Dayne Beams had a tough year off the field with his father passing away and electing to step down from the captaincy, but on the field he excelled.
Beams finished equal-eighth in the 2018 Brownlow count with 18 votes, far and away the highest of the 11 Lions who polled.
He polled in nine of the 21 matches he played, including three best on field performances against Sydney in Round 10, Fremantle in Round 15 and Gold Coast in Round 22.
Surprisingly, he didn't poll a vote in a match against North Melbourne when he finished with 32 disposals and five goals.
Key forward Eric Hipwood finished with six, as did star midfielder Dayne Zorko.
A consistent year by Stef Martin saw him finish with five votes.
No.1 draft pick Cam Rayner picked up three votes in a best-on-ground performance against Hawthorn.
Hawks midfielder Tom Mitchell won his first Brownlow Medal with 28 votes ahead of Collingwood's Steele Sidebottom (24 votes) and Melbourne's Angus Brayshaw (21 votes).
Charlie Cameron left empty-handed after Richmond's Jack Higgins and Sydney's Isaac Heeney were awarded the Goal and Mark of the Year respectively.
Our 2018 Brownlow Votes
18 – Dayne Beams
6 – Eric Hipwood
6 – Dayne Zorko
5 – Stefan Martin
3 – Cameron Rayner
2 - Harris Andrews
1 - Jarrod Berry
1 - Tom Cutler
1 - Hugh McCluggage
1 - Mitch Robinson
1 - Alex Witherden
Total votes – 45
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