Much was made about Port Adelaide star Ollie Wines’ Brownlow Medal triumph, but arguably as incredible was Sam Walsh’s polling of 30 votes.
Heading into last night’s count, not only Wines, but the likes of Marcus Bontempelli, Clayton Oliver, Jack Steele, Christian Petracca and Touk Miller were the individuals backed in by the bookies to make the most noise in the battle for the Brownlow.
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In what was the surprise of the night, 21-year-old Walsh cracked 30 votes to finish fourth-best on the tally.
Season 2021 was just Walsh’s third year of senior football.
The Carlton young gun was a part of last night’s historic tally, which for the first time in history saw at least four players poll 30 or more votes.
Wines finished with 36 votes, Bontempelli was second-best with 33, while Oliver earned 31.
“I wasn’t expecting a whole lot,” Walsh said.
“It’s one of those awards… it’s good fun and good to be with my teammates.”
Much of the night’s attention was put on Walsh, who early in the count found himself ahead of the pack.
The midfielder’s high polling sent the AFL world into meltdown as former players and pundits flocked to social media to laud his achievement.
https://twitter.com/shanemcinnes/status/1439540627197231106https://twitter.com/tim_michell/status/1439559764401274881https://twitter.com/NicNegrepontis/status/1439534773240676353https://twitter.com/dylan_buckley/status/1439548092324274182https://twitter.com/CarltonFC/status/1439561896328249345
FINAL LEADERBOARD:
1st – Ollie Wines – 36 votes
2nd – Marcus Bontempelli – 33 votes
3rd – Clayton Oliver – 31 votes
4th – Sam Walsh – 30 votes
5th – Darcy Parish 26 votes
5th – Jack Steele 26 votes