On paper it was a round of all sorts, but Round 24 delivered with a couple of close ones, the underdogs pushed the faves, and an exciting climax on Sunday with the Dockers all-but sending the Dogs crashing out of the finals race. At the time of writing, we still have the extra match with the Suns and Bombers still to play with the Suns needing to bounce back from a shock loss to the Power to qualify for their first finals series. At the pointy end, the Crows have secured the 2025 minor premiership with the Cats also grabbing a home qualifying final.
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 24 Overview
The 2025 Brownlow Medal count might be one of the most exciting in years with a number of players genuinely in contention. Round 24 might see Nick Daicos and Bailey Smith secure votes which might get them over the line, however Noah Anderson still has one more chance to poll against the Bombers on Wednesday. Marcus Bontempelli came storming home after starting the season with an injury, while Zak Butters, Max Gawn, Errol Gulden, Hugh McLuggage and Toby Greene all had big games to finish the regular season.
Check out our 2025 Round 24 Brownlow votes below and our updated 2025 Brownlow leaderboard here!
2025 AFL Brownlow Votes - Round 24 Match Analysis
Essendon 8.8.56 def by Carlton 13.12.90
A very dead rubber to start the round would see the Blues end their season with a win, while the Bombers still have one more match to go next week. George Hewett (36 disposals, 10 clearances, 1 goal) was the big baller winner while Sam Walsh (28 disposals) was good before being subbed out at three-quarter time. Francis Evans (19 disposals, 3 goals) continued his purple patch to finish the season strongly. Mason Redman (34 disposals, 9 marks) and Zach Merrett (24 disposals, 9 tackles) were best for Essendon.
George Hewett - 3
Mason Redman - 2
Sam Walsh - 0.5
Francis Evans - 0.5
Collingwood 11.16.82 def Melbourne 11.10.76
The Pies just did enough to fall over the line and secure a top four finish to the season against a brave Melbourne team. Nick Daicos (27 disposals, 6 marks) might’ve also done enough to secure himself the Brownlow in a strong performance despite a close tag. Jordan De Goey (26 disposals, 6 marks, 6 clearances, 1 goal) found some form while Scott Pendlebury (21 disposals) was all class. The Dees had some of the best players on the ground with Max Gawn (23 disposals, 7 marks, 25 hitouts), Clayton Oliver (30 disposals, 7 marks), Christian Petracca (28 disposals, 6 marks, 6 clearances, 1 goal) and Christian Salem (27 disposals, 8 marks) all putting in strong performances.
Nick Daicos - 2
Max Gawn - 2
Christian Petracca - 1
Jordan De Goey - 1
Port Adelaide 10.11.71 def Gold Coast 9.13.67
The Power have lifted for Travis Boak and Ken Hinkley to secure an emotional win against the Suns who will have to wait for their last match of the season to secure their finals berth. Zak Butters (35 disposals, 8 marks, 8 tackles) and Connor Rozee (34 disposals, 7 tackles, 6 clearances, 1 goal) were both outstanding and should take the top Brownlow votes for this match. Mitch Georgiades (15 disposals, 6 marks, 4 goals) was good while Tavis Boak (22 disposals, 9 tackles) is an outside chance of grabbing a vote in his 387th and final match. Brayden Fiorini (27 disposals, 7 marks, 7 tackles) didn’t stop trying for the Suns.
Zak Butters - 3
Connor Rozee - 2
Mitch Georgiades - 1
North Melbourne 15.10.100 def by Adelaide 17.11.113
The Roos fought out the game strongly to end the season positively but Adelaide did enough to take the points to secure the minor premiership for season 2025. Riley Thilthorpe (18 disposals, 12 marks, 6 hitouts, 3 goals) and Ben Keays (19 disposals, 6 tackles, 3 goals) were dangerous up forward, while Rory Laird (23 disposals, 1 goal) and Jordan Dawson (23 disposals, 6 marks, 7 tackles) were busy in the middle. Tristan Xerri (25 disposals, 12 tackles, 35 hitouts, 7 clearances) was again in beast mode, while Jy Simpkin (33 disposals, 8 marks), Luke Davies-Uniacke (31 disposals, 12 clearances, 1 goal) and Harry Sheezel (32 disposals, 7 marks, 6 clearances) won plenty of ball for the Roos.
Riley Thilthorpe - 3
Ben Keays - 2
Tristan Xerri - 1
Richmond 9.10.64 def by Geelong 14.19.103
It wasn’t a huge cricket score but the Cats were comfortable in their defeat of the Tigers to secure a top two spot on the ladder. Bailey Smith (34 disposals, 7 clearances), Max Holmes (26 disposals) and Tom Atkins (27 disposals, 6 marks, 9 tackles) won plenty of ball while Jeremy Cameron (20 disposals, 7 marks, 4 goals) ended the season strong. Dion Prestia (29 disposals, 7 marks, 2 goals) and Sam Banks (30 disposals, 10 marks) were good for the Tigers.
Bailey Smith - 3
Jeremy Cameron - 2
Max Holmes - 0.5
Tom Atkins - 0.5
West Coast 7.9.51 def by Sydney 18.10.118
The Swans started slowly but turned it on in the second half to end the misery of the Eagles 2025 season. Errol Gulden (36 disposals, 10 marks, 2 goals) was sensational, with Isaac Heeney (26 disposals, 10 clearances, 1 goal), Tom Papley (27 disposals, 8 marks, 3 goals) and Callum Mills (29 disposals, 9 marks) also likely to feature in the votes.
Errol Gulden - 3
Isaac Heeney - 1.5
Tom Papley - 1.5
GWS Giants 15.14.104 def St Kilda 14.9.93
The Giants survived a scare to claim an important win and a home final. Toby Greene (17 disposals, 4 goals) was clutch when it mattered to carry the Giants over the line. Tom Green (33 disposals, 13 clearances, 1 goal) and Finn Callaghan (26 disposals, 7 tackles) were good in the middle, while Lachie Ash (32 disposals) and Lachie Whitfield (31 disposals, 7 marks, 6 tackles) were busy in the back half. Darcy Wilson had the best game of his career with a bag of 5 goals from 23 disposals for the Saints.
Toby Greene - 3
Darcy Wilson - 2
Tom Green - 1
Western Bulldogs 14.13.97 def by Fremantle 17.10.112
In a virtual elimination final, the Dockers erased the pain of last season to send the Bulldogs crashing to a likely 9th place finish. The win came from the influence at the pointy ends of the ground for the Dockers, but that doesn’t always equate to Brownlow votes. Alex Pearce only had 8 disposals but did a brilliant job of keeping the dangerous Sam Darcy goalless, while Josh Tracey (13 disposals, 8 marks, 3 goals) provided a great target up forward. Caleb Serong (24 disposals, 5 tackles, 7 clearances), Jordan Clark (23 disposals) and Shai Bolton (19 disposals, 2 goals) were also useful. However it will be hard to go past Marcus Bontempelli (33 disposals, 7 marks, 6 tackles, 11 clearances, 2 goals) for the three votes as he was tireless for the Dogs. Joel Freijah (18 disposals, 3 goals) and Rhylee West (17 disposals, 10 tackles, 2 goals) were also very good.
Marcus Bontempelli - 3
Josh Tracey - 2
Joel Freijah - 1
Brisbane 11.23.89 def Hawthorn 11.13.79
An inaccurate Brisbane secured the double chance with a tough victory over the Hawks who will have to do it the hard way in finals. Hugh McLuggage (32 disposals, 7 marks, 2 goals), Josh Dunkley (33 disposals, 9 marks, 8 tackles), Darcy Wilmot (27 disposals, 7 marks), Cam Rayner (22 disposals, 2 goals) and Will Ashcroft (28 disposals, 7 marks, 7 clearances) were among the best for the Lions. Karl Amon (34 disposals) was a stand out for the Hawks while Jack Ginnivan (23 disposals, 6 marks, 2 goals) also ruffled a few feathers.
Hugh McLuggage - 3
Josh Dunkley - 2
Darcy Wilmot - 0.5
Karl Amon - 0.5
Gold Coast vs Essendon
* still to come!
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.
