The story of the round was Fremantle dismantling the reigning premiers to secure their 11th win on the trot to grab premiership favouritism. They look hard to stop! Sydney are their closest challenger as they smashed the Tigers, while the resurgence of the Blues continues under Josh Fraser as they upset the Cats. The Eagles are also showing some progress as they grabbed a rare win as the freefall of the Bombers continued, even under the guidance of new caretaker coach Dean Solomon.
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 12 Overview
Round 12 will be an interesting one for Brownlow voting with a number of games that could see votes go in a number of different directions. The key game is the Bulldogs against the Magpies that featured our two Brownlow favourites. Marcus Bontempelli was ok, and the Bulldogs got the win, while Nick Daicos won a lot of ball in a losing effort. Which way the votes go could be crucial at the end of the count. Other contenders in the votes in Round 12 include Patrick Cripps who is quickly rising up the leaderboard, Isaac Heeney who had one of the great games, as well as Harley Reid, Finn Callaghan and Bailey Smith.
Check out our 2026 Round 12 Brownlow votes below and our updated 2026 Brownlow leaderboard here!
2026 AFL Brownlow Votes - Round 12 Match Analysis
St Kilda 9.13.67 def by Hawthorn 18.11.119
The Saints couldn’t find a goal in the first half and it was all over. James Sicily (33 disposals, 10 marks) was superb, with Cam Mackenzie (29 disposals, 6 tackles) and Connor Macdonald (26 disposals, 7 marks, 1 goal) busy in the middle, and Nick Watson (21 disposals, 2 goals) and Jack Gunston (5 goals, 10 disposals) hitting the goals. Jack Sinclair (33 disposals) and Max Hall (26 disposals) were best for the Saints.
James Sicily - 3
Cam Mackenzie - 2
Nick Watson - 1
Carlton 12.16.88 def Geelong 12.12.84
The resurgence of the Blues continued as they upset the Cats on Friday night. Patrick Cripps was the hero with the match-winning goal amongst 30 disposals and 8 clearances which will be hard to shake for Brownlow votes. Sam Walsh (30 disposals, 7 tackles, 7 clearances), Jagga Smith (27 disposals, 6 clearances) and Will Hayward (17 disposals, 7 marks, 3 goals) were also good. Bailey Smith (35 disposals, 7 tackles), Oli Dempsey (18 disposals, 9 marks, 2 goals) and Jeremy Cameron (4 goals, 13 disposals, 8 marks) were best for the Cats.
Patrick Cripps - 3
Jagga Smith - 1
Sam Walsh - 1
Bailey Smith - 1
Sydney 25.20.170 def Richmond 8.8.56
The Swans blew away the Tigers as their key forwards had a big day out. Charlie Curnow (8 goals, 18 disposals, 9 marks) kicked a bag while Peter Ladhams (24 disposals, 28 hitouts, 9 clearances, 1 goal) enjoyed being handed the keys to the ruck. Isaac Heeney (32 disposals, 7 marks, 7 tackles, 5 goals) did it all, while Chad Warner (32 disposals, 6 marks, 3 goals) and Nick Blakey (28 disposals) were enormous as well. Good luck squeezing them all into the votes!
Isaac Heeney - 3
Charlie Curnow - 2
Chad Warner - 1
Brisbane 10.18.78 def by Fremantle 15.13.103
Fremantle cemented themselves as the team to beat this season as they won their 11th straight, to leave Brisbane to cop their third beating in a row. The tall forwards of Josh Tracey (16 disposals, 7 marks, 3 goals), Patrick Voss (13 disposals, 8 marks, 4 goals) and Jye Amiss (15 disposals, 6 marks, 4 goals) were unstoppable as they smashed the scoreboard. Matthew Johnson (20 disposals, 6 marks, 6 clearances, 1 goal) shut down Lachie Neale, while Andrew Brayshaw (24 disposals, 6 tackles) was also good. Zac Bailey (30 disposals, 6 clearances, 1 goal) and Darcy Wilmot (26 disposals, 12 marks) were a few of the Lions that could hold their heads high.
Josh Tracey - 3
Patrick Voss - 2
Matthew Johnson - 0.5
Zac Bailey - 0.5
Western Bulldogs 14.13.97 def Collingwood 13.15.93
The Dogs led for most of the night, and the Pies tried to pinch it, but the Dogs held on for a thrilling victory. Ed Richards (24 disposals, 2 goals), Ryley Sanders (28 disposals, 8 marks) and Marcus Bontempelli (22 disposals, 9 clearances, 1 goal) were among the Dogs best, but the Pies should feature in the votes. Nick Daicos (37 disposals, 1 goal) was prolific while Jordan De Goey (30 disposals, 10 marks, 1 goal) continued his good form. This could be an important game for the overall Brownlow lead, depending on which way the umpire’s see it.
Jordan De Goey - 3
Ed Richards - 1.5
Nick Daicos - 1.5
Melbourne 9.16.70 def by GWS Giants 19.5.119
A trip to the Red Centre wasn’t a good one for the Demons as the Giants continued to build momentum in their season with another strong win. Finn Callaghan (31 disposals, 7 marks, 2 goals) and Lachie Ash (34 disposals, 11 marks) will duke it out for best afield with Clayton Oliver (28 disposals, 7 clearances), Harvey Thomas (24 disposals, 6 marks, 2 goals) and Connor Idun (29 disposals, 14 marks) next best. Max Gawn (22 disposals, 8 marks, 30 hitouts) was gallant as ever for the Dees.
Finn Callaghan - 3
Lachie Ash - 2
Harvey Thomas - 1
West Coast Eagles 12.13.85 def Essendon 8.7.55
The Eagles continue to show signs of life while the Bombers are in freefall. Tim Kelly (28 disposals) was the leading ball winner while Harley Reid (24 disposals, 1 goal) had a big impact. Willem Duursma (25 disposals, 7 marks, 1 goal), Tom McCarthy (26 disposals, 8 marks, 1 goal) and Milan Murdock (19 disposals, 3 goals) were all very good, while Reuben Ginbey (17 disposals, 11 intercepts) was highly praised for his defensive efforts. Zach Merrett (28 disposals, 6 tackles, 1 goal) tried hard for the Bombers. Might be a tricky, even if inconsequential game for Brownlow votes.
Harley Reid - 3
Milan Murdock - 1
Willem Duursma - 1
Reuben Ginbey - 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.
