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Whateley: Why the Brownlow should never change
SEN • September 23rd, 2025 6:00 pm
The 2025 Brownlow Medal produced far from the expected outcome, with Gold Coast’s Matt Rowell claiming an astounding victory on Monday night.
Polling 39 votes, Rowell accumulated the second most Brownlow votes in a single season in AFL history, becoming the third to break the total votes tally record within two seasons.
With a majority of the most popular Brownlow Medal predictors expecting Rowell to poll between 22 and 27 votes for his superb 2025 season, the star midfielder exceeded his expected tally by over double digits, beating out favourite Nick Daicos by seven votes on the night.
While many were curious as to how the superstar Sun managed so many votes, questioning the process and legitimacy of the Brownlow voting, Gerard Whateley believes this is exactly why the Brownlow is the event that it is.
“The intensity of the debate surrounding the Brownlow Medal both last night and this morning shows how much it still means, and how passionately we are engaged in it,” Whateley told SEN Mornings
“It’s actually why it should never change. They should never solve the Brownlow. We can have our fun, and we’ll nitpick, and we’ll figure out where it all went wrong.
“I’ve been going to the Brownlow since Robert Harvey won his first, and there were a few things I had never seen before.”
Speaking on Monday night’s victor, Whateley believes it’s a perfect outcome for a player who personifies love for the game.
“Matt Rowell is a wonderful winner. Does anyone love footy more than Rowell? The proverbial eat, sleep and dream footy, from a kid to a 24-year-old.
“He eats the grass, he collects Sherrins, and as we learnt in his acceptance speech, he just loves his boots. There are 12-year-olds right across the country who know exactly what he means.
“Rowell seemed destined for this moment when he polled three consecutive bests afield in games two, three and four of his career.
“He’s always drawn the eyes of the umpires. Last season he polled 25 votes at the Brownlow while finishing only fourth in the suns’ best and fairest. And now that the suns are winning? Rowell commanded the votes. Gold Coast won 15 games this season, Rowell polled in 14 of them.
“He polled 20 votes in nine games, and from there, romped to victory with he second greatest total in the count’s history.”
