→Sat, 5 Sept, 7:35 pm, Final score, Crows 90, Bulldogs 68
90 68 →Fri, 11 Sept, 8:10 pm, Final score, Dockers 120, Cats 106
120 106 →Sat, 12 Sept, 7:35 pm, Final score, Lions 144, Crows 91
144 91 →Fri, 18 Sept, 7:40 pm, Final score, Swans 71, Dockers 83
71 83 →Sat, 19 Sept, 5:15 pm, Final score, Hawks 122, Lions 131
122 131 →Sat, 26 Sept, 2:30 pm, Game not started, Dockers versus Lions
asserted
Game → start → Lions
→
Coming into the night, the 2026 Brownlow Medal count held little intrigue about who the winner would be.
asserted
winner → come → intrigue
Few — if any — in the footballing world thought there was anyone who could seriously challenge Nick Daicos for the award.
But there was still one person who was in shock: Daicos, himself.
uncertain
who → think → shock
"I can't believe I'm the Brownlow medallist to be honest," Daicos said at the award ceremony in Melbourne.
asserted
Daicos → believe → Melbourne
The count was close until about the halfway mark, before Daicos pulled away from the pack as the season progressed.
asserted
season → pull → pack
With his 47 votes last night, Daicos has earned more votes in the last four years than any other player has in any five-year period.
asserted
player → earn → period
Daicos earned more votes than three entire clubs.
asserted
Daicos → earn → clubs
He collected 63 per cent of Collingwood's votes for the evening.
asserted
He → collect → evening
He racked up record after record: the most votes in one year, most consecutive games with three votes (six), the most games with three votes (13).
asserted
He → rack → votes
With the win, Daicos joins Tom Mitchell, Gary Ablett Jr and Ben Cousins as father-son selections who have claimed the Brownlow Medal (Jobe Watson's 2012 victory was rescinded).
asserted
victory → join → Medal
Daicos time
Plenty has been written about what makes Daicos special.
asserted
Daicos → write → ?
Coaches and opposition players talk about his elusiveness, vision and ability to make something out of what seems like nothing.
asserted
what → talk → nothing
"He hates losing," Magpies great Scott Pendlebury said.
"Especially at table tennis.
asserted
Pendlebury → hat → tennis
Whenever we travel on the road, he always tries to get a re-match."
That competitive drive is often what turns good into great, and great into legendary.
asserted
what → travel → legendary
But words pale into insignificance compared to watching the best of Daicos in full flight.
asserted
words → pale → flight
Players like Daicos stand out due to the highlights they create.
asserted
they → stand → highlights
Teams spend more time trying to get Daicos off balance than any other player in the competition.
asserted
Teams → spend → competition
It hasn't seemed to have an effect yet.
asserted
It → seem → effect
No matter what teams throw at Daicos, he still has an unerring habit of getting the ball and letting his imagination run wild.
asserted
imagination → throw → ball
That drive was forged from his early days as a player, often being one of the slightest on the field when he played up in age at both the Greythorn Falcons and the Kew Rovers.
asserted
he → forge → Falcons
When Daicos moved to Carey Grammar for year 10, he was thrust immediately into the first team to compete in the prestigious APS football competition.
asserted
he → move → competition
His teammates were no slouches either, with Daicos playing alongside the likes of Noah Anderson and last year's Brownlow medallist, Matt Rowell.
asserted
Daicos → play → Anderson
No player in the AFL was more important in getting his team in scoring positions than Daicos was this year.
asserted
Daicos → get → positions
Daicos thrived at winning the ball when no-one had clear control.
asserted
one → thrive → control
He has an innate ability to track the ball before anyone else, working smarter and not harder.
asserted
He → have → anyone
Daicos also has a scary ability to render his direct opponents as traffic cones.
asserted
Daicos → have → cones
The Magpies look to get Daicos the ball as much as possible, and he repays them with territory.
asserted
he → look → territory
Few can match his combination of skill, speed and footy intelligence.
asserted
Few → match → skill
Although Collingwood fell short this year, hopes are higher for 2027 with additional reinforcements.
asserted
hopes → fall → reinforcements
Throughout football's history, geography has shaped the make-up of teams to a great extent.
asserted
geography → shape → extent
Teams recruited from specific regions.
asserted
Teams → recruit → regions
The fortunes of clubs rose and fell based on the growth of different geographic areas.
asserted
fortunes → rise → areas
Urban expansion fuelled Hawthorn's rise, while weak and depopulating zones condemned other clubs to near extinction.
asserted
zones → fuel → extinction
The father-son rule was introduced in 1949 to ensure players such as Ron Barassi could continue on the legacy of their fathers at their clubs regardless of geography.
uncertain
players → introduce → geography
These days, the role of geography has inverted and it now dictates where all the father-son selections are.
asserted
selections → invert → geography
The family zone for Victorian footy now runs through south-east Melbourne.
asserted
zone → run → Melbourne
This was the former recruiting area for Hawthorn, otherwise known as the Family Club.
asserted
This → know → Club
The ranks of father-son selections are littered with schools and clubs based in the most desirable parts of Melbourne, often far from the origins of their fathers' careers.
asserted
ranks → litter → careers
For example, the Silvangi and Daicos offspring played their junior footy at the Greythorn Falcons.
asserted
offspring → play → Falcons
Nor is it far from where Mitchell or Watson first honed their craft.
asserted
Mitchell → hone → craft
…and 15 more, not listed.
The Aporia
