The first full round and the official Round 1 of the 2024 AFL season was an exciting one with the cream rising to the top early in the season in terms of Brownlow votes.
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 2024 Brownlow Medal Leaderboard page (coming soon).
2024 AFL Brownlow Round 1 Overview
Matt Rowell and Isaac Heeney could be the early 2024 Brownlow leaders after both have started the season on fire and will most certainly poll in the first two matches of the season. Nick Daicos might pick up a cheeky vote to get his season going, while Patrick Cripps, Tom Green, Touk Miller, Clayton Oliver, Connor Rozee and Zak Butters should all be in the Brownlow votes for Round 1.
Arguably the stand out performance of the round was the record-setting 46 disposals from Caleb Serong for Freo. Lock in 3 votes there!
Check out our 2024 Round 1 Brownlow votes below and we'll have our updated leaderboard up on the site soon!
2024 AFL Brownlow Votes - Round 1 Match Analysis
Carlton 12.14.86 def Richmond 12.9.81
The official Round 1 of the season got underway with the traditional season kick off match between Carlton and Richmond with the Blues making hard work of it to escape with a narrow win.
Patrick Cripps (31 disposals, 7 tackles) led from the front in the middle, Harry McKay (13 disposals, 6 marks, 7 tackles, 3 goals) provided a target, while Mitch McGovern (26 disposals, 8 marks) was good in defence. Noah Balta (23 disposals, 9 marks, 3 goals) was arguably the best-on-ground in a losing effort while Nick Vlastuin (24 disposals, 6 marks, 6 tackles) was busy at half back.
Noah Balta - 2.5
Patrick Cripps - 2.5
Mitch McGovern - 1
Collingwood 10.9.69 def by Sydney 15.12.102
The premiership hangover is real as the Pies go 0-2 to start the new season. Isaac Heeney was superb in the middle with 29 disposals, 7 marks and 2 goals and could be the early Brownlow leader. Chad Warner (27 disposals, 7 clearances, 3 goals) wasn’t far behind while Errol Gulden (30 disposals, 8 marks) and Logan McDonald (4 goals, 15 disposals, 8 marks) were both good. Nick Daicos (37 disposals, 7 clearances, 1 goal) was the stand out for the Pies.
Isaac Heeney - 3
Chad Warner - 2
Nick Daicos - 1
Essendon 17.5.107 def Hawthorn 11.17.83
The Dons got the better of the Hawks in a spirited start to the season with young gun Archie Perkins impressing with 24 disposals, 12 tackles, 8 clearances and 2 goals. Andrew McGrath (33 disposals) and Zach Merrett (31 disposals, 6 clearances) won plenty of ball while Jake Stringer was good up forward with 4 goals from 11 disposals and 6 marks. Massimo D’Ambrosio (29 disposals), James Worpel (28 disposals, 10 clearances, 1 goal) and Dylan Moore (17 disposals, 7 marks, 3 goals) were best for the Hawks.
Archie Perkins - 3
Andrew McGrath - 1
Massimo D’Ambrosio - 1
Jake Stringer - 1
GWS Giants 17.19.121 def North Melbourne 13.4.82
The Giants go 2-0 with a solid win against a competitive Kangaroos team. Jesse Hogan was the difference with 6 majors from 18 disposals and 8 marks in a powerful performance. Jake Riccardi (19 disposals, 10 marks, 3 goals) was also a target, while Tom Green (37 disposals, 9 tackles, 6 clearances, 1 goal), Stephen Coniglio (30 disposals) and Josh Kelly (24 disposals, 2 goals) were busy in the middle. Harry Sheezel (32 disposals, 9 marks) was influential for the Roos while Tristan Xerri (18 disposals, 19 hitouts, 9 tackles, 8 clearances, 1 goal) won the ruck battle.
Jesse Hogan - 2.5
Tom Green - 2.5
Josh Kelly - 1
Geelong 10.16.76 def St Kilda 9.14.68
The Cats did enough to fall over the line against the Saints with Patrick Dangerfield leading the way with 25 disposals, 6 tackles, 8 clearances and 1 goal. Max Holmes (23 disposals, 10 marks), Jeremy Cameron (21 disposals, 7 marks, 2 goals) and Oliver Dempsey (15 disposals, 7 marks, 3 goals) were also important in the win. Jack Steele (25 disposals, 7 marks, 6 tackles, 9 clearances) and Riley Bonner (28 disposals) were best for the Saints.
Patrick Dangerfield - 3
Jeremy Cameron - 2
Jack Steele - 0.5
Max Holmes - 0.5
Gold Coast 8.12.60 def Adelaide 8.6.54
The Suns have kicked off the season 2-0 after a gutsy win in the wet against the Crows. Matt Rowell put in another fantastic performance with 29 disposals, 10 tackles, 9 clearances and a goal to be the Suns best. Noah Anderson (35 disposals, 5 tackles, 8 clearances, 1 goal), Sam Flanders (35 disposals) and Touk Miller (29 disposals, 9 tackles, 10 clearances) were also very good. Matt Crouch (33 disposals, 6 tackles, 7 clearances) and Rory Laird (30 disposals, 10 tackles, 6 clearances) tried hard for the Crows.
Matt Rowell - 3
Noah Anderson - 2
Touk Miller - 1
Melbourne 16.13.109 def Western Bulldogs 9.10.64
A poor first showing by the Dogs saw Melbourne get on the board in season 2024. The Dees had plenty of good contributors with Max Gawn (26 disposals, 9 marks, 35 hitouts, 8 clearances), Clayton Oliver (35 disposals, 6 clearances), Christian Petracca (29 disposals, 10 marks, 1 goal), Steven May (25 disposals, 13 marks) and Jack Billings (23 disposals, 15 marks, 1 goal) all excellent. Marcus Bontempelli (25 disposals, 6 clearances, 1 goal) and Tom Liberatore (32 disposals, 9 clearances) were best for the Dogs but look unlikely to poll.
Clayton Oliver - 3
Max Gawn - 1.5
Steven May - 1.5
Port Adelaide 16.24.120 def West Coast 10.10.70
The Power were too strong for the Eagles with young guns Connor Rozee (27 disposals, 10 marks, 6 clearances, 2 goals) and Zak Butters (27 disposals, 8 marks, 1 goal) running rampant. Ivan Soldo (14 disposals, 28 hitouts, 6 clearances, 2 goals), Charlie Dixon (13 disposals, 3 goals) and Jason Horne-Francis (20 disposals, 2 goals) are all a chance for the minor vote.
Connor Rozee - 3
Zak Butters - 2
Charlie Dixon - 0.5
Jason Horne-Francis - 0.5
Fremantle 14.9.93 def Brisbane 10.10.70
Freo were too classy for Brisbane to leave the Lions with a 0-2 start to the season. The Lions missed Lachie Neale as the Freo midfield went wild. Caleb Serong had a club record 46 disposals, 6 marks, 7 tackles and 10 clearances in a stand out performance. Andrew Brayshaw (32 disposals, 8 marks, 6 clearances), Hayden Young (24 disposals, 10 tackles), Luke Jackson (18 disposals, 30 hitouts, 2 goals) and Luke Ryan (33 disposals, 10 marks) were all great contributors. Josh Dunkley (26 disposals, 9 marks, 8 tackles) tried hard for the Lions.
Caleb Serong - 3
Andrew Brayshaw - 1
Luke Jackson - 1
Luke Ryan - 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.
