LEIGH MATTHEWS: Nick Daicos should win AFL Brownlow medal, Brodie Grundy fading but Swans will win flag
Nick Daicos should win the Brownlow, Brodie Grundy is exhausted and the Swans will win the flag.
These are the bold predictions four-time premiership coach Leigh Matthews has made in his exclusive column for The Nightly.
Matthews also argues the AFL finals system needs an overhaul to better reward the minor premiers.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.Magpies young gun Daicos is one of the favourites to win the Brownlow on September 23, alongside 2022 winner Patrick Cripps.
“Nick Daicos, Marcus Bontempelli and Patrick Cripps are naturally the leading contenders and Lachie Neale could also be up there because he has historically polled well,” Matthews writes.
“The umpires’ votes decide the Brownlow but regardless of who wins that award, my MVP for this season is Daicos.”
Neale is chasing his third Brownlow - after winning in 2023 and 2020 - and is in career best goal kicking form..
The co-captain collected a season-high 40 disposals in his last game, against Essendon, and has recently added another string to his bow by becoming a frequent goalkicker.
Neale has scored 10.2 in his past eight games after only three goals before that in the season.
The 31-year-old’s 13 goals this season is his most since 2020 and nears his career-high of 16 majors in 2015 when at Fremantle.
“It has probably just evolved a little bit that way, even last year I probably had shots, I was just missing them,” Neale said.
“I feel like my game is in good order, I’m reading the game a little bit better than maybe I was in the first half of the year and getting into better and more dangerous spots.”
Neale kicked 3.11 last season when he claimed the Brownlow for a second time last year with 31 votes ahead of Bontempelli (29) and Daicos (28).
Grundy has been a revelation for Sydney after the failed experiment of pairing him with Max Gawn at Melbourne last year.
But the gruelling workload has taken its toll on the star, Matthews writes.
“Early in the season the big ruckman was outstanding as a competitor in the ruck duels, but even more valuable as an extra ground-level midfielder around the stoppages,” he writes.
“That second-effort energy has largely disappeared as the season has progressed.
“He’s played every game in a tough and physically demanding position. He was very important for the Swans in the first half of the year when he, and his team, were outstanding.
“Can he produce that same kind of level in the finals? Maybe the week off will help rejuvenate the big fella physically and mentally.
“I still think that the Swans at their best have been the best team and start the finals as my premiership favourite. “
Matthews has also predicted who will prevail at the MCG in the elimination final between Hawthorn and the Western Bulldogs and what Carlton’s chances are against Brisbane at the Gabba in the other sudden-death final.
