2011 Brownlow Medal Count - Freo preview
Who'll poll the most votes for Freo?
While Freo had a disappointing 2011 season, finishing 11th, the quartet representing the club at the Crown Palladium tonight all played well throughout various stages of the year.
But just who will poll the most votes for Fremantle remains to be seen. And could any of the boys poll well enough to snatch a place?
Here are a few tips on the Fremantle players who are expected to poll well on the night, led by second-year star Nat Fyfe and club captain Matthew Pavlich.
Nat Fyfe - Fyfe opened the season in blistering fashion, gathering 29 possessions and kicking a goal in round 1. He was in Freo’s best from rounds 3-9 where he averaged 28 possessions per game. The three votes are a distinct possibility in round 4, where Fyfe had 32 disposals and two goals in a win.
The 19-year-old averaged 23 disposals per game over rounds 10-15, but exploded back into form with a best-on-ground display in the round 17 win against Sydney at the SCG. He had 31 possessions, but it was his magnificent goal in the third quarter that really caught the eye.
Fyfe’s season, much like Fremantle’s, petered out over the final seven games, but the Lake Grace youngster still had a fantastic second season of AFL and could very well poll the most votes at the club and even sneak into the top half of the overall leader board.
Matthew Pavlich - While Pavlich didn’t have as many dominating performances as he has had in the past, the Freo captain was super consistent throughout the course of the season. The five-time winner of the Doig Medal has polled well in the past, and playing predominantly in the midfield this season would have put him right under the umpires’ noses.
Pavlich gained more than 20 disposals in every match from rounds 1-10 and only failed to reach 20 touches in three games all season, before injury saw him subbed out in the second quarter of the round 22 match against North Melbourne. He didn’t play again after that.
Despite not spending as much time playing forward as we’ve become accustomed to, Pavlich still managed to boot five goals in round 14 and two bags of three in rounds 12 and 15. As always, he is a great chance to poll the most votes at Freo.
David Mundy - Mundy only managed 12 games in an injury-interrupted season. But when he did play, the 2010 Doig Medallist was in sublime touch. He started the season like a man possessed, gaining at least 24 disposals in each match from rounds 1-9. In fact, Mundy averaged 29 disposals in a six-game stretch between rounds 2-8 that would have had him in contention to win the Brownlow Medal had injury not struck in round 12.
Mundy only played one more game after going down hurt, but Fremantle lost its last seven games of the season, which means there would be slim pickings for votes to players wearing purple. He might have established a big enough lead through his early season form to poll the most votes at Fremantle in 2011.
Aaron Sandilands - Like Mundy, Freo’s champion ruckman was hit by the dreaded injury curse in 2011, playing only 13 games. But just as Mundy did, the three-time All Australian made a telling impact in the games he did play, including a monster 53-hitout, 19-possession ruck tutorial against the Western Bulldogs in round 5.
While there’s no way the umpires could miss his 211cm frame, what could hurt Spider’s Brownlow vote tally is that he went down early in two games this season (rounds 9 and 14). So effectively, he is only a chance of polling votes in 11 games.
Roughie tip for most Fremantle votes - David Mundy could be near the top of the overall leader board after 10 rounds. If he is far enough ahead of his teammates at this stage, he might just hold on ahead of Pavlich and Fyfe.