Eddie's radical Brownlow shake-up to save medal's integrity

Eddie McGuire has floated a radical yet simple change he says could drastically improve the integrity of the Brownlow Medal.

And AFL boss Andrew Dillon says he will speak to the umpires and discuss potential changes following controversial moments during Monday night's vote count.

Gold Coast star Matt Rowell was a surprise medal winner, finishing seven points clear of Collingwood's Nick Daicos who was the hot pre-count favourite to win.

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While some of Rowell's games which earned him the maximum three points came under scrutiny, there was an unrelated game which caused uproar around the sport.

In round 20, St Kilda superstar Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera was the talk of the entire game after he orchestrated a stunning comeback from 46 points down to beat Melbourne almost single handedly.

But when the votes for that game were read out, Wanganeen-Milera only got two while Demons player Jack Viney was awarded three. It left the Brownlow room in disbelief and fuelled calls for major change.

The Brownlow is voted on by the four field umpires, who are asked to assign votes under a 3-2-1 system immediately following each game. They are not allowed to view stats or any other information before voting.

For the AFL coaches' award, which some argue is more prestigious and accurate than the Brownlow, coaches are permitted to review a game before voting.

"We get all the information, we review the game first," former Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley said on Nine's Footy Classified on Monday.

"We go through the game for about three or four hours, we get all the numbers and we go through it with all the coaches.

"I don't think we give (the umpires) enough information, I think it's unfair to the umpires to expect them to get it right."

McGuire agrees, and wants the AFL to implement a simple change in order to help the umpires make the best decision.

"Why do we lock them in as if it's the papal conclave straight after a game when they are exhausted and they have to have a guess?" McGuire said.

"Those four (Saints v Demons) umpires, when they saw what happened the next day, they must have been sitting in the foetal position waiting for the moment (the votes) came out.

"Should they not go in on a Monday, review the tape... I would actually interview them after the game to get their first thoughts.

"At the moment they are using morse code and the rest of the competition is using AI (artificial intelligence). Let's give them a break and not humiliate them on the Monday of grand final week."

Dillon says a review of the voting system will take place in the off-season amid heightened calls for change.

"Look, it's a topic and it came up last year and certainly this year, but ultimately the Brownlow is the umpire's award," Dillon said on Fox Footy.

"We will go to the umpiring group, just like we did last year. There is a bit of talk about should they have access to the stats. The leadership group from the umpires last year were comfortable (voting) as it is (without statistics available to them), but we'll have a chat with them again in the off-season.

"Absolutely, we have to continue to progress. If that is giving access to stats, well then, we will certainly have a look at it."

Dillon went on to note that the AFL is not ignoring the opinions of critics, however he reiterated that the result of the polling did closely align with the results of other awards.

Rowell finished high up in both the coaches' and AFLPA awards, while Daicos only won the AFLPA gong. Rowell's teammate Noah Anderson shared the coaches' award with Geelong's Bailey Smith.

"We're not deaf to the opinions of those that matter," Dillon said.

"It is the highest individual accolade. We are talking about it now and it is still a prestigious award.

"If we look at the top 10, it actually pretty much reflects with the coaches awards, the player awards and most of the media awards."

Melbourne captain Max Gawn - who laughed loudly when Wanganeen-Milera was snubbed for three votes on Monday night - backed the current voting model.

"I feel like if you gave the umpires stats, or if you gave the award to journos to vote, it would become predictable, and it'd be another award around stats," he said on Triple M's The Rush Hour with JB & Billy.

"This award is around how the umpires see impact in the game, which is kind of cool.

"Rowell, for example – when I watch him play – does a lot of stuff that isn't stats. He's got a lot of impact, shrugging tackles, bumps, tackles, clearance work… it's a lot of aura.

"The umpires vote for aura. There's some stuff I can't explain but I like the fact it's not just another stat award.

"It's a cool thing we have. They normally get it right."