Black, who led for much of last week’s Brownlow count before being overhauled by eventual winner Adam Cooney, would likely start a pronounced favourite if a betting market existed for the Brisbane Lions’ Club Champion award.
But the voting system, in which the Lions’ match committee – voting as a unit – awards each player in each game a score between 0-5, does not always reflect Brownlow outcomes.
You only have to compare last year’s Brownlow and Merrett-Murray polling to see that.
Black polled 22 Brownlow votes in 2007 to finish equal second for football’s highest honour to Geelong’s Jimmy Bartel. But the deserving Club Champion by an overwhelming margin was superstar forward Jonathan Brown, with Black a distant equal fifth.
The three players who finished between Brown and Black, Jed Adcock, Tim Notting and Luke Power, polled only five Brownlow votes between them.
Brown and Power are again likely to provide stiff opposition to Black this year, while underrated defender Joel Patfull, emerging utility Jared Brennan and leading goal-kicker Daniel Bradshaw should also poll well.
Potential Merrett-Murray Medal top-five:
Simon Black: this time out his Brownlow Medal polling should be matched by a similarly strong showing in the Club Champion Award. Aside from his outstanding numbers – almost 26 touches per game – Brown’s ability to win the hard ball and clearances is likely to be appreciated by the match committee.
Luke Power: Power should certainly make it six top-five finishes in a row – unfortunately, Black’s outstanding year means he is also likely to be runner-up in the Merrett-Murray Medal for a third time. The 28-year-old had another excellent season, playing every game and having a purple patch between rounds 12 and 16 in which he topped 30 possessions in four of five outings.
Jonathan Brown: Brown wasn’t quite as dominant as last year, when he won the Coleman Medal and was named All-Australian vice-captain. But there were still plenty of big outings – seven games of five goals or more and a stretch between rounds nine and 12 in which he averaged almost 21 possessions and 14 marks.
Jared Brennan: Brennan has always had style, but in 2008 he showed he has plenty of substance as well. An outstanding athlete, the 24-year-old could soon be an outstanding midfielder after averaging almost 18 possessions per game and producing starring last quarters in wins over Adelaide and the Western Bulldogs.
Daniel Bradshaw: one of the best comeback seasons from the knee reconstruction ever – not only by a Lion but in the history of the AFL. Out of the game for 12 months, Bradshaw finished as the competition’s third-highest goal-kicker (75) and would almost certainly have broken Alastair Lynch’s club record had he not missed rounds 12 and 13 with injury.
