Daicos the $1.01 favourite as Brownlow night arrives in Melbourne

Collingwood's Nick Daicos enters Monday night's 2026 Brownlow Medal count as a $1.01 favourite with most bookmakers, according to ABC News.

The price says plenty. The Brownlow is the AFL's best-and-fairest award, decided by the field umpires casting 3-2-1 votes after every home-and-away game, and Daicos has polled strongly all season.

The count is scheduled for Monday, September 21, 2026, at Melbourne's Crown Palladium. Red-carpet arrivals begin at 5:15pm, broadcast coverage starts at 7:30pm AEST and the vote count starts at 8pm.

Channel 7 and 7Plus are broadcasting the ceremony. The 7:30pm AEST start time applies in Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth, according to Fox Sports, with streaming available on 7Plus and via the AFL Live platform.

The night runs to a tight schedule. The Mark of the Year winner is due at 8:35pm, followed by Goal of the Year at 9pm.

Daicos finished second last season, when Gold Coast's Matt Rowell beat him by seven votes. Geelong's Bailey Smith, Western Bulldogs captain Marcus Bontempelli and Carlton's Patrick Cripps are named as the other main contenders this year.

There is a record in play. The AFL's Brownlow Predictor tips Daicos to poll 47 votes, which would pass Cripps' record of 45, according to AFL.com.au.

There is also a change to how votes were cast. For the 2026 season, umpires were given access to player statistics when deciding their votes.

One subplot involves Sydney. Isaac Heeney, Chad Warner, Nick Blakey, Riley Bice and James Jordon were banned from playing finals after breaching club standards, but remain eligible to receive Brownlow votes and all votes will count. Heeney is rated a top-10 prospect.

For fans, this means a short night with a clear frontrunner and one open question. Daicos is expected to win. The count will tell whether he gets there early, late, or with a number the game has not seen before.