If the AFL coaches were judging the Brownlow Medal then Lachie Neale has just hit the front in the 2024 medal count.

Neale polled eight votes in the AFL Coaches Association Player of the Year Award in Sunday’s Round 21 win over St.Kilda, and now has 25.5 votes in the notional ‘Coachlow’.

Coachlow? That’s what you get when you convert the 5-4-3-2-1 votes of each coach in each game into notional 3-2-1 Brownlow Medal votes.

Effectively, the top three players in the coaches votes get 3-2-1 votes in the ‘Coachlow’, with ‘Coachlow’ votes split in the event of ties in the coaches votes.

So on Sunday, when Brisbane coach Chis Fagan and StKilda counterpart Ross Lyon collectively voted Neale (8), Cam Rayner (6), Oscar McInerney (5), Hugh McCluggage (5), Brandon Starcevich (3), Joe Daniher (2) and Harris Andrews (1) the ‘Coachlow’ votes were Neale (3), Rayner (2), McInerney (0.5) and McCluggage (0.5).

Among the other Brownlow fancies in Round 21, Western Bulldogs skipper Marcus Bontempelli and Carlton skipper Patrick Cripps polled three ‘Coachlow’ votes, Collingwood’s Nick Daicos one, and Fremantle’s Caleb Serong and Sydney’s Isaac Heeney did not poll.

So the Coachlow leaderboard is:-

25.5 – Lachie Neale (Bris)
24.25 – Nick Daicos (Coll)
23.6 – Patrick Cripps (Carl)
23.0 – Isaac Heeney (Syd)
22.0 – Marcus Bontempelli (WB)
21.0 – Caleb Serong (Frem)

In what will be a reasonable pointer to the Brownlow, others with 10 or more ‘Coachlow’ votes are Bulldogs Adam Treloar (19), Gold Coast’s Noah Anderson (17), Essendon’s Zach Merrett (16), Port’s Jason Horne-Francis (15.6), Sydney’s Errol Gulden (15.5) and Chad Warner (15.5), Carlton’s Sam Walsh (14.75), Fremantle’s Hayden Young (14.5), Geelong’s Jeremy Cameron (14.5), North’s Luke Davies-Uniacke (14.33), Gold Coast’s Pat Rowell (13.4), GWS’ Jesse Hogan (13.5), Fremantle’s Andrew Brayshaw (13), Hawthorn’s Jai Newcombe (12.5), Port’s Zac Butters (12.1) Adelaide’s Jordan Dawson (11.5), Geelong’s Max Holmes (11), and Brisbane’s Josh Dunkley (10.5).

08:15

Chris Fagan Rd 21 Press Conference

Watch Brisbane’s press conference after round 21’s match against St Kilda

McCluggage (9), Dayne Zorko (8.5), Rayner (6.5), McInerney (5) and Joe Daniher (4.5) are next best of the Lions.

The most significant pointer in the ‘Coachlow’ is the fact that Neale has polled 8-9-10 votes with the coaches no less than nine times, include five 10-vote ratings in which both coaches considered him the best player on the ground. It’s the most in the League.

Bontempelli has polled a maximum 10 votes six times – most in the field – but has only one nine-vote rating and no eight-rate ratings.

Similarly, Geelong’s Jeremy Cameron has five 10-vote ratings – and nothing else.

Daicos, Treloar and Merrett have four 10s, while Bontempelli, Anderson and Heeney have seven times polled 8-9-10 votes, andCripps, Serong and Treloar six.