AFL great calls for immediate Brownlow overhaul

1 year ago 62

Brendon Goddard has revealed he's successful favour of umpires being stripped of Brownlow Medal voting and expressed his vexation astatine footballers "not adjacent successful the apical 5 players successful the competition" winning the game's highest idiosyncratic honour.

The St Kilda and Essendon fable has lashed the Brownlow voting strategy successful the aftermath of the betting contention that rocked the athletics this month.

After suspicious betting was flagged to the AFL by 1 of its betting partners, prompting an investigation, tract umpire Michael Pell was arrested for allegedly leaking votes from 2022 matches.

"I've been for a abstracted sheet going into each crippled and voting connected the 3-2-1, whether that beryllium 2 oregon 3 individuals oregon adjacent conscionable 1 person," Goddard said connected Nine's Sports Sunday.

"So, I deliberation that'll springiness a existent reflection, astatine the extremity of the day, of the champion and fairest player. We've seen successful the past ... the unusual 1 oregon 2 each 3 oregon 4 years bobbing up from not adjacent successful favouritism, not adjacent successful the apical 5 players successful the contention winning Brownlow Medals."

Goddard didn't rattle disconnected immoderate names, but the 2014 triumph by West Coast midfielder Matt Priddis near galore perplexed.

He claimed the grant contempt not earning enactment successful the 2014 All-Australian team, which was picked by greats of the crippled similar Kevin Bartlett, Matthew Richardson, Cameron Ling and Warren Tredrea.

Brownlow Medal play 'beggars belief'

"We were chatting before, (co-panellist) Chloe (Dalton), astir however hard a occupation it is for the umpires — not lone to umpire the game," Goddard added.

"There's truthful galore things going on, (like) regularisation interpretations changing.

"Then they person to travel retired of it and ballot connected the biggest idiosyncratic grant successful our athletics and ballot connected who was the champion subordinate connected that day.

"So, it's beauteous tough, truthful I deliberation you'll get a amended reflection and a existent effect of the champion subordinate if it's a abstracted sheet (voting)."

Goddard suggested the AFL could instrumentality voting rights distant from umpires and acceptable up an autarkic sheet successful clip for the 2023 season.

"You'd deliberation they've been reasoning astir this for a agelong time. It's ever been brought up. This is different lawsuit where, unfortunately, retired of a mediocre condition and a atrocious 1 ... it's been brought up astir the umpires," Goddard said.

Calls for stripped privilege amid Brownlow shame

"But this has been talked astir for a agelong time.

"We adjacent speech astir it from a players' constituent of view.

"The AFL utilized to travel to the footy clubs — they inactive do, but erstwhile I was playing — and sermon however they tin amended the game. How bash they marque it the fairest competition?

"We utilized to sermon this arsenic players.

"So it's been talked astir it for a agelong time, truthful I suggest there's been a batch of enactment done and scenarios thrown up.

"So it could beryllium implemented beauteous quickly, I would person thought."

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