We're in the home straight in the 2026 AFL season with just four more rounds to complete before finals. It appears that our top nine are locked in with the main interest over the battle for 10th place. St Kilda held their spot in 10th place after a solid win, while the GWS Giants and North Melbourne suffered defeat. The Cats and Pies both had strong wins over fellow finals contenders as they mount a case for the Top 6 and inclusion in the premiership conversation.
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 20 Overview
Another week, another three votes for Nick Daicos as he's powering his way to the Brownlow Medal. He's now an unbackable short-priced favourite to win. Marcus Bontempelli picked up votes again, but probably not the three, so he's still in touch, but he'll probably need Daicos to do an injury to catch him. Other contenders in the votes in Round 20 include Patrick Cripps, Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera, Will Ashcroft and Chad Warner.
Check out our 2026 Round 20 Brownlow votes below and our updated 2026 Brownlow leaderboard here!
2026 AFL Brownlow Votes - Round 20 Match Analysis
Adelaide 11.8.74 def by Collingwood 16.12.108
The Crows were up early but the Pies roared back to land a big away victory and push themselves towards the top six. Nick Daicos will have yet another three Brownlow votes for his 39 disposals, 7 clearances and 1 goal. Darcy Cameron (23 disposals, 9 tackles, 37 hitouts, 6 clearances) and Scott Pendlebury (29 disposals, 8 marks, 1 goal) were also very good. Sam Berry (30 disposals, 6 tackles, 10 clearances) and Izak Rankine (25 disposals, 6 marks, 6 clearances) were best for the Crows.
Nick Daicos - 3
Darcy Cameron - 2
Sam Berry - 0.5
Scott Pendlebury - 0.5
Melbourne 14.13.97 def by Geelong 18.9.117
It was a must-win game for the Cats who got the job done in a tough clash with the Dees at the MCG. It might be a tough game for Brownlow votes with a good team performance from the Cats. Shannon Neale was a standout with 5 goals from 13 disposals and 6 marks, while Harrison Petty (4 goals, 14 disposals) almost matched that at the other end. Connor O’Sullivan (21 disposals, 8 marks) was very good in defence while Bailey Smith (28 disposals) and Tannar Bruhn (27 disposals, 7 marks) were the leading ball winners for the Cats. Jack Steele (30 disposals) was excellent for Melbourne.
Shannon Neale - 3
Jack Steele - 1
Connor O’Sullivan - 1
Harrison Petty - 1
Fremantle 16.16.112 def West Coast 6.6.42
It was a Demolition Derby as the Dockers rolled the Eagles. Murphy Reid was awarded the Medal for best afield for his 26 disposals and 1 goal. Matthew Johnson (29 disposals, 7 clearances) was the leading Dockers ball winner while Jye Amiss (5 goals, 15 disposals, 8 marks) kicked a bag. Marcus Herbert (36 disposals, 8 marks) was great for the Eagles, with Harley Reid (30 disposals, 12 clearances) and Tim Kelly (31 disposals, 9 marks) also having big games.
Murphy Reid - 3
Jye Amiss - 2
Matthew Johnson - 1
Carlton 16.14.110 def Gold Coast 15.7.97
It was close all day but the Blues held on to keep their Wildcard Round hopes alive. Patrick Cripps (30 disposals, 15 clearances, 1 goal), Jagga Smith (31 disposals, 7 marks, 6 clearances) and Sam Walsh (31 disposals, 7 marks) were prolific in the midfield, while George Hewett (24 disposals, 3 goals) and Talor Byrne (17 disposals, 6 marks, 3 goals) hit the scoreboard. Noah Anderson (30 disposals, 9 marks, 1 goal) stood tall in another disappointing loss for the Suns.
Patrick Cripps - 3
Jagga Smith - 1
George Hewett - 1
Talor Byrne - 1
Hawthorn 19.18.132 def Essendon 5.9.39
The Hawks were far too good as they thumped the Bombers. Jack Gunston was a star with 7 goals from 16 disposals and 11 marks to lead the way. Jarman Impey (37 disposals, 12 marks, 1 goal) was superb with Josh Ward (33 disposals, 9 marks), Connor Macdonald (26 disposals, 9 marks), Cam Mackenzie (23 disposals, 6 marks, 6 tackles, 1 goal) and Will Day (21 disposals, 2 goals) all winning plenty of ball.
Jack Gunston - 3
Jarman Impey - 2
Josh Ward - 1
GWS Giants 13.10.88 def by Sydney 21.13.139
The Giants were poor as the Swans ran away with a comfortable victory to solidify their top two spot. Errol Gulden was back to his absolute best with a massive 1,045 metres gained, which is a Swans club record, from his 41 disposals and 7 clearances to win the Kirk-Ward Medal for best afield. Chad Warner (32 disposals, 7 clearances, 1 goal), Brodie Grundy (23 disposals, 29 hitouts, 7 clearances, 1 goal), Nick Blakey (24 disposals, 1 goal) and James Rowbottom (23 disposals, 11 tackles, 8 clearances, 2 goals) were among the Swans best. Clayton Oliver (29 disposals, 7 marks, 1 goal) and Connor Idun (27 disposals, 12 marks) were good for the Giants.
Errol Gulden - 3
Chad Warner - 2
Brodie Grundy - 1
Western Bulldogs 15.15.105 def Richmond 7.6.48
The Dogs were far too strong for the Tigers as they ran away with a comfortable victory. Ed Richards (32 disposals, 6 clearances, 2 goals) was the best four quarter performer, while
Marcus Bontempelli (29 disposals, 2 goals) flexed late. Lachie Bramble (27 disposals, 8 marks) and Bailey Williams (26 disposals, 7 marks) also won plenty of ball. Nick Vlastuin (27 disposals, 11 marks) and Jayden Short (26 disposals, 15 marks) were kept busy in the Tigers back half.
Ed Richards - 3
Marcus Bontempelli - 2
Lachie Bramble - 1
Brisbane 19.12.126 def Port Adelaide 9.13.67
Brisbane turned it on in the second half to run away from the Power. Will Ashcroft continued his excellent season with 30 disposals, 7 marks and 2 goals to be the Lions best. Zac Bailey (26 disposals, 8 marks, 3 goals), Hugh McLuggage (29 disposals, 1 goal), Dayne Zorko (34 disposals, 11 marks) and Jasper Fletcher (27 disposals, 9 marks) were also good in the win. Jason Horne-Francis (30 disposals, 7 clearances, 1 goal) was the stand out for the Power.
Will Ashcroft - 3
Zac Bailey - 2
Hugh McLuggage - 1
North Melbourne 8.14.62 def by St Kilda 13.15.93
It was a familiar story for the Roos who were wasteful in front of goal as the Saints solidified their place in the Top 10. It was one of the great games by Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera who was unstoppable with 46 disposals, 4 goals, 182 fantasy points and a whopping 1,060 metres gained. Brad Hill (34 disposals, 12 marks), Darcy Wilson (28 disposals, 10 marks) and Mattaes Phillipou (25 disposals) were also very good. Tom De Koning (19 disposals, 21 hitouts, 7 clearances) stood up with the late withdrawal of Rowan Marshall as the Saints dominated in the middle. Harry Sheezel (29 disposals, 8 marks, 1 goal) and Cooper Trembath (19 disposals, 10 marks, 10 hitouts) were good for North.
Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera - 3
Brad Hill - 2
Darcy Wilson - 0.5
Tom De Koning - 0.5
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.
