AFL Gather Round was another huge success with all 18 teams competing in Adelaide throughout the festival of footy weekend. The Lions produced an epic comeback against the Dogs to remain undefeated and on top of the ladder after Round 5, while Gold Coast are close behind them with another impressive win. The hype was real for Port Adelaide against Hawthorn, with the Power giving the competition something to think about with a great upset win. Carlton finally got their first win of the season and will look forward to a desperate clash with North Melbourne on Good Friday next week.
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 2025 Brownlow Medal Leaderboard page and check out the latest Brownlow Odds.
2025 AFL Brownlow Round 5 Overview
The Lions are on top of the ladder and Hugh McLuggage is riding the wave to be our Brownlow leader after Round 5, alongside Gold Coast’s dynamic duo of Matt Rowell and Noah Anderson, and Essendon skipper Zach Merrett. Other notables in the thick of the Brownlow votes in Round 5 include Patrick Dangerfield, Connor Rozee, Nick Daicos, Andrew Brayshaw and Toby Greene.
Check out our 2025 Round 5 Brownlow votes below and our updated 2025 Brownlow leaderboard here!
2025 AFL Brownlow Votes - Round 5 Match Analysis
Adelaide 15.10.100 def by Geelong 18.11.119
The Cats held Adelaide throughout the night to secure a very important away victory. Patrick Dangerfield (16 disposals, 4 goals) and Jeremy Cameron (15 disposals, 6 marks, 4 goals) were dangerous up forward, and were well fed by Bailey Smith (35 disposals, 6 clearances, 1 goal), Max Holmes (32 disposals, 6 marks, 7 tackles, 1 goal) and Tom Atkins (23 disposals, 9 clearances). Izak Rankine (25 disposals, 2 goals) and Ben Keays (18 disposals, 6 marks, 3 goals) were best for the Crows.
Patrick Dangerfield - 3
Bailey Smith - 2
Max Holmes - 1
Collingwood 16.13.109 def Sydney 12.6.78
Both teams were undermanned but it was the Pies who came away with the points over the Swans. Nick Daicos (34 disposals, 9 tackles, 9 clearances), Steele Sidebottom (28 disposals, 6 tackles) and Ned Long (29 disposals, 6 tackles, 9 clearances) were immense in the middle to setup the win for the Pies. Isaac Heeney (28 disposals, 8 clearances, 2 goals) was the stand out for the Swans.
Nick Daicos - 2.5
Steele Sidebottom - 2.5
Isaac Heeney - 1
North Melbourne 13.11.89 def by Gold Coast 21.15.141
The Roos challenged for three quarters before the Suns ran away with it in the last. It was a good team effort from the Suns with usual suspects Noah Anderson (27 disposals, 6 clearances), Matt Rowell (26 disposals, 7 tackles, 11 clearances, 1 goal) and Touk Miller (27 disposals, 1 goal) in the thick of the action. Joel Jeffrey (20 disposals, 13 marks, 1 goal), Ben King (5 goals, 6 disposals), John Noble (28 disposals, 9 marks, 1 goal) were also good for the Suns. Luke Davies-Uniacke (26 disposals, 7 marks, 8 clearances) and Jy Simpkin (24 disposals, 6 marks, 2 goal) stood tall for North.
Noah Anderson - 2.5
Matt Rowell - 2.5
Luke Davies-Uniacke - 1
Carlton 17.19.121 def West Coast 6.14.50
Carlton did what they had to do against the Eagles who are so bad that they might not win a game all season. Sam Walsh (37 disposals, 6 marks, 3 goals) was back to his best and well supported by George Hewett (39 disposals, 8 marks, 8 clearances) and Adam Cerra (27 disposals, 8 clearances), while Patrick Cripps (23 disposals, 6 clearances, 3 goals) spent some time up forward.
Sam Walsh - 3
George Hewett - 2
Patrick Cripps - 1
Western Bulldogs 14.13.97 def by Brisbane 18.10.118
The Bulldogs led by 39 points but the Lions ran them down with a mighty second half. Hugh McLuggage was the leading ball winner with 32 disposals, 6 tackles and 6 clearances. Jaspa Fletcher (25 disposals, 6 marks), Eric Hipwood (5 goals, 12 disposals), Lachie Neale (28 disposals, 7 marks, 11 clearances), Will Ashcroft (31 disposals, 7 clearances) and Zac Bailey (20 disposals, 3 goals) were also very good. Ed Richards (29 disposals, 8 clearances) was best for the Dogs.
Hugh McLuggage - 3
Jaspa Fletcher - 1
Eric Hipwood - 1
Zac Bailey - 1
Melbourne 8.9.57 def by Essendon 15.6.96
Melbourne have slumped to a 0-5 start as Essendon proved too strong on Saturday night. Zach Merrett continues to lead the way with 37 disposals and 8 marks in another likely three vote game. Dylan Shiel (30 disposals, 7 clearances, 1 goal), Nic Martin (28 disposals, 11 marks, 1 goal) and Jye Menzie (15 disposals, 8 marks, 4 goals) were also very good for Essendon. Ed Langdon (25 disposals, 12 marks, 1 goal) stood out for the Dees.
Zach Merrett - 3
Dylan Shiel - 2
Jye Menzie - 0.5
Nic Martin - 0.5
Richmond 7.5.47 def by Fremantle 16.12.108
The Dockers kicked clear in the second half to run away with a big win against the Tigers. Andrew Brayshaw (31 disposals, 10 tackles, 6 clearances) was superb, Heath Chapman (26 disposals, 10 marks) and Caleb Serong (29 disposals, 6 clearances) won plenty of ball, while Josh Tracey was a force up forward with 6 goals from 11 disposals and 8 marks. Jacob Hopper (33 disposals, 6 tackles) and Tim Taranto (26 disposals, 7 tackles) tried hard for the Tigers.
Andrew Brayshaw - 3
Josh Tracey - 2
Caleb Serong - 1
St Kilda 12.10.82 def by GWS Giants 16.14.110
The Giants were too good for the Saints with Toby Greene starring with 5 goals from 17 disposals and 6 marks to be best on ground. Lachie Ash (33 disposals, 9 marks), Josh Kelly (28 disposals), Tom Green (28 disposals, 6 tackles, 9 clearances) and Callan Ward (27 disposals, 9 marks, 1 goal) were all effective for the Giants. Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera (24 disposals, 3 goals) was exceptional off half-back for the Saints.
Toby Greene - 3
Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera - 1.5
Lachie Ash - 1.5
Port Adelaide 18.13.121 def Hawthorn 14.7.91
The Power were electric in the first half to put the game beyond doubt with a 71-point lead before the Hawks added some respectability to the scoreboard. Connor Rozee was shifted to half-back and it worked brilliantly with Rozee sensational with 28 disposals, 7 marks and 2 goals. Zak Butters (33 disposals, 8 clearances) and Jason Horne-Francis (29 disposals, 7 clearances) were also excellent in the midfield. Jack Gunston (6 goals, 15 disposals, 7 marks) wound back the clock, while Jai Newcombe (29 disposals, 7 marks, 8 clearances, 1 goal) tried hard all night.
Connor Rozee - 3
Zak Butters - 2
Jack Gunston - 0.5
Jason Horne-Francis - 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.
