Tonight’s Brownlow Medal count will feel a little strange.

We’ll go through an entire night without hearing the AFL CEO read out the immoral words:

“Collingwood, D.Swan, three votes.”

You have to go back to the 2005 to find the last time Swanny went voteless.

That year, it was Ben Cousins who took out the Medal, while Sydney came out on top on Grand Final Day. The more things change…

Anyway. It’s a time to look back and reflect on Swan’s vote polling prowess.

In 258 senior games, Swan polled 186 Brownlow Medal votes.

This tally is all the more impressive when you factor in his 20 finals, meaning he had 238 opportunities to poll.

And poll he did.

Swan averaged 0.78 Brownlow Medal votes per game, and sits eighth on the all-time Medal leaderboard heading into the 2016 count.

Technically, Swan has claims to be sitting in seventh, for between 1976 and 1977, 12 votes were awarded per game (3-2-1 from each of two field umpires). As a result, Hawthorn legend Leigh Matthews has 202 career votes, but just 173.5 when adjusted to fit the system used in all years bar '76 and '77.

In moving to 186 votes, Swan leapfrogged his coach, Nathan Buckley, who polled 178 votes in 243 eligible games.

You'd have been ridiculed to even suggest that would happen during the formative years of Swan's career.

The No. 36 polled 34 votes in 2011, which remains the most recorded by any player in a single season (discounting 1976 and 1977).

Swan's Brownlow breakdown
2003 - 0 votes (3 games)
2004 - 0 votes (13 games)
2005 - 0 votes (14 games)
2006 - 11 votes (20 games)
2007 - 20 votes (22 games)
2008 - 12 votes (22 games)
2009 - 12 votes (22 games)
2010 - 24 votes (22 games)
2011 - 34 votes (21 games)
2012 - 25 votes (18 games)
2013 - 26 votes (22 games)
2014 - 5 votes (17 games)
2015 - 17 votes (21 games)
2016 - 1 game, 8 minutes on the ground

3-2-1
3 vote performances: 33
2 vote performances: 36
1 vote performances: 15

Firsts and lasts
First vote
Round 1 2006 v Adelaide at Docklands
34 disposals, 15 marks, 2 tackles, 1 vote

First three voter
Round 8 2006 v Geelong at the MCG
26 disposals, 10 marks, 4 goals, 3 votes

Last three voter
Round 19 2015 v Carlton at the MCG
41 disposals, 10 marks, 3 goals, 3 votes

Last vote
Round 20 2015 v Sydney at the SCG
39 disposals, 6 marks, 5 tackles, 1 goal, 1 vote

Most disposals without a vote
Round 16 2012 v Geelong at the MCG
40 disposals, 3 marks, 1 tackle, 4 inside 50s, 9 clearances, 0 votes

Least disposals with a vote
Round 16 2006 v West Coast at Docklands
20 disposals, 8 marks, 1 goal, 3 tackles, 5 inside 50s, 2 votes

Most Brownlow Medal votes in VFL/ AFL history (1924-2015)
246 - Gary Dempsey (Foots/ NM)*
215 - Robert Harvey (St K)
214 - Gary Ablett Junior (Geel/ GC)
210 - Chris Judd (WCE/ Carl)
204 - Sam Mitchell (Haw)
202 - Leigh Matthews (Haw)*
187 - Brent Harvey (NM)
186 - Dane Swan (Coll)

*Dempsey and Matthews earned tallies of 218.5 and 173.5 respectively when adjusted to fit the system used in all seasons bar 1976-1977.

What do Ablett, Judd, Mitchell and Swan all have in common?

They are each products of the famous 2001 Super Draft that has gone on to define football between 2005 and 2015.

For the record, Judd was chosen at pick No. 3, Ablett, a father-son bargain if ever there was one, became a Cat with pick No. 40, Mitchell was plucked from the VFL at No. 36 while Swan waddled his way onto the Collingwood list and No. 58.

Draft devotees have been scratching their heads ever since.

Most Brownlow Medal votes in Collingwood history (1924-2015)
186 - Dane Swan
164 - Nathan Buckley
149 - Len Thompson*
133 - Scott Pendlebury
97 - Jack Regan
93 - Peter Daicos
85 - Bill Picken
81 - Neil Mann/ Wayne Richardson
79 - Bob Rose

*Thompson, Picken and Richardson earned tallies of 125, 57.5 and 73 respectively when adjusted to fit the system used in all seasons bar 1976-1977.


Note: A big thank you to the wonderful AFL Tables for providing the basis for so many of the statistics and facts above. Click here to view the site's range of Brownlow Medal statistics now.