Nick Daicos wins 2026 Brownlow with record 47 votes
Nick Daicos has won the 2026 Brownlow Medal with 47 votes, the most ever polled under the 3-2-1 voting system.
The Collingwood Magpies midfielder claimed the first Brownlow of his career at the count on 21 September, breaking Patrick Cripps's record in the 3-2-1 era, AFL.com.au reported. The medal goes to the league's best-and-fairest player, with the field umpires awarding three votes to the best player on the ground each match, two to the second-best and one to the third.
It was fourth time lucky for Daicos after three previous near misses. Three records fell on the night, according to the AFL.
The other major thread was Sydney's Isaac Heeney. Heeney finished equal-eighth on 26 votes, outside the top five, after a slow start to the count. He did not poll until round four, when he picked up two votes, ABC News reported.
Heeney was not in the room. He, Chad Warner and Nick Blakey were absent from the awards ceremony. The AFL had a contingency plan in place in case Heeney had won.
The three were among five Sydney players stood down by the club in August. Heeney, Warner, Blakey, Riley Bice and James Jordon were suspended for the remainder of the 2026 season for breaching club standards after a post-match incident at the Pullman Hotel in East Melbourne. They have been absent from Sydney's headquarters since.
The five were not invited to the Brownlow function but remained eligible to win the medal. They were ruled ineligible for All-Australian honours.
Sydney has said the suspensions are separate to a police investigation into sexual assault allegations. No charges had been laid as of 22 September 2026. A Victoria Police update is not expected until late October.
Elsewhere on the leaderboard, Adelaide's Izak Rankine polled 25 votes. Sydney's Errol Gulden finished with 17 votes, while Warner polled 12.
What makes this stand out is the contrast. Daicos polled relentlessly from the start. Heeney's votes came late and from a distance, with his season already over in August.
