Round 21 of the 2021 AFL season is in the books and there's only two rounds to go for players to make a run at the 2021 Brownlow Medal. It's shaping to be a sensational Brownlow count with a number of players still potentially in contention for "Charlie". The mover this round may be St.Kilda captain Jack Steele who has continued his good form with another best-on-ground performance to move into the Top 3 on our leaderboard - he's into $16 at Betfair. Christian Petracca and Tom Mitchell may also collect max votes in Round 21 to close the gap on the leaders. Unfortunately an ankle injury to Carlton's young gun Sam Walsh may cruel his chances in the final rounds of the season, while Marcus Bontempelli and Ollie Wines may have missed out in Round 21, and might need a good game or two to finish the season.
Check out our analysis and 2021 Brownlow Medal vote predictions for every game of Round 21 below!
You’ll be able to stay up to date with our 2021 Brownlow Medal leaderboard with links to round-by-round voting posted there.
2021 AFL Brownlow Medal Vote Predictions - Round 21
Geelong 8.17.65 def by GWS Giants 13.6.84
According to the sports betting markets, it was the biggest upset of the 2021 season as a severely undermanned Giants stunned the Cats on their turf to move back into the top eight. Tim Taranto was thrust back into the middle with great effect as he racked up 34 disposals, 9 tackles, 6 clearances and 2 goals. Sam Taylor (21 disposals, 12 marks) was a rock in defence, Toby Greene (16 disposals, 4 goals) was crucial up forward while Lachie Whitfield (34 disposals) was also busy. Joel Selwood (27 disposals, 9 clearances) was best for the Cats but they are unlikely to be in the Brownlow votes here.
Tim Taranto - 3
Sam Taylor - 2
Toby Greene - 1
Carlton 8.9.57 def by Gold Coast 11.10.76
The Blues have blown their chances of finals in a poor showing against the Suns. Touk Miller has had a phenomenal season and dominated again with 34 disposals, 7 marks, 7 clearances and 2 goals. Will Powell (28 disposals, 8 marks, 7 tackles, 1 goal), Noah Anderson (30 disposals, 9 marks, 8 clearances) and Brayden Fiorini (23 disposals, 11 tackles, 1 goal) were also very good.
Touk Miller - 3
Will Powell - 1.5
Noah Anderson - 1.5
Richmond 13.11.89 def North Melbourne 8.8.56
In a game of two halves, North jumped the gun and led by 20 points at half-time, before the Tigers got going in the second half to end up comfortable victors. Jack Graham (36 disposals, 8 marks, 8 tackles), Dion Prestia (29 disposals, 1 goal), Nick Vlastuin (30 disposals, 14 marks) and Liam Baker (26 disposals, 7 marks, 2 goals) were best for the Tigers. Luke Davies-Uniacke (38 disposals, 5 clearances) is an emerging star and he was best for the Roos, along with Jy Simpkin (34 disposals, 6 marks, 5 clearances) and Aaron Hall (38 disposals, 9 marks).
Jack Graham - 3
Luke Davies-Uniacke - 2
Jy Simpkin - 1
Adelaide 7.9.51 def by Port Adelaide 7.13.55
The Power got a huge scare in the Showdown but fought back from behind to snatch a valuable win. Aliir Aliir won the Showdown Medal for his brilliant 21 disposals, including 16 intercepted, and 11 marks. Travis Boak shook off a tag to end with 27 disposals and 8 tackles, while Willem Drew (23 disposals, 10 tackles, 7 clearances) was also strong in the middle. Brownlow fancy Ollie Wines was useful with 26 disposals and 1 goal but it might not be enough for votes. Rory Laird (31 disposals, 8 tackles, 6 clearances) and Harry Schoenberg (31 disposals, 6 clearances) were best for the Crows.
Aliir Aliir - 3
Willem Drew - 2
Rory Laird - 0.5
Travis Boak - 0.5
St.Kilda 14.9.93 def Sydney 10.4.64
After a woeful performance last week, the Saints bounced back to upset the Swans and keep their faint finals hopes alive. As usual, skipper Jack Steele carried his men on his back with 34 disposals, 6 marks, 7 tackles, 6 clearances and 1 goal. Rowan Marshall (25 disposals, 6 marks, 8 clearances, 29 hitouts) was dominant in the ruck while Jack Higgins (16 disposals, 4 goals) hit the scoreboard. Luke Parker (30 disposals, 12 clearances) was best for the Swans.
Jack Steele - 3
Rowan Marshall - 2
Jack Higgins - 1
Hawthorn 15.7.97 def Collingwood 12.6.78
Clarko is going out with a bang as the Hawks landed another victory, this time over the Pies. Tom Mitchell loves to feast on the Pies as he amassed a massive 44 disposals, 10 marks, 8 clearances and 1 goal in a brilliant effort. He was well supported by Chad Wingard (30 disposals) and Jaegar O’Meara (27 disposals, 1 goal), while down back the likes of Blake Hardwick (28 disposals, 11 marks) and Jack Scrimshaw (26 disposals, 12 marks, 1 goal) were impenetrable. Taylor Adams (30 disposals, 6 clearances) and Jordan De Goey (28 disposals, 8 clearances) tried hard for Collingwood.
Tom Mitchell - 3
Chad Wingard - 2
Blake Hardwick - 1
Western Bulldogs 12.12.84 def by Essendon 15.7.97
The Bombers have put their hand up to play finals footy after knocking off the highly-fancied Dogs. Big man Peter Wright was the star with 7 goals from his 10 disposals, 7 marks and 9 hitouts. He was fed by Zach Merrett (30 disposals, 5 clearances) and Darcy Parish (28 disposals, 9 clearances, 1 goal) while Sam Draper (39 hitouts, 11 disposals, 1 goal) got his hand on the ball first. For the Dogs, Jack Macrae (38 disposals, 5 tackles, 10 clearances) racked them up while Marcus Bontempelli (34 disposals, 9 clearances, 1 goal) is a chance for a sneaky vote.
Peter Wright - 3
Zach Merrett - 2
Jack Macrae - 0.5
Marcus Bontempelli - 0.5
Fremantle 8.6.54 def by Brisbane 18.10.118
After a poor couple of weeks, the Lions finally found some roar with a thumping win over the Dockers. Skipper Dayne Zorko led from the front with 34 disposals, 10 tackles, 7 clearances and 1 goal in a clear best-on-ground performance. Hugh McLuggage (29 disposals, 6 tackles) was good and Jarryd Lyons (29 disposals, 7 tackles, 8 clearances) worked into the game. Joe Daniher hit the scoreboard with 4 goals from 17 disposals and 7 marks. Caleb Serong was clearly the Dockers best and should figure in the votes for his 30 disposals, 7 marks, 5 tackles and 5 clearances.
Dayne Zorko - 3
Caleb Serong - 2
Joe Daniher - 1
West Coast 9.9.63 def by Melbourne 10.12.72
A rather incredible Monday night AFL match was won by the Demons after surviving torrential rain and a fourth quarter delay due to lightning! Alex Neal-Bullen (19 disposals, 8 tackles, 2 goals) enjoyed the conditions, while Christian Petracca (28 disposals, 6 tackles, 7 clearances, 1 goal) and James Harmes (25 disposals, 1 goal) were bulls in the middle. The Eagles fought valiantly until the death with Elliot Yeo (31 disposals, 7 tackles, 14 clearances) back to his best, with Jack Redden (30 disposals, 6 clearances, 1 goal) and Tim Kelly (26 disposals, 5 clearances) providing good support.
Alex Neal-Bullen - 2.5
Christian Petracca - 2.5
Elliot Yeo - 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.
