2017 Brownlow Medal

2017 Brownlow Medal
2017 Brownlow Medallist, Dustin Martin
Date	25 September
Location	Crown Palladium
Hosted by	Bruce McAvaney
Winner	Dustin Martin Richmond (36 votes)
Television/radio coverage
Network	Seven Network Telstra

The 2017 Brownlow Medal was the 90th year the award was presented to the player adjudged the fairest and best player during the Australian Football League (AFL) home and away season.^[1] Dustin Martin of the Richmond Football Club won the medal with a record-breaking 36 votes, which was tied by Ollie Wines in 2021, until it was broken by Patrick Cripps in 2024.^[2]

Leading vote-getters

	Player	Votes
1st	Dustin Martin (Richmond)	36
	Patrick Dangerfield (Geelong)*	33
2nd	Tom Mitchell (Hawthorn)	25
3rd	Josh Kennedy (Sydney)	23
4th	Lance Franklin (Sydney)	22
5th	Josh Kelly (Greater Western Sydney)	21
6th	Rory Sloane (Adelaide)	20
7th	Marcus Bontempelli (Western Bulldogs)	19
8th	Ollie Wines (Port Adelaide)	18
9th	Dayne Beams (Brisbane Lions)	17
10th	Luke Parker (Sydney)	16

* The player was ineligible to win the medal due to suspension by the AFL Tribunal during the year.

Voting procedure

The three field umpires (those umpires who control the flow of the game, as opposed to goal or boundary umpires) confer after each match and award three votes, two votes, and one vote to the players they regard as the best, second-best and third-best in the match, respectively. The votes are kept secret until the awards night, and they are read and tallied on the evening.^[3]

The winner of the 2017 Brownlow medal was Dustin Martin, scoring a record 36 votes to win the seasons best and fairest (which would be tied by Ollie Wines in 2021). For much of the season, Martin and 2016 winner Patrick Dangerfield (Geelong) had emerged as the stand-out midfielders in the game, and the pair had been expected to dominate the count;^[4] however, Dangerfield became ineligible for the medal in Round 19 after being suspended for one week for a dangerous tackle, leaving Martin as the short-priced favourite.^[5] In the week leading up to the count, Martin was a $1.08 favourite with bookmakers.^[6]

References

1. Lovett, Michael (ed.). AFL Record Season Guide 2016. Docklands, Victoria: Slattery Media Group. p. 593.
2. McGowan, Marc (25 September 2017). "Dusty's late surge seals record-breaking Brownlow win". AFL.com.au. Telstra Media. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
3. "Brownlow Medal history and winners - AFL.com.au". afl.com.au. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
4. "Dangerfield-Dusty Brownlow Medal battle could be as tight as Bonecrusher v Our Waverley Star". Herald Sun. Melbourne, VIC. 27 June 2017. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
5. Lauren Wood (1 August 2017). "Geelong accepts one-match suspension, Patrick Dangerfield ineligible for Brownlow Medal". Herald Sun. Melbourne, VIC. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
6. "Brownlow Medal 2017 betting guide: Can anyone stop Dustin Martin?". Herald Sun. 19 September 2017. Retrieved 19 September 2017.