Adam Cooney wins Brownlow Medal

September 23, 2008

On Monday night, Australian Football player Adam Cooney won the Australian Football League's most prestigious award, the Brownlow Medal, awarded to the AFL's best and fairest. He received 24 votes, ahead of Simon Black with 23 votes and Gary Ablett and Matthew Richardson with 22 votes. Cooney took the lead after 20 rounds of votes had been cast (from twenty-two), and is the first Western Bulldogs player to win the medal since 1992.

Cooney was surprised to win the medal, after having been locked out of the vote count for two rounds (after having been to the toilet), and at one point, about to leave the vote count, believing he had little chance of winning the medal. However, he returned, and took the lead.

The Brownlow Medal is the start of AFL Grand Final week, which ends on Saturday, September 29, with the AFL Grand Final, with the Geelong Cats playing against the Hawthorn Hawks at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

It should also be noted that AFL CEO, Andrew Demetriou mistakenly started reading out the votes for Round 2 first, instead of the votes for Round 1.