The 2023 AFL season rolls on as we continue with our in-depth Brownlow Medal coverage. Every game, every round, we'll have Brownlow Medal tips, analysis and information, to make your 2023 Brownlow Medal night a profitable one!
As usual, we’ll share our thoughts from every match of the season, along with our vote allocations 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 2023 Brownlow Medal Leaderboard page.
2023 AFL Brownlow Round 5 Overview
Round 5 was a wonderful round for the AFL as Gather Round saw all 18 teams play in Adelaide to create a fantastic festival of football. It's likely we have a clear Brownlow leader after Round 5 with Nick Daicos again likely to be awarded best on ground. Former Brownlow winners Patrick Dangerfield and Lachie Neale are likely to be in the votes in Round 5, while the likes of Caleb Serong, Zach Merrett and Jordan Dawson might also be rising up the Brownlow leaderboard.
2023 AFL Brownlow Votes - Round 5 Match Analysis
Adelaide 18.10.118 def Carlton 9.8.62
The Crows kicked off Gather Round in Adelaide with a huge bang as they kicked eight of the first nine goals of the match to blitz the Blues. Jordan Dawson (32 disposals, 9 tackles, 7 clearances) and Rory Laird (37 disposals, 6 tackles, 9 clearances, 1 goal) were unstoppable with Chayce Jones (28 disposals, 9 marks, 1 goal), Darcy Fogarty (5 goals, 16 disposals, 10 marks) and Taylor Walker (15 disposals, 9 marks, 3 goals) were also excellent. Definitely no votes for the Blues in this one!
Jordan Dawson - 3
Rory Laird - 2
Darcy Fogarty - 1
Fremantle 15.10.100 def Gold Coast 13.12.90
The Dockers came from behind to land an important win over the Suns. Caleb Serong (37 disposals, 6 tackles, 8 clearances) was tireless in the middle and was well fed by Sean Darcy (18 disposals, 9 clearances, 48 hitouts) who dominated the hitouts. Lachie Shultz was dynamic up forward with 20 disposals, 8 marks and 3 goals. David Swallow (20 disposals, 10 marks, 3 goals) was good for the Suns, while Jack Lukosius (19 disposals, 12 marks, 1 goal) threatened to take control of the match but inaccurate kicking for goal let him down.
Caleb Serong - 2.5
Sean Darcy - 2.5
David Swallow - 0.5
Jack Lukosius - 0.5
Richmond 11.12.78 vs Sydney 18.14.122
It was the highest rated game of any player this AFL season according to Champion Data as Tom Papley ran wild to collect 25 disposals and 6 goals in a big Swans victory. Chad Warner (26 disposals, 6 clearances, 1 goal), Nick Blakey (29 disposals) and Isaac Heeney (20 disposals, 6 tackles, 2 goals) were among the best for the Swans and should challenge for votes. Liam Baker was best for the Tigers with 35 disposals, 7 marks and 1 goal from across half-back.
Tom Papley - 3
Nick Blakey - 2
Liam Baker - 1
Brisbane 22.20.152 def North Melbourne 12.5.77
The Lions ran rampant in the second half to thump the Roos at Mount Barker in the Adelaide Hills. The Roos had no answer for the Lions talls with Joe Daniher (18 disposals, 13 marks, 5 goals) and Eric Hipwood (15 disposals, 10 marks, 4 goals) catching everything in the forward 50. Lachie Neale dominated in the middle with 37 disposals and 13 clearances, with good support from Josh Dunkley (25 disposals, 6 tackles) and Dayne Zorko (22 disposals, 8 marks, 1 goal). Harry Sheezel continued his amazing start to his career to be the Roos best with 31 disposals and 1 goal.
Joe Daniher - 2.5
Lachie Neale - 2.5
Eric Hipwood - 1
Essendon 15.14.104 def Melbourne 11.11.77
The Bombers landed an upset win over the Demons in a game that might prove tricky for Brownlow votes. Zach Merrett (35 disposals, 7 tackles) and Darcy Parish (34 disposals, 6 clearances) were typically prolific, but the most influential player on the ground was arguably Scott Draper who kicked 3 big goals, along with 14 disposals and 18 hitouts. Jack Viney (28 disposals, 7 tackles) was good for the Dees, while Clayton Oliver was quiet early before rocketing home with 20 touches in the final quarter to end with 41 disposals and 9 clearances.
Scott Draper - 2
Zach Merrett - 2
Darcy Parish - 2
Port Adelaide 10.10.70 def Western Bulldogs 8.8.56
A tough game in torrential rain saw the Power emerge on top. Zac Butters was a star with 32 disposals, 7 clearances and a goal, with support from Connor Rozee (26 disposals) and Dan Houston (22 disposals, 1 goal). Tim English was a towering force for the Dogs with 23 disposals, 28 hitouts and a goal, with Adam Treloar (35 disposals, 8 clearances) and Marcus Bontempelli (23 disposals, 7 tackles, 12 clearances, 1 goal) also good contributors. Cody Weightman defied the wet conditions to kick 4 goals from 11 disposals.
Zac Butters - 3
Tim English - 2
Cody Weightman - 1
Geelong 21.10.136 def West Coast 13.11.89
Geelong landed a comfortable victory over the Eagles, although line backers were distraught after the Cats failed to cover after leading by as much as 77 points during the third quarter. Patrick Dangerfield (23 disposals, 6 clearances) led from the front, Max Holmes (20 disposals, 6 clearances, 1 goal) provided great dash while Esava Ratugolea (14 disposals, 9 marks) was an intercepting machine in the first half. Tom Hawkins (4 goals, 14 disposals, 6 marks) and Jeremy Cameron (4 goals, 18 disposals) cashed in up forward. Jake Waterman (4 goals, 20 disposals, 7 marks) and Liam Duggan (23 disposals, 8 marks) were best for the Eagles.
Patrick Dangerfield - 3
Jake Waterman - 2
Max Holmes - 1
GWS Giants 10.17.77 def Hawthorn 11.9.75
Harry Himmelberg was the hero at both ends of the ground in the dying moments, kicking a clutch goal before saving one at the other end, to help Giants to a thrilling victory. Tom Green (32 disposals, 9 clearances), Stephen Coniglio (33 disposals, 9 tackles) and Toby Greene (24 disposals, 3 goals) were busy for the Giants while Sam Taylor (20 disposals, 8 marks) was exceptional in defence. James Worpel (35 disposals, 8 clearances) and Jai Newcombe (31 disposals, 10 clearances) were best for the Hawks.
Tom Green - 2
Toby Greene - 2
Sam Taylor - 1
Jai Newcombe - 1
Collingwood 10.10.70 def St.Kilda 9.10.64
The Pies held on from a fast-finishing St.Kilda to end the unbeaten run of the Saints in 2023. Nick Daicos is going to be hard to beat as our Brownlow leader after 5 rounds after another superb game. The young superstar amassed a career-best 42 disposals and 7 marks to be best on ground once again. Josh Daicos (30 disposals) was also very good while Darcy Moore (18 disposals, 7 marks) was strong in defence. Callum Wilkie (24 disposals, 11 marks) and Brad Crouch (33 disposals, 9 clearances, 2 goals) were excellent for the Saints.
Nick Daicos - 3
Josh Daicos - 2
Brad Crouch - 0.5
Callum Wilkie - 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.
