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'Most 2020 thing ever': Fans take aim at bizarre Brownlow detail

andrew reid
·5-min read
Pictured here, 2020 Brownlow Medallist Lachie Neale.
Lachie Neale was the main winner at a very different looking Brownlow Medal awards night in 2020. Pic: Getty

The 2020 Brownlow Medal night, like the footy season this year, was always going to have a different look about it due to the coronavirus crisis.

While Brisbane's Lachie Neale won't mind after claiming this year's Brownlow Medal with 31 votes from 17 games, AFL supporters couldn't help but take aim at some of the more bizarre quirks of the ceremony.

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AFL's night of nights was staged virtually across venues in Adelaide, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney because of COVID-19.

It meant 2019 Brownlow winner and Fremantle captain Nat Fyfe wasn't able to give his former teammate a "big hug and put the medal around" his neck in Brisbane.

Fyfe finished his speech by saying: “It’s my great pleasure to now ask you to present yourself with the 2020 Brownlow Medal."

In scenes that fit in perfectly with a season that has been anything but ordinary, Neale presented himself with the medal and thanked his wife for moving with him to Brisbane in 2018.

The strange act of Neale having to crown himself the AFL's best player in 2020, didn't sit right with many fans but the Lions star wasn't alone.

Mark of the Year winner Sam Walsh and Goal of the Year winner Josh Daicos were also made to crown themselves with their awards.

Seen here, Lachie Neale and Sam Walsh present themselves with awards.
Lachie Neale and Sam Walsh both had to present themselves with their awards. Pic: Getty

2011 Brownlow winner Dane Swan had taken over the Sportsbet Twitter account for the night, and called it "the most 2020 thing ever" that players were presenting themselves with their awards.

Many other viewers were also weirded out by the fact the Brownlows were done and dusted so early in the evening.

All in all, the awards night had a very different feel about it that left AFL supporters a little uneasy.

Brownlow Medal caps off incredible journey

Neale was voted best on ground in a remarkable 10 matches during 2020, fashioning an unassailable lead in Sunday's Brownlow count after 16 rounds of the 18-round season.

The gun midfielder, who had been backed into $1.25 favouritism, easily finished ahead of Travis Boak (21 votes) with Christian Petracca and Jack Steele (both 20 votes) equal third in a ceremonial night that was as predictable as it was peculiar.

The 27-year-old paid special tribute to his wife Julie, as well as his parents after winning the AFL’s most prestigious individual award.

Neale revealed in the broadcast how "stern conversations" with (former Fremantle coach) Ross Lyon set him straight after an inauspicious start to his AFL career, confirming he once tried to fool the former Dockers coach with fake training data collected on a fitness app.

Lachie Neale is seen here alongside his wife Julie.
Lachie Neale revealed how his wife Julie gave up her own business to follow his sporting career. Pic: Getty

"It's a story I'm not that proud of," the 27-year-old said.

"I strapped the phone to my arm and jumped on my ... motorbike and did the session.

"Ross was a great influence and really drove me to become a better player.

"He basically told me when I came back from my first off-season that if I came back like this again I'd be a fat little forward pocket at Glenelg pretty soon, play my 20 or 30 games and be out of the system."

The highlight of Neale's career came one day after Geelong ended his side's campaign, ruining the Lions' hopes of reaching their first grand final since 2004 - at their Gabba home.

"I've felt pretty flat and I wasn't really excited or anything for tonight until the count started," he told reporters.

"I wanted to win a premiership this year, that was my main focus."

Port Adelaide veteran Boak was voted best on ground in his side's season-opening win over Gold Coast and topped the leaderboard after three rounds, having tallied eight votes at that stage.

Neale started a streak of four consecutive three-vote performances in round two to claim the outright lead in the count after five rounds and was never headed.

He joins Gary Ablett Jnr (2009), Patrick Dangerfield (2016) and Dustin Martin (2017) as the only players to have collected the Brownlow medal plus AFL Players' Association and AFL Coaches' Association awards in the same season.

with AAP

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