The Brownlow Medal ceremony is taking place this Sunday in Perth, kicking off a week of grand final-related activities in the West.
We'll bring you all the action from the annual count in our live blog as players and supporters tune in from around the country to find out who has been voted the league's best and fairest.
Here's everything you need to know about the Brownlow Medal ceremony.
When is the Brownlow medal ceremony?
The ceremony gets underway on Sunday, September 19, with counting set to begin at 7:30pm AEST.
A Sunday evening Brownlow is a departure from the traditional, Monday night time slot, but replicates last year's schedule.
What is the Brownlow Medal?
The Brownlow medal is the award for the best and fairest AFL player of the season.
It is accepted as the most prestigious individual award in the game and has been awarded since 1924.
The medal was named in memory of Charles Brownlow, who played for Geelong between 1880 and 1891, before acting as VFL president in 1918/19.
Where is the Brownlow medal taking place?
The Brownlow ceremony will take place in Perth at Perth stadium, the venue for this year's grand final.
Some players will not be in Perth due to quarantine measures — although players based in states that aren't locked out of Perth (i.e. South Australia) will be expected to attend.
Queensland-based players will attend a virtual ceremony from the Gabba, while the Victorian and New South Wales players will tune in from their homes.
Gillon McLachlan will read the votes from each of this season's 216 home-and-away games from the main ceremony at Perth Stadium
How does the Brownlow work?
In each game of the regular season, umpires award points to the three best players on the field.
The best player is given three points, the second best two points and the third best one point.
The votes are kept secret, and are revealed on a round-by-round basis at the ceremony.
The player who ends with the most votes at the end of the season is crowned the Brownlow Medal winner.
The award is for the fairest and best players, so those who have been suspended for a week or more during the season are ineligible.
A total of 24 players across the 18 teams have been served a ban this year.
In the event of a tie, the Brownlow can be shared, as was the case in 2012 when Sam Mitchell and Trent Cotchin shared the medal.
Who won the Brownlow last year?
Lachie Neale won the 2020 Brownlow in one of the most dominant performances in recent times.
Who are this year's Brownlow favourites?
This year’s race promises to be a lot closer, with several named being thrown up as possible winners.
From this year’s grand final teams we have Melbourne’s Clayton Oliver and Christian Petracca, and Western Bulldogs’ Marcus Bontempelli and Jack Macrae.
All have had great years, the only issue is that these players may be taking votes off each other, with two options for the three votes in games won by the Demons and Bulldogs.
If the winner is not from these four, the door opens for the likes of Port Adelaide’s Ollie Wines and St Kilda’s Jack Steele, who have also had excellent seasons but don’t have other strong candidates for the top votes from their teams.
What do the bookies think? According to Sportsbet, Wines is a narrow favourite at $3.25 from Oliver ($3.50). then Bontempelli ($4.33), Steele ($6) and Petracca ($13).
How can I watch the Brownlow?
Depending where you are in Australia, you can watch the ceremony on Channel 7 or its affiliate channel 7Mate from 7:00pm AEST.
You can follow all the action in our live blog from 7:00pm AEST.
