Fritsch - 1
St Kilda 13.9.87 def by Sydney 14.8.92
A thrilling victory for the Swans kept alive their very slim hopes of finals. Brodie Grundy is in a rich vein of form as he added 20 disposals, 6 tackles, 46 hitouts and 7 clearances to win the ruck battle. Errol Gulden (23 disposals, 1 goal) was the leading ball winner for the Swans with Jake Lloyd (15 disposals, 8 marks, 3 goals) hitting the scoreboard. The best players on ground were arguably with the Saints as Marcus Windhager (36 disposals, 8 marks), Jack Steele (25 disposals, 8 marks, 13 tackles, 1 goal), Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera (24 disposals) and Callum Wilkie (23 disposals, 8 marks) were all very good.
Brodie Grundy - 3
Marcus Windhager - 2
Errol Gulden - 1
Port Adelaide 12.15.87 def West Coast 9.7.61
The Eagles led for three quarters but couldn’t pull an upset as the Power ran away in the last quarter to get the win. Zak Butters (38 disposals, 6 marks, 7 clearances) was the best player on ground, with good support from Jason Horne-Francis (27 disposals, 6 tackles, 6 clearances, 3 goals), Joe Richards (23 disposals, 6 marks, 7 tackles, 2 goals) and Ollie Wines (25 disposals, 10 clearances). Harley Reid continues to improve his consistency as he had another strong game with 27 disposals, 7 tackles, 6 clearances and 1 goal.
Zak Butters - 3
Jason Horne-Francis - 2
Joe Richards - 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.
