It was only appropriate that after one of the best AFL seasons in living memory that we were rewarded with one of the best finishes in recent Brownlow Medal memory.
As Gillon McLachlan implored the rowdy crowd to sit down and let him carry on with the count, a handful of players sat nervously waiting to see if their names would be etched into history.
In the end, Carlton's Patrick Cripps scraped home by one vote to claim the AFL's highest individual honour.
In the days leading up to the Brownlow, ABC Sport commissioned Andrew 'The Brownlow Whisperer' McGarry to run his eyes over the entire field and predict which player would poll the most votes at each club.
But did he get it right? Check out his predictions below and the entire list of players who earned a vote on the AFL's night of nights.
Adelaide
Taylor Walker – 14
Ben Keays – 11
Rory Laird – 10
Jordan Dawson – 8
Sam Berry – 2
Darcy Fogarty – 2
Reilly O'Brien – 2
Josh Rachele – 1
Brodie Smith – 1
Did Andrew get it right?: Short answer — no. We're off to a bad start. Rory Laird was the prediction based on sheer amount of disposals, but Taylor Walker's ability to grab a game by the scruff of the neck saw him take top spot. An honourable mention to Ben Keays as well, who started the season on fire but faded towards the end of the year.
Brisbane
Lachie Neale – 28
Hugh McCluggage – 14
Jarryd Lyons – 7
Zac Bailey – 5
Dayne Zorko – 5
Cam Rayner – 4
Charlie Cameron – 3
Jarrod Berry – 2
Rhys Mathieson – 2
Daniel McStay – 2
Keidean Coleman -1
Lincoln McCarthy – 1
Did Andrew get it right?: He nailed it, but there wasn't much conjecture on this one. Neale was desperately close to claiming his second Chas but was thwarted by a Patrick Cripps best-on-ground performance in Carlton's loss to Collingwood in the final round of the season.
Carlton
Patrick Cripps – 29
Sam Walsh – 14
Charlie Curnow – 11
Sam Docherty – 9
Harry McKay – 7
Adam Cerra – 5
George Hewett – 4
Matthew Kennedy – 4
Adam Saad – 3
Nic Newman – 2
Zac Williams – 1
Did Andrew get it right?: Again, not a lot to debate about this one, but the prediction that he would push 30 votes was a good one. A well-deserved winner and Andrew goes two from three.
Collingwood
Jack Crisp – 11
Nick Daicos – 11
Jordan De Goey – 10
Darcy Cameron – 4
Josh Daicos – 4
Patrick Lipinski – 4
Jamie Elliott – 3
Jack Ginnivan – 3
Brody Mihocek – 3
Steele Sidebottom – 3
Taylor Adams – 2
Scott Pendlebury – 2
Mason Cox – 1
Brodie Grundy – 1
Oliver Henry – 1
Did Andrew get it right?: He torped this one from 60m out and it sailed through the middle at goalpost height. Predicting it was too tough to split Crisp and Daicos, he took a punt each way and said they were both the likely leaders for the Pies in an even field.
Essendon
Zach Merrett – 17
Peter Wright – 8
Darcy Parish – 6
Mason Redman – 5
Dylan Shiel – 4
Nic Martin – 2
Jake Stringer – 2
Sam Draper – 1
Nick Hind – 1
Jordan Ridley – 1
Did Andrew get it right?: Yes and no on this one. He suggested Zach Merrett would lead the way after a strong second half to the season, but had Darcy Parish in the mix after a solid start to the year. Parish could only wrangle six votes as Merrett ran away with it in Essendon's count.
Fremantle
Andrew Brayshaw – 25
Will Brodie – 11
Rory Lobb – 7
Sean Darcy – 6
Lachie Schultz – 6
Caleb Serong – 5
Hayden Young – 5
David Mundy – 4
Blake Acres – 3
James Aish – 3
Luke Ryan – 3
Matt Taberner – 3
Jordan Clark – 1
Alex Pearce – 1
Did Andrew get it right?: Brayshaw was always going to be the leader in this one. He looked likely to claim the medal heading into the final few rounds, but couldn't poll enough in the final few rounds to get the job done.
Geelong
Jeremy Cameron – 19
Cameron Guthrie – 13
Mark Blicavs – 9
Tom Stewart – 9
Tom Hawkins – 8
Patrick Dangerfield – 6
Tyson Stengle – 6
Isaac Smith – 5
Zach Tuohy – 5
Mitch Duncan – 4
Joel Selwood – 4
Max Holmes – 2
Sam Menegola – 2
Did Andrew get it right?: Arguably the best player in the competition, Cameron nailed the voting for Geelong despite tall forwards often being overlooked for votes. Andrew nailed it, but again, Geelong saw such an even season that Cameron's stand out performances made him the likely candidate to win the Cats count.
Gold Coast
Touk Miller – 27
Noah Anderson – 14
Brandon Ellis – 5
David Swallow – 5
Matt Rowell – 4
Lachie Weller – 4
Jarrod Witts – 4
Mabior Chol – 3
Brayden Fiorini – 3
Connor Budarick – 2
Izak Rankine – 2
Ben Ainsworth – 1
Alex Sexton – 1
Did Andrew get it right?: A closeted Gold Coast Suns fan, Andrew was always going to get this one right. Miller was unlucky to not poll in the final round of the season after a strong game, and could be seen as unlucky that he didn't at least share the medal with Cripps.
Greater Western Sydney
Josh Kelly – 13
Tim Taranto – 6
Harry Himmelberg – 5
Jesse Hogan – 5
Stephen Coniglio – 4
Tom Green – 4
Callum M. Brown – 3
Toby Greene – 3
Lachie Whitfield – 2
Tanner Bruhn – 1
Isaac Cumming – 1
James Peatling – 1
Sam Taylor – 1
Callan Ward – 1
Did Andrew get it right?: Hit and miss on this one, with him nailing the Kelly prediction, but missing the mark that Coniglio would be right up there with him. It was a tough year to predict what the Giants would do on Brownlow board, particularly when Toby Greene missed a fair chunk of footy.
Hawthorn
Jai Newcombe – 11
Tom Mitchell – 9
James Sicily – 7
Changkuoth Jiath – 6
Luke Breust – 3
Jack Gunston – 3
Mitch Lewis – 3
Jaeger O'Meara – 2
Dylan Moore – 1
Did Andrew get it right?: Nailed it, with the 21-year-old rising star outperforming his more experienced teammates to pull together a season to remember. Watch this space at Brownlow counts to come.
Melbourne
Clayton Oliver – 25
Christian Petracca – 24
Max Gawn – 12
Angus Brayshaw – 7
Ed Langdon – 7
Jack Viney – 7
Kysaiah Pickett – 4
James Harmes – 2
Luke Jackson – 2
Tom McDonald – 2
Jake Lever – 1
Jake Melksham – 1
Did Andrew get it right?: The question here was which of Oliver and Petracca would claim the more votes, with Andrew giving both a chance of winning. In the end, Oliver snuck ahead by the solitary vote but the pair cannibalised each others chances of taking the medal home.
North Melbourne
Luke Davies-Uniacke – 8
Jy Simpkin – 6
Nick Larkey – 5
Jack Ziebell – 4
Cameron Zurhaar – 3
Hugh Greenwood – 2
Luke McDonald – 2
Bailey Scott – 1
Did Andrew get it right?: Another tick for the self-proclaimed Brownlow Whisperer, as bullish midfielder Davies-Uniacke bustled and barrelled his way through a poor season for the club to claim eight votes.
Port Adelaide
Karl Amon – 15
Connor Rozee – 14
Ollie Wines – 13
Sam Powell-Pepper – 11
Travis Boak – 10
Zak Butters – 3
Dan Houston – 3
Todd Marshall – 3
Charlie Dixon – 1
Jeremy Finlayson – 1
Did Andrew get it right?: A rare miss, as Amon flew a little bit under the radar outside South Australia to claim top spot. Andrew had Rozee claiming the club gong with Wines pushing him for top spot, and those two came in the silver and bronze spots for the Power.
Richmond
Dion Prestia – 19
Tom Lynch – 14
Shai Bolton – 12
Liam Baker – 6
Jayden Short – 6
Trent Cotchin – 5
Toby Nankervis – 3
Noah Balta – 2
Jack Graham – 2
Dustin Martin – 2
Marlion Pickett – 2
Nathan Broad – 1
Jack Riewoldt – 1
Did Andrew get it right?: Spot on again, as Prestia torched the Richmond field despite only playing 18 matches. With 13 total vote-getters, it was an otherwise tough year to predict for the Tigers.
St Kilda
Jack Steele – 13
Brad Crouch – 10
Jack Sinclair – 9
Jack Higgins – 7
Max King – 6
Jade Gresham – 5
Bradley Hill – 4
Paddy Ryder – 4
Dan Hannebery – 3
Rowan Marshall – 3
Ben Long – 2
Mason Wood – 2
Dan Butler -1
Jack Hayes – 1
Tim Membrey – 1
Sebastian Ross – 1
Did Andrew get it right?: Again, a yes and a no, as he hedged his bets with a pair of Jacks (Steele and Sinclair) but only hit with one. Another tough year to predict with the Saints having a middling season.
Sydney
Callum Mills – 21
Luke Parker – 16
Chad Warner – 12
Lance Franklin – 8
Isaac Heeney – 7
Tom Papley – 5
Peter Ladhams – 4
Errol Gulden – 3
Tom McCartin – 2
Justin McInerney – 2
Sam Reid – 2
Jake Lloyd – 1
Did Andrew get it right?: While all the talk was about Chad Warner's incredible year, Andrew correctly predicted that it was Callum Mills who would pull the most votes. While he never looked like threatening the leaders, it was an impressive performance for Mills, who now gets a chance at lifting the premiership cup on Saturday.
West Coast
Josh Kennedy – 6
Tim Kelly – 3
Jack Darling – 2
Jeremy McGovern – 2
Andrew Gaff – 1
Willie Rioli – 1
Did Andrew get it right?: West Coast polled just 15 votes to sit equal-12th in the count with Karl Amon, recording the lowest total vote count for a team in the AFL era. Andrew nailed the prediction that Kennedy would be on top of the list, and given he has now retired, it's a damning assessment of the year the Eagles had.
Western Bulldogs
Josh Dunkley – 14
Jack Macrae – 11
Marcus Bontempelli – 10
Bailey Smith – 10
Tom Liberatore – 7
Tim English – 6
Aaron Naughton – 6
Adam Treloar – 6
Bailey Dale – 3
Jamarra Ugle-Hagan – 2
Did Andrew get it right?: He hedged his bets and went 50 per cent again, correctly guessing Dunkley would claim top spot, but missing the mark ever so slightly that Bontempelli would be right there with him. Will Dunkley remain at the Dogs or head to the Lions in the off-season? Get ready for a whole heap of trade whispers over the coming months.
