It’s that special Monday in September that marks the start of Grand Final week. Sydney Swans players will celebrate Brownlow Medal night at the SCG after securing a spot in the premiership decider with Friday night’s 36-point victory over Port Adelaide.
It could be a tough night for Swans superstar Isaac Heeney who is tipped by experts across the country to figure prominently in the count after a career-best season that included All Australian selection. Heeney is ineligible to win the Brownlow due to a one-match suspension in Round 17.
If the weekly votes the 2024 AFL Coach’s Player of the Year are any sort of guide, Heeney will finish second in the Brownlow vote count behind Collingwood’s Nick Daicos.
A conversion of the 5-4-3-2-1 coaches votes to notional 3-2-1 Brownlow votes produces a final medal leaderboard headed by Daicos (30.25) from Heeney (29), Carlton captain Patrick Cripps (28.6), Brisbane’s Lachie Neale (27.5), Fremantle’s Caleb Serong (23) and Western Bulldogs’ Marcus Bontempelli (22).
Then comes Port’s Jason Horne-Francis (19.1), Bulldogs’ Adam Treloar (19), Port’s Zac Butters (18.1), Gold Coast’s Matt Rowell (18) and three players who notionally share 10th spot after Heeney is excluded – Sydney’s Chad Warner and Errol Gulden and Essendon’s Zach Merrett (17.5).
Other Swans to figure in a ‘Coachlow’ vote in which Heeney, Warner and Gulden poll 65 per cent of the club’s total are Nick Blakey (9.75 votes), Brodie Grundy (9), Ollie Florent (4.25), James Rowbottom (3.25), Joel Amartey (3), Tom Papley (3) and Dane Rampe (2).
2024 BROWNLOW MEDAL GUIIDE
Opening Round: Sydney 12.14 (86) d Melbourne 9.10 (64) at SCG.
Isaac Heeney, Nick Blakey and Chad Warner had 26 possessions and Brodie Grundy 23 possessions and 33 hit-outs as the Swans kicked four goals early in the final quarter to take control of a tight contest.?
Coachlow Votes: I Heeney (S) 2.5, B Grundy (S) 2.5, N Blakey (S) 0.5, J Viney (M) 0.5.
Round 1: Sydney 15.12 (102) d Collingwood 10.9 (69) at MCG
Isaac Heeney received maximum votes from the coaches for 29 possessions and two goals as the Swans took charge after quarter-time. Errol Gulden had 30 possessions, Chad Warner 27 possessions and three goals, and Logan McDonald kicked four goals.
Coachlow Votes: I Heeney (S) 3, E Gulden (S) 0.75, J Rowbottom (S) 0.75, C Warner (S) 0.75.
Round 2: Sydney 19.17 (131) d Essendon 15.11 (101) at SCG
Isaac Heeney topped the coach’s votes again with 32 possessions and a goal as Sydney took hold of a torrid tussle in the second half. Tom Papley kicked four goals, and Chad Warner and Errol Gulden 20-plus possessions and two goals each.
Coachlow Votes: I Heeney (S) 3, T Papley (S) 2, E Gulden (S) 0.5, Z Merrett (E) 0.5.
Round 3: Richmond 11.16 (82) d Sydney 11.11 (77) at MCG
Richmond, later to finish with the wooden-spoon, claimed one of only two wins for the year when they upset Sydney by five points. Jake Lloyd had 32 possessions and Logan McDonald kicked three goals but the Tigers dominated the votes.
Coachlow Votes: S Bolton (R) 2, T Taranto (R) 2, N Vlaustin (R) 2.
Round 4: Sydney 15.14 (104) d West Coast 11.12 (78) at Mt Barker
Taylor Adams made his debut for the Swans in Gather Round #2, when the Swans came from five points down at halftime to beat West Coast in the Adelaide Hills as Isaac Heeney and Errol Gulden had 25-plus possessions and kicked two goals.
Coachlow Votes: I Heeney (S) 2.5, E Gulden (2.5), Elliot Yeo (WC) 1.
Round 5: Bye
Round 6: Sydney 17.8 (110) d Gold Coast 8.9 (57) at SCG
Brodie Grundy picked up 24 possessions, a goal, a career-best 11 tackles and 29 hit-outs in his 200th AFL game as the Swans blitzed the Suns. Errol Gulden had 30 possessions and Isaac Heeney 28 possessions and a goal, while Joel Amartey (4) and Tom Papley (3) headed the goal-kicking and Nick Blakey dominated in the back half.
Coachlow Votes: B Grundy (S) 2.5, N Blakey (S) 2.5, I Heeney (S) 1.
Round 7: Sydney 18.10 (118) d Hawthorn 5.12 (42) at MCG
James Rowbottom celebrated his 100th game as the Swans thumped the Hawks at ‘headquarters’. Nick Blakey topped the possession count with 30 while Isaac Heeney topped a split vote from the coaches with 21 possessions and three goals, and Ollie Florent had an equal season-high 28 possessions and a goal.
Coachlow Votes: I Heeney (S) 3, N Blakey (S) 0.75, O Florent (S) 0.75, E Gulden (S) 0.75, C Warner (S) 0.75.
Round 8: Sydney 14.14 (98) d GWS 10.9 (69) at SCG
After trailing by 15 points at quarter-time in Ollie Florent’s 150th game the Swans kicked 12.8 to 5.6 in the second half to beat the cross-town rivals. Chad Warner scored a perfect ‘10’ from the coaches for 28 possessions and a goal, while Errol Gulden had 29 possessions and a goal, Isaac Heeney 26 possessions and a goal, and Will Hayward 16 possessions and four goals.
Coachlow Votes: Chad Warner (S) 3, Dane Rampe (S) 2, Errol Gulden (S) 1.
Round 9: Sydney 13.9 (87) d Fremantle 4.15 (39) at Perth Stadium.
The Swans kicked 10 of the first 11 goals on their way to a 48-point win over Fremantle in Perth. Ollie Florent and Isaac Heeney split the coaches votes with 28 possessions apiece, and Will Hayward kicked four goals. Caleb Serong had 34 possessions for the Dockers.
Coachlow Votes: O Florent (S) 2.5, I Heeney (S) 2.5, C Serong (F) 1.
Round 10: Sydney 17.15 (117) d Carlton 9.11 (65) at SCG
The Blues kicked the first four goals and led 4.3 to 0.1 after 15 minutes, but thereafter the Swans took charge and won by 52 points. Chad Warner and Isaac Heeney had 20-plus possessions and kicked three goals to lead the way,
Coachlow Votes: C Warner (S) 3, I Heeney (S) 2, B Grundy (S) 1.
Round 11: Sydney 16.6 (102) d Western Bulldogs 12.16 (88) at Marvel Stadium
Chad Warner scored a perfect ‘10’ as the Swans came from behind at halftime to win by 14 points after a late goal from Hayden McLean sealed it. Warner kicked four goals to go with 25 possessions as Isaac Heeney and Errol Gulden had 20-plus and a goal. All-Australians Marcus Bontempelli (26) and Adam Treloar (30) led the Dogs possession count.
Coachlow Votes: Chad Warner (S) 3, M Bontempelli (WB) 2, E Gulden (S) 1.
Round 12: Bye
Round 13: Sydney 16.16 (112) d Geelong 12.10 (82) at SCG.
The Swans were held goalless for 45 minutes and trailed 0.5 to 6.4 midway through the second term, but regrouped superbly and kicked 16 of the last 22 goals to win by five.
Coachlow Votes: I Heeney (S) 3, Errol Gulden (S) 2, C Warner (S) 1.
Round 14: Sydney 16.13 (109) d Adelaide 10.7 (67) at Adelaide Oval
It was Joel Amartey’s day. He kicked a career-high nine goals as the Swans, down by four points at halftime, kicked 10.7 to 3.3 after halftime to win by 42 points. Amartey was goalless for 40 minutes but kicked the Swans 3rd-4th-5th-6th goals in the second quarter, their 7th-9th-10th-12th in the third, and their 15th in the last. Errol Gulden had 35 possessions and Brodie Grundy 31 possessions and 49 hit-outs.
Coachlow Votes: Joel Amartey (S) 3, B Grundy (S) 2, I Heeney (S) 0.5, E Gulden (S) 0.5.
Round 15: Sydney 15.12 (102) d GWS 11.9 (75) at Sydney Showground.
The Swans swept the local derby after a blistering 7.3 to 1.2 second quarter gave them a 40-point lead at halftime, winning by 27 points in Caiden Cleary’s AFL debut. This left them three games plus a huge percentage clear on top of the ladder with a 13-1 record and a percentage of 148.8. Errol Gulden had a season-high 41 possessions and a goal, while James Rowbottom picked up a career-best 32 possessions (20 contested) and 11 clearances.
Coachlow Votes: E Gulden (S) 2.5, J Rowbottom (S) 2.5, B Grundy (S) 1.
Round 16: Fremantle 15.9 (99) d Sydney 14.14 (98) at SCG
After being 27 points down at quarter-time and half-time the Swans pulled level through Logan McDonald 23 minutes into the final term. Jeremy Sharp put the Dockers one point up before a rushed behind made it two points. A long flying left-foot snap from Ollie Florent just missed, cutting the margin to one before McDonald marked at centre half forward. He kicked from outside the 50m arc after the siren but didn’t score. Nick Blakey had an equal career-best 32 possessions as the winning streak came to an end.
Coachlow Votes: Nick Blakey (S) 3, Caleb Serong (F) 2, Nat Fyfe (F) 1.
Round 17: St Kilda 13.6 (84) d Sydney 11.16 (82) at Marvel Stadium
After a one-point loss to Fremantle in Round 16 the Swans went down by two points to St Kilda in freakishly similar circumstances. Sydney were 25 points up at halftime and 19 points up at three-quarter time after the Saints had cut it to six, with back-to-back goals from Isaac Heeney giving them what seemed like a winning buffer. But in the last term the Saints kicked four unanswered goals, and hung on when, for the second week in a row, Logan McDonald had a long shot to potentially win it. He pulled it slightly left. Errol Gulden had 28 possessions and Isaac Heeney and Chad Warner 20-plus and two goals in the game in which Heeney was reported.
Coachlow Votes: M Phillipou (StK) 3, C Warner (S) 1.5, L Henry (StK) 1.5.
Round 18: Sydney 20.18 (138) d North Melbourne 9.5 (59) at SCG
Sydney got back on the winners’ list in a 79-point romp against North at the SCG. Errol Gulden had 41 possessions and Chad Warner 31 possessions and two goals to lead the way with Tom Papley and Logan McDonald, who each bagged four goals.
Coachlow Votes: E Gulden (S) 2.5, C Warner (S) 2.5, T Papley (S) 1.
Round 19: Brisbane 11.13 (79) d Sydney 11.11 (77) at the Gabba.
Looking to celebrate Harry Cunningham’s 200th game in style, the Swans led by 15 points at three-quarter time and by five points going into time-on in the last quarter. After Callum AhChee put the home side back in front there were still two minutes to play, but the Lions bottled it up and for the third time in four weeks the Swans lost by less than a kick. Errol Gulden (27) and Robbie Fox (26) were the Swans’ leading possession-winners
Coachlow Votes: H McCluggage (B) 3, E Gulden (S) 1.5, C Rayner (B) 1.5.
Round 20: Western Bulldogs 12.15 (87) d Sydney 7.6 (48) at SCG
The Swans trailed 0.1 to 5.5 at quarter-time and lost by 39 points to a Bulldogs side making a late charge for the finals. Matt Roberts had 36 possessions and a goal in his 23rd game.
Coachlow Votes: A Treloar (WB) 3, J Ugle-Hagan (WB) 2, L Jones (WB) 1.
Round 21: Port Adelaide 22.16 (148) d Sydney 5.6 (36) at Adelaide Oval
It was a dark night at Adelaide Oval … the fifth-biggest loss in club history and the biggest under coach John Longmire. Errol Gulden had 25 possessions but it was five losses in six weeks and back-to-back Coachlow ‘wipes’.
Coachlow Votes: W Drew (PA) 3, J Horne-Francis (PA) 2, M Georgiades (PA) 1.
Round 22: Sydney 13.11 (89) d Collingwood 12.14 (86) at SCG
Another loss loomed as the Swans were 27 points down when the Pies kicked the first goal of the last quarter. But in front of a Friday night crowd of 37,854 Sydney dug deep, and goals to Will Hayward, Logan McDonald, Chad Warner, Isaac Heeney and Errol Gulden dragged them over the line in magnificent fashion. Warner had 33 possessions and two goals, Heeney 32 and one, and Hayward three goals.
Coachlow Votes: I Heeney (S) 3, D Cameron (S) 2, C Warner (S) 1.
Round 23: Sydney 15.8 (98) d Essendon 8.11 (59) at Marvel Stadium
The Swans all but locked up the minor premiership with a tradesmanlike 39-point win over Essendon after being seven points down at halftime. Isaac Heeney, Luke Parker and Will Hayward kicked three goals as Callum Mills (26), Errol Gulden (25), Ollie Florent (23) and Heeney (22) topped the possession count.
Coachlow Votes: I Heeney (S) 3, N Martin (E) 2, O Florent (S) 1.
Round 24: Sydney 18.13 (121) d Adelaide 13.12 (90) at SCG
Nick Blakey had 32 possessions and kicked an equal career-best two goals – his first 30-plus game with multiple goals – as the Swans cruised to a 31-point win over the Crows. Matt Roberts had 31 possessions and Luke Parker kicked three goals for the second week in a row.
Coachlow Votes: N Blakey (S) 3, E Gulden (S) 2, C Warner (S) 1.
