The Geelong Football Club has a long and illustrious history with the League’s most prestigious award, with seven Cats winning the Brownlow Medal across its 100 year history.
The Medal was named after Charles ‘Chas’ Brownlow, a man who spent over 40 years with the Geelong Football Club as a player and administrator.
Edward Carji Greeves won the inaugural Brownlow Medal in 1924, right through to Patrick Dangerfield who was the latest Geelong recipient in 2016.
Take a look below at a detailed history of Geelong’s Brownlow Medal winners.
1924 – Edward ‘Carji’ Greeves
A man who has left a lasting legacy on the Geelong Football Club, Edward ‘Carji’ Greeves won the very first Brownlow Medal right back in 1924.
Playing through the midfield, Greeves polled an equal career high seven votes to win the Medal, in a system at the time that only awarded a single vote each game.
Greeves went on to finish runner up in the Brownlow Medal on three occasions, landing in the Cats’ team of the century and Australian Football Hall of Fame after an incredible career.
1951 – Bernie Smith
After a 27 year drought following Greeves’ win, Bernie Smith became the second Cats player to win the Brownlow Medal during Geelong’s Premiership season in 1951.
Smith polled 23 votes to beat Ron Clegg from South Melbourne, recording three votes on six different occasions despite playing in the back pocket.
One of the best career’s in the hoops, Smith played 183 games and won two premierships, two Carji Greeves medals, made the AFL team of the century and an All-Australian team.
1962 – Alistair Lord
Alistair Lord blew the competition away in his stellar 1962 season recording 28 votes to win the Brownlow Medal, with no other player getting within nine votes of the Geelong champion.
A brilliant midfielder, Lord averaged 30 disposals per game in his Brownlow season polling in 13 of his 18 games, while also winning the Carji Greeves Medal in the same season.
Lord also went on to be part of the 1963 Geelong Premiership team.
1989 – Paul Couch
Another 27 year Brownlow Medal drought was snapped in 1989, when Paul Couch claimed the league’s top honour after polling 22 votes for the season to finish two clear of Hawthorn’s John Platten.
The star on-baller averaged a career high 27 disposals per game, hitting the scoreboard in 15 games as the Cats marched all the way to the 1989 Grand Final.
Couch collected 30 disposals or more on 10 different occasions that season, including an incredible 43 possession game against Fitzroy in round 14.
2007 – Jimmy Bartel
An incredible breakout season finished in the ultimate glory for Bartel, winning the 2007 Brownlow Medal as the Cats went on to break their 44 year Premiership drought.
The gun midfielder averaged 28 disposals per game across the season, polling three votes in eight different games to cruise to a comfortable win with 29 total votes.
Bartel finished nine votes clear of second place in the 2007 count, despite missing the last two rounds of the home and away season with a burst appendix.
2009 – Gary Ablett Jr
One of the all time greats finally got his crowning moment, when Gary Ablett Jr claimed his first Brownlow Medal in 2009.
In one of the more incredible individual seasons, the little master averaged 34 disposals and a goal per game, finishing with 30 votes in the count and eight clear of second place.
Ablett went on to play a big role in the Cats 2009 Premiership, while also winning another Brownlow Medal in 2013 with the Gold Coast Suns.
The star on-baller has polled the most votes in Brownlow Medal history, polling in nearly 37% of his 357 game career.
2016 – Patrick Dangerfield
One of the competition’s best Brownlow performers in history, Dangerfield took ‘Charlie’ home in 2016 following his first season in the blue and white hoops.
Dangerfield averaged 32 disposals and a goal per game in 2016, polling a massive 35 votes for the season and a record equalling nine three-vote games.
Across his career Dangerfield has polled the second most votes in Brownlow history, along with the second most three-vote games of all time.
