Todd Goldstein’s remarkable season wasn’t quite enough to claim the AFL’s top gong, the Brownlow Medal, but he certainly wouldn’t have left disappointed.
The North big man polled a total of 18 votes, 10 ahead of his nearest teammates Shaun Higgins, Jack Ziebell and Andrew Swallow.
On his way to a tenth-placed finish overall, Goldstein joined some of the club’s greats in terms of votes; just ten Kangaroos have polled more in an individual season.
Among those, North’s four Brownlow Medalists, Noel Teasdale (1965), Keith Greig (1973 & 1974), Malcolm Blight (1978) and Ross Glendinning (1983), as well as the likes of Wayne Carey, Barry Cable and 400-gamer Brent Harvey.
Most votes in individual season (NMFC)
27 – Keith Greig – 1973, 1974*
24 – Ross Glendinning – 1983*
22 – Brent Harvey – 2007
22 – Malcolm Blight – 1978*
21 – Corey McKernan – 1996
20 – Wayne Carey – 1997
20 – Noel Teasdale – 1965*
19 – Laurie Dwyer – 1961
19 – Barry Cable – 1970
19 – Wayne Schwass - 1994
18 – Todd Goldstein – 2015
* Brownlow Medalist
It seemed the odds were against Goldstein before the count even started. Despite going in as one of the favourites, he would have to defy recent history to win; while 19 ruckmen have won the Brownlow Medal, just two have done so in the AFL era: Jim Stynes and Scott Wynd in 1991-92.
The man dubbed as Goldstein’s main competition for All-Australian honours, Nic Naitanui, polled just seven votes for the night, with the top four ruckmen statistically (Goldstein, Naitanui, Aaron Sandilands and Sam Jacobs) combining for just 43 .
Nevertheless, Goldstein’s 2015 season will go down as one of the best from a ruckman in the past decade.
He managed a record 1058 hit-outs, at 44.08 a game, averaged 15 disposals and led North for score involvements.
Among his other feats, Goldstein was named The Age’s Footballer of the Year, finished second in the AFLPA MVP and will go in as the hot favourite for the Syd Barker Medal next week.
Elsewhere, Brent Harvey polled for a remarkable 18th consecutive season – his four votes taking him to a career tally of 187. That ranks him seventh all-time in VFL/AFL history.
The 37-year-old has now registered votes in 84 games throughout an illustrious 409-game career.
Most career Brownlow votes (VFL/AFL)
246 – Gary Dempsey (FOOTS/NM) (218.5)+
215 – Robert Harvey (STK)
214 – Gary Ablett (GEE/GC)*
210 – Chris Judd (WCE/CARL)
204 – Sam Mitchell (HAW)*
202– Leigh Matthews (HAW) (173.5)+
187 – Brent Harvey (NM)*
186 – Dane Swan (COLL)*
184 – Simon Black (BRIS)
180 – Bob Skilton (SM)
* Still playing
+ Adjusted to one umpire
Shaun Higgins staked another claim as the recruit of the year, polling eight votes, his highest tally since 2009. He received a perfect three for just the second time in his career for a 31-disposal, two goal haul against Melbourne in Round 19.
Meanwhile, Jamie Macmillan polled the first two votes of his career, after racking up 29 disposals and booting three goals in round 12 against the Giants.
