Howdy all. Well, it's been a while, but there's no better time than the present to talk about footy. And do I have some discussion points for you. Below you can find my usual brownlow tally and analysis, along with my current AA squad and teams & for the first time, my current top 50.
All 3 have been collated through statistical analysis rather than opinion, and I'd be interested to hear your thoughts about each and all of them.

2013 BROWNLOW MEDAL
(At the conclusion of Rd 17)

OVERALL (3 vote games in brackets)
25 - G. Ablett (1, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11, 17)

20 - J. Selwood (1, 4, 11, 15, 17)

19 - D. Hannebery (6, 8, 11, 17)

18 - S. Pendlebury (1, 6, 16)

17 - J. Watson (2, 4, 9, 14)

16 - D. Swan (10, 11, 12, 15)

15 - S. Johnson (6, 9, 16)

15 - R. Griffen (10, 13, 17)

15 - K. Jack (1, 15)

15 - N. Fyfe (2, 3, 13)

15 - J. McVeigh (2, 3, 10, 16)

Hard to see anyone stopping Ablett picking up his second brownlow medal. Selwood a smoky, but hasn't polled greatly in last 2 years. Hannebery likely victim of vote sharing in best current midfield in the comp, and also being the Swan's 5th best midfielder behind Kennedy, Jack, O'Keefe and McVeigh. Pendlebury the only other hope, with Watson injured and the rest too far back.

ADELAIDE - TOTAL VOTES (41)
14 - P. Dangerfield (6, 12)

10 - R. Sloane (4, 8)

6 - R. Douglas

Dangerfield a lock unless injury takes longer than expected and Sloane can continue on his form from last round.

BRISBANE - (42)
13 - P. Hanley (2, 7, 17)

6 - D. Zorko (5, 8)

6 - T. Rockliff (16)

Hanley clearly has head best season of the three - however his voting credentials are unknown, and running backs as a position have a history of polling poorly. Danger team that I would steer clear of, unless Hanley odds too good.

CARLTON (54)
7 - A. Walker (10)

6 - M. Murphy (6, 8)

6 - J. Waite (9, 11)

Really need final few rounds for a clear winner to appear here. Again, same positional issues for Walker as Hanley.

COLLINGWOOD (59)
18 - S. Pendlebury (1, 6, 16)

16 - D. Swan (10, 11, 12, 15)

7 - T. Cloke (4)

Swan has polled more votes than any other player over last 2 years, and beaten Pendlebury comfortably in both of them. Pendlebury has had a more consistent year, but Swan's middle patch has been outstanding. Another that is too early to call.

ESSENDON (63)
17 - J. Watson (2, 4, 9, 14)

7 - D. Heppell

5 - B. Stanton

Watson will be $1.01.

FREMANTLE (59)
15 - N. Fyfe (2, 3, 13)

11 - D. Mundy (1, 9, 12)

9 - M. Barlow (10)

Odds should be interesting here. Fyfe has polled well in his short-term career, but he has missed some games, and Barlow did poll very well in his first year when he hit the scene, and you could argue has been more consistent. Mundy historically has struggled to poll.

GOLD COAST (44)
25 - G. Ablett (1, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11, 17)

6 - D. Prestia (14)

4 - J. O'Meara

Ablett shouldn't even be paying a $1.01. Will be interesting to see how Jaeger polls in his first year.

GEELONG (68)
20 - J. Selwood

15 - S. Johnson

10 - H. Taylor

Really out of Selwood and Johnson here for most votes. Johnson has missed a considerable number of games, but has had some blinders. Selwood poor middle patch, but has had some really big games outside of this. As mentioned earlier, hasn't polled as well as he's played over last couple of years, with his highest tally being 21 votes in 2010 (17 & 14 in 2011 and 2012 respectively).

GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY (17)
6 - C. Ward

5 - J. Cameron (6)

3 - D. Shiel (15)

Low vote scoring teams always a worry. You'd have to say Ward, unless Cameron is able to kick a bag in a winning game later in the year (goal scorers in losing teams have very low polling ability in recent years).

HAWTHORN (65)
14 - S. Mitchell (8)

13 - J. Roughead (13, 14, 16)

10 - L. Hodge (3, 7)

Whilst Mitchell has polled the 2nd highest number of votes in the last 2 years, his positional change in 2010 (to the half back line, similar to this year), saw Luke Hodge collect more votes than him in that year. Should get some strong odds on Roughead and Mitchell.

MELBOURNE (10)
4 - N. Jones (4)

3 - J. Watts (14)

2 - C. Garland

Jones has had best year and again should collect most votes, but I would stay away if odds below $1.50 given total vote pool will be very low for Melbourne.

NORTH MELBOURNE (47)
9 - D. Petrie (10, 14)

6 - A. Swallow

6 - J. Ziebell

Should be tasty odds here for Petrie also, with Swallow likely to be favourite given captaincy and best midfielder tags. Swallow only beat Petrie by 1 vote last year, and is down on form.

PORT ADELAIDE (50)
9 - T. Boak (3, 6, 12)

8 - H. Hartlett (1, 5)

8 - J. Westhoff (2)

Harlett and Westhoff both had excellent starts to the season, but Boak has really become an A grader this year, has polled well in the past (16 votes in 2010) and should poll most votes.

RICHMOND (53)
12 - D. Martin (3)

10 - T. Cotchin (1, 17)

8 - B. Deledio (7)

Deledio has never polled overly well, so this one really is a two horse race. Martin polls well, however Cotchin has historically polled better. Martin has had a better year, but may be starting off too low a base after a poor year last year. Odds should be interesting.

ST KILDA (30)
7 - J. Steven (7, 17)

6 - N. Riewoldt (5)

6 - D. Armitage (3)

Steven and Montagna (5 votes) have been the best midfielders for the Saints this year. None of these 4 are proven to be strong pollers, with Steven and Armitage largely untested. Best vote-getters Dal Santo and Hayes have been poor.

SYDNEY (73)
19 - D. Hannebery (6, 8, 11, 17)

15 - J. McVeigh (2, 3, 10, 16)

15 - K. Jack (1, 15)

Top vote-getter last year JPK hasn't hit the heights of 2012. Hannebery has polled relatively well when playing well in the past, but is enjoying a breakout year, so will be interesting to see if the umpires are aligned. Interestingly, his SC average is not as impressive as his current 3rd in the overall tally suggests, showing that he has been tagged out of a lot of games. Jack the main threat.

WESTERN BULLDOGS (39)
15 - R. Griffen (10, 13, 17)

7 - T. Liberatore

5 - A. Cooney

Griffen has become elite this year, now well and truly a top 10 midfielder, and will be at $1.01.

WEST COAST (51)
9 - S. Selwood (10, 11)

9 - M. Priddis (15)

7 - L. Shuey (6)

Priddis likely to be in front by years end, which is unfortunate given he is likely to be favourite. Either way, West Coast has produced reasonable odds in the past, and this year shouldn't be any different.





ALL-AUSTRALIAN SQUAD & TEAM

Squad of 40:
Adelaide - P. Dangerfield

Brisbane - P. Hanley

Carlton - A. Walker, L. Henderson, J. Garlett

Collingwood - T. Cloke, S. Pendlebury, D. Swan

Essendon - M. Hibberd, J. Carlisle, J. Watson

Fremantle - N. Fyfe

Gold Coast - G. Ablett

Geelong - S. Johnson, C. Enright, H. Taylor, J. Selwood

Greater Western Sydney - N/A

Hawthorn - S. Mitchell, L. Hodge, J. Roughead

Melbourne - N/A

North Melbourne - L. Thomas, S.D. Thompson, D. Petrie

Port Adelaide - T. Boak, C. Wingard

Richmond - D. Martin, J. Riewoldt

St Kilda - N. Riewoldt, B. McEvoy

Sydney - J. P. Kennedy, N. Malceski, K. Jack, J. McVeigh, D. Hannebery

Western Bulldogs - W. Minson, R. Griffen

West Coast - D. Cox, M. Priddis, J.J. Kennedy

TEAM
FB: N. Malceski S.D. Thompson L. Henderson

HB: A. Walker H. Taylor P. Hanley

C: K. Jack J. Selwood D. Hannebery

HF: P. Dangerfield J. J. Kennedy C. Wingard

FF: D. Petrie J. Roughead J. Garlett

R: W. Minson S. Pendlebury G. Ablett

Int: R. Griffen J. McVeigh D.Swan
J. Watson

So I'll say it before you do, biggest misses from team: J. Carlisle, N. Riewoldt & L.Thomas. To pick the team, I select the 5 best midfielders this year to start on the ground, along with the best ruckman. For the forward line, I included the midfielder that had kicked the most goals this year (Dangerfield), along with 3 key forwards and 2 small forwards. JJK and Roughead have been the best two tall forwards this year, so the third position came down to N. Riewoldt or Petrie. Comparing them directly, Petrie has kicked more goals (40 v 37), picked up more coaches votes (30 v 23) and scored more SC points (1616 v 1599). On the small forward front, Wingard has been outstanding this year, and was my second forward picked overall behind Roughead, given his 29 goals, 44 coaches votes (polling in 11 separate games, second only to G. Ablett) and 1565 sc points. Again, it was down to Garlett v Thomas. Whilst Thomas has more goals (45 v 36), Garlett pips him across all other measures.

The backline was a similar story, with 3 key backs and 3 running backs being selected. Hanley and Walker are both hands down, whilst Malceski's season has been slightly ahead of Hibberd's. Taylor and S.D. Thompson are my first selected key backs, with Henderson v Carlisle to make up the last. Both have swung forward with success, with Henderson's 14 goals outdoing Carlisle's 6. Both have picked up coaches votes across 6 games, but again Henderson pips Carlisle in total votes of 24 v 18.

By Team (Squad):
ADE - 1 (1)

BRL - 1 (1)

CAR - 3 (3)

COL - 2 (3)

ESS - 1 (3)

FRE - 0 (1)

GCS - 1 (1)

GEE - 2 (4)

GWS - 0 (0)

HAW - 1 (3)

MEL - 0 (0)

NM - 2 (4)

PTA - 1 (2)

RIC - 0 (2)

STK - 0 (2)

SYD - 4 (5)

WBD - 2 (2)

WCE - 1 (3)




TOP 50

…for 2013 at the conclusion of round 17 (i.e. not the best 50 players in the comp)

Now that that's out of the way, prepare to draw your arrows:
<p style='text-indent: -18pt;]1. G. Ablett
<p style='text-indent: -18pt;]2. S. Pendlebury
<p style='text-indent: -18pt;]3. K. Jack
<p style='text-indent: -18pt;]4. Jarrad Roughead
<p style='text-indent: -18pt;]5. J. Selwood
<p style='text-indent: -18pt;]6. D. Hannebery
<p style='text-indent: -18pt;]7. P. Dangerfield
<p style='text-indent: -18pt;]8. R. Griffen
<p style='text-indent: -18pt;]9. J. McVeigh
<p style='text-indent: -18pt;]10. D. Swan
<p style='text-indent: -18pt;]11. J. Watson
<p style='text-indent: -18pt;]12. C. Wingard
<p style='text-indent: -18pt;]13. N. Fyfe
<p style='text-indent: -18pt;]14. J.J. Kennedy
<p style='text-indent: -18pt;]15. T. Cloke
<p style='text-indent: -18pt;]16. D. Petrie
<p style='text-indent: -18pt;]17. J.P. Kennedy
<p style='text-indent: -18pt;]18. W. Minson
<p style='text-indent: -18pt;]19. D. Martin
<p style='text-indent: -18pt;]20. P. Hanley
<p style='text-indent: -18pt;]21. S. Mitchell
<p style='text-indent: -18pt;]22. S. Johnson
<p style='text-indent: -18pt;]23. N. Riewoldt
<p style='text-indent: -18pt;]24. L. Hodge
<p style='text-indent: -18pt;]25. T. Boak
<p style='text-indent: -18pt;]26. J. Riewoldt
<p style='text-indent: -18pt;]27. M. Priddis
<p style='text-indent: -18pt;]28. B. Deledio
<p style='text-indent: -18pt;]29. D. Mundy
<p style='text-indent: -18pt;]30. J. Westhoff
<p style='text-indent: -18pt;]31. R. Sloane
<p style='text-indent: -18pt;]32. R. O'Keefe
<p style='text-indent: -18pt;]33. T. Cotchin
<p style='text-indent: -18pt;]34. M. Barlow
<p style='text-indent: -18pt;]35. J. Garlett
<p style='text-indent: -18pt;]36. D. Cox
<p style='text-indent: -18pt;]37. J. Steven
<p style='text-indent: -18pt;]38. H. Taylor
<p style='text-indent: -18pt;]39. R. Douglas
<p style='text-indent: -18pt;]40. M. Leuenberger
<p style='text-indent: -18pt;]41. D. Heppell
<p style='text-indent: -18pt;]42. T. Goldstein
<p style='text-indent: -18pt;]43. J. Darling
<p style='text-indent: -18pt;]44. L. Breust
<p style='text-indent: -18pt;]45. L. Montagna
<p style='text-indent: -18pt;]46. L. Franklin
<p style='text-indent: -18pt;]47. S. Sidebottom
<p style='text-indent: -18pt;]48. L. Thomas
<p style='text-indent: -18pt;]49. B. McEvoy
<p style='text-indent: -18pt;]50. T. Liberatore

By Team:
ADE - 3

BRL - 2

CAR - 1

COL - 4

ESS - 2

FRE - 3

GCS - 1

GEE - 3

GWS - 0

HAW - 5

NM - 3

PTA - 3

RIC - 4

STK - 4

SYD - 5

WBD - 3

WCE - 4