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White Ferns LIVE from 7pmThe 16 stats umpires can access for Brownlow voting
SEN • February 25th, 2026 10:07 am
In 2026 umpires will be armed with 16 statistics to help with Brownlow Medal voting.
The Herald Sun reported on Tuesday night that the umps will be able to “request statistics in key categories” as they go about deciding which three players were best on ground.
The stats will be used simply to double check on their initial assessment of a certain player’s performance.
It comes in the wake of record vote hauls and some controversial calls across the past few seasons.
The 16 stats categories the umps will have access to are: kicks, handballs, marks, disposals, tackles, contested marks, goals, behinds, goal assists, score involvements, clearances, intercept marks, intercept possessions, spoils, kick-ins and hit outs.
Champion Data’s Daniel Hoyne reacted to the news as it dropped on SEN’s Sportsday on Tuesday evening.
“All we would be hoping is that by having the 16 stats in there that you are going to eliminate the howlers,” Hoyne said.
“Our (Champion Data) stuff isn’t everything, it’s a piece of the puzzle to the overall jigsaw, and if people think that it is absolutely everything then you do get yourself into a bit of trouble at times.
“Hopefully the umpires are a little bit like-minded in that it isn’t everything, it’s there to help drive overall decisions which can be made up of multiple pieces of the puzzle.”
The howlers Hoyne was referring to include St Kilda’s Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera being overlooked for three votes against Melbourne when he kicked four goals and had 34 disposals, and GWS forward Jesse Hogan missing out altogether despite booting seven goals and having 22 touches against Geelong.
Last year’s Brownlow Medallist Matt Rowell also picked up three votes in games where he had just 17 and 16 disposals.
Garry Lyon and Tim Watson discussed the changes on SEN Breakfast on Wednesday morning.
Lyon: “None of that is going to redefine footy.”
Watson: “If this is about making sure there’s more accuracy in their decision-making wouldn’t you go to Champion Data and say, ‘Look, what do you believe are the six most important stats to look at in determining the effectiveness of a player in a game of football?’.
Lyon: “Then it becomes a Champion Data medal.”
Watson: “No, no, because you’re just using it as a guideline as well.”
Lyon: “What else would you like?”
Watson: “What about effective disposals or disposal efficiency?”
Lyon: “Yep, but then the umpires have got to be savvy with stats due to the degree of difficulty which is taken into account by Champion Data.
“They can lean on what they want, but this is the beauty of the umpires - it is what you value more than perhaps other people. I don’t judge them on it.
“It’s there for the umpires now and it’s a good thing. But it’s short odds again that a midfielder will win the Brownlow.”
