IN THE wake of Patrick Cripps’ stunning victory in the counting of votes for the 2022 Charles Brownlow Medal, thoughts turn to each of Carlton’s six medal winners in the 75 years since Bert Deacon secured the club’s first in a Grand Final and club Best and Fairest-winning season.

It’s extraordinary to think that in the 98 years since the first Brownlow was awarded, only six Carlton players have taken Charlie home – Deacon, John James, Gordon Collis, Chris Judd, Greg Williams and now Cripps.

How fitting that last year’s winner, Port Adelaide’s Ollie Wines, should place the Brownlow over Cripps’s head – for it was Wines’ great uncle Clinton Wines who with Deacon survived The Bloodbath Grand Final of 1945, an infamous victory in front of almost 63,000 spectators at Princes Park in the Year of Peace and victory.

Cripps’ win means Carlton claims the Brownlow-Coleman double - Charlie Curnow having taken the League’s goalkicking award with 64 goals for the home-and-away season. That last happened in 2012 when Richmond captain Trent Cotchin was awarded the Brownlow retrospectively in a season Jack Reiwoldt also topped the competition’s goalkicking tally.

It previously happened at Carlton in 1961 when John James won the Brownlow in the same season his teammate Tom Carroll bagged the Coleman – but as with this year, the ’61 team failed to contest finals.

As he’s from Northampton, a town 52 kilometres north of Geraldton in the mid-west region of Western Australia, Cripps becomes Carlton’s first non-Victorian to win the Brownlow, given that Deacon hailed from Preston, James from Robinvale, Collis from Healesville, Williams from Bendigo and Judd from East Sandringham.

Deacon and Collis earned their Brownlows off centre half-back in their respective seasons, and James off a half-back flank, but Williams, Judd and Cripps accumulated their votes in midfield – and it’s definitely a midfielders’ medal, as in the past 64 years only five defenders have won Brownlows. There was Gavin Wanganeen in a back pocket for Essendon in 1993; Brad Hardie in a back pocket for Footscray in 1985; Ross Glendinning at centre half-back for North Melbourne in 1983, Gordon Collis as Carlton’s resident centre half-back in 1964 and Neil Roberts in that same position for St Kilda in 1958.

After having his named call at overall selection No.13 in the 2013 NAB AFL Draft, Cripps got off to a flyer. In his maiden appearance at VFL level in the opening round of 2014, he dominated for the Northern Blues - accumulating 34 touches, booting a goal and earning senior selection at AFL level the following week - the Round 4 contest with Melbourne at the MCG. He turned out for that one, was subbed out (incidentally, for Chris Judd) in the following game and managed a further two VFL appearances - only to suffer a fractured leg that put him out of the game for the next seven.

Cripps resumed in the VFL after that enforced layoff and strung together seven more matches before earning an AFL recall in the final home-and-away round of the 2014, against Essendon at the MCG.

After 10 appearances at VFL level, Cripps finished second to in the Northern Blues’ 2014 best and fairest count. The breakout season then came in 2015 - and the rest, as they say, is football history.

The following is a breakdown of votes earned by Carlton’s previous Brownlow winners:

1947 Brownlow Medal count

1st            Bert Deacon (Carlton)            23 votes
2nd           Harold Bray (St Kilda)                21
3rd           Wally Culpitt (Hawthorn)            18
3rd           Ron Bywater (South Melb.)         18

Deacon polled in 12 of the 18 matches of the home-and-away season in which he played (having missed the Round 16 match with Essendon at Princes Park). Deacon polled 4x3 votes, 3x2 votes and 5x1 votes.

1961 Brownlow Medal count

1st            John James (Carlton)           21 votes              
2nd           Laurie Dwyer (North Melb.)      19
3rd            Ian Law (Hawthorn)                17

James polled in eight of the 17 matches of the home-and-away season in which he played (having missed the Round 13 match with Fitzroy at Brunswick Street). James polled 5x3 votes and 3x2 votes.

1964 Brownlow Medal count

1st           Gordon Collis (Carlton)         27 votes
2nd          Ken Fraser (Essendon)              19
2nd          Phil Hay (Hawthorn)                 19

Collis polled in 11 of the matches of the home-and-away season in which he played (having missed the Round 8 match with South Melbourne at the Lakeside Oval).  Collis polled 7x3 votes, 2x2 votes and 2x1 votes.

1994 Brownlow Medal count

1st            Greg Williams (Carlton)       30 votes
2nd           Peter Matera (West Coast)        28
3rd            Garry Hocking (Geelong)          20

Williams polled in 11 of all 22 matches in which he played in a 24-round season which included two byes. Williams polled 9x3 votes, 1x2 votes and 1x1 votes.

2010 Brownlow Medal count

1st           Chris Judd (Carlton)              30 votes
2nd          Gary Ablett Jr. (Geelong)           26
3rd           Dane Swan (Collingwood)          24

Judd polled in 12 of 19 matches of the home-and-away season in which he played (having missed the Round 1 match with Richmond at the MCG, the Round 2 match with Brisbane at the Gabba and the Round 3 match with Essendon at the MCG). He polled 8x3 votes, 2x2 votes and 2x1 votes.

2022 Brownlow Medal count

1st          Patrick Cripps (Carlton)         29 votes
2nd         Lachie Neale (Brisbane)             28
3rd          Touk Miller (Gold Coast)             27

Cripps polled in 13 of 21 matches of the home-and-away season in which he played (having missed the Round 5 match with Port Adelaide at the MCG). He polled 7x3 votes, 2x2 votes and 4x1 votes.

Brownlow Medal-Coleman Medal doubles since 1955

Patrick Cripps/Charlie Curnow (Carlton 2022)
Trent Cotchin/Jack Riewoldt (Richmond 2012)
Tony Lockett (St Kilda 1987)
Brad Hardie/Simon Beasley (Footscray 1985)
Keith Greig/Doug Wade (North Melbourne 1974)
Len Thomson/Peter McKenna (Collingwood 1972)
Alistair Lord/Doug Wade (Geelong 1962)
John James/Tom Carroll (Carlton 1961)