RICHO’S TOP 10: Matt Rowell likely won the Brownlow Medal because he was always handing AFL umpires the ball

1. The Brownlow Medal turned out to be a bit of a surprise with Matt Rowell being a runaway winner.

Rowell is a bona fide A-grade midfielder. He is fearless, tough as nails and the ultimate competitor. I think he is universally respected. But I’ll be honest I didn’t see this result coming by the margin it did. I tipped Nick Daicos to win and in fact thought Rowell’s teammate Noah Anderson would poll more votes. In the end it came done to three rounds where Rowell got the umpires’ three votes but in the coaches award, he received no votes. The reason I think he gets noticed so much is because of his unconditional attack on the ball and the fact he is always the last man getting up from a pack situation and handing the ball back to the umpire. He’s a bull. Daicos at 22 will win a Brownlow I’m certain of that after being the bridesmaid three times. Just to be clear Rowell is a deserving winner but there certainly was some surprising votes on the night.

2. The Brisbane Lions will be trying to go back-to-back premiers having lost their first final.

This is not as rare as you think in the AFL era. The Crows did it in 1998, Brisbane in 2003, the Hawks in 2015, and the Tigers did it in 2020. So going the long route won’t bother this Lions team having done the same last year from fifth. But it will be a momentous win as they are banged up and taking a risk on Lachie Neale. That move could badly backfire so Chris Fagan and co need to make sure they make the right decision. The Cats could not be better placed except for the loss of Tom Stewart but I think the underrated Zac Guthrie can fill his role. This is a versatile Cats team. Can Brisbane’s young key forwards in Logan Morris and Ty Gallop match Jeremy Cameron and Shannon Neale down the other end? Neale’s ability to engage Harris Andrews to nullify his intercept mark ability will be crucial. Can Hugh McCluggage break free of Oisin Mullin? What has he learnt from last time? The questions are endless, but for me whichever team gets the most from their medium and small forwards will win the game. That’s Gryan Miers, Shaun Mannagh, Tyson Stengle and Brad Close against Zac Bailey, Charlie Cameron, Kai Lohmann and Cam Rayner. My tip is the fresher Cats will win but I’m not certain as this is a brave Lions outfit. For the Norm Smith I am going with the Herculean Patrick Dangerfield. I can’t wait for Saturday.

3. Bob Murphy tells a great story about grand final week and it being like a hamburger.

There are so many ingredients. The fresh brioche bun, the crisp lettuce, a slab of melted cheddar cheese, a bit of sweet juicy tomato and a ground beef patty. These are all a great combination of flavours. These are the good stories. But to make the burger what it is you need a bit of sourness. That’s the gherkin. It completes the burger. These are the sad grand final stories. Unfortunately, Murphy was the gherkin in 2016. The Dogs captain missing the drought breaking premiership with a knee injury. It was Oscar McInerney last year with the Lions. There is one every year. This year it is Tom Stewart missing with concussion and Jarrod Berry with his busted shoulder.

4. Just on Stewart, he could still be playing if the AFL had done what they should have done a few years ago and moved the pre-finals bye to before the grand final.

It should have been moved as soon as they brought in the mandatory 12 days off for a concussion. It’s been speculated the safety protocol would deny a player a grand final spot and now it’s happened. I almost guarantee the bye will be moved next year because of Stewart. They are very reactionary at AFL headquarters sometimes.

5. If you thought the three-week suspension for Paul Curtis was absurd for a perfect run-down tackle on Port’s Josh Sinn then hold my beer please as we have a new club house leader.

That is Hawthorn’s Mabior Chol for his three-week ban for his tackle on Geelong’s Stewart. Luckily sanity prevailed and the ban was overturned at the tribunal. No free kick was awarded on the night against Chol. As Stewart picked up the ball he was first tackled around the knees by Sam Butler, this forced Stewart’s momentum forward as Chol laid his tackle causing him to fall forward with Stewart’s momentum. This was a footy act. Unfortunately, Stewart’s head hit the ground, and he was subbed out with concussion. Accidents will happen in this game. I’m not sure Chol could do anything to avoid this except not tackle at all. If that’s what we are asking players to do, oh boy we are in strife.

6. The Hawks are going places.

When the dust settles on this season, I’m all in on the Hawks next year. Sam Mitchell is a proven winner. He instils his own huge self-belief into his teams. They are still young. They won’t lose any players over the summer, and they are a destination club. Since their first premiership win, they are the most successful club in that time with 13 flags since 1961. You can’t stand still, and they will improve. That improvement is in the midfield and at stoppages. A fit Will Day back helps immensely and if they can secure Zach Merrett, which I think they will, they will be right there again in 2026. He is the perfect player to fill a void at Hawthorn. Back and forward they look good and players like Calsher Dear and Mitch Lewis will only get better.

7. The Collingwood Football Club is in a different position.

They were all in this year on a tilt at a flag with an aeging list. They were the oldest team in history to walk on to a field. I would not be as confident on them getting back to a preliminary final next year as I am on Hawthorn. They will need to be active during the trade period as lots of questions need answering. Will Bobby Hill be there? Do you trade him west for a high draft pick. Will Brody Mihocek take a longer contract elsewhere? Is Jamie Elliott re-signing? If both of these guys are not there do they chase Charlie Curnow hard? Scott Pendlebury, Steele Sidebottom and Jeremy Howe will all be over 35 years of age at the start of next season. Father Time can come quickly. It’s an interesting summer ahead for the Pies with these list management challenges. But they are the biggest club in the land and players want to play for them.

8. Was lucky enough to chat to Snoop Dogg this morning for Channel Seven’s grand final match day broadcast.

What a chilled cool dude. Gee I was nervous, Snoop is a kind of big deal. He’s done it all. If you have seen his performance at the Superbowl a few years ago and his work at the Paris Olympics you just know he will nail the pre-match performance. Snoop loves his sport.

9. I was interested to see the voting for the Gary Ayres medal career votes.

This is the award for the best player in a final series. It’s been awarded since 2016. The maximum votes a single player can get in a final is 10. Dustin Martin is the club house leader with 93 votes. He played in 13 finals in that time. That is 7.15 votes out of 10 in each final he played. Dusty is the modern-day finals GOAT and it’s daylight in second spot. Who’s second you ask? Well, it’s Patrick Dangerfield. This is rare air. These guys are two powerful beasts.

10. Big shout out to Craig McRae and the way he handled the fall out to the free kick Jamie Elliot was denied in the last quarter of the preliminary final.

If paid Elliott would have been lining up for his fifth goal to reduce the margin to six points with a heap of time on the clock. When asked about it, he said “I don’t do excuses, excuses are for losers, and we are winners”. This is why Fly is a great coach and his teams are successful. What great leadership. He was right they were not going to win the game the way Brisbane was playing. It doesn’t then give his players an out. It holds his own team accountable, which they will be better for and improve on as a result. Check out his press conference. I just love it.