Kade Simpson might have finished one vote adrift of Bryce Gibbs and Marc Murphy, but the Blues’ bearded bona fide backman can take solace in the fact that other than Hawthorn’s Luke Hodge, he was the only defender in the comp to feature in the top 50 placegetters in last night’s 2014 Brownlow Medal count.

“Simmo” will be the first to admit that playing back isn’t exactly the career path to a Brownlow bauble and a cushy media career, but the boy from Emerald can take solace in the fact that his was a season of consistency, also borne out by his third placegetting in the recent John Nicholls Medal count.

In what could be best described as a difficult 2014 season, Carlton was the only club not to boast a player to vote into double figures, last-placed St Kilda included – although how Gibbs (with 9 votes) failed to earn at least one for his 38 possession-game against the Saints in Round 8 is anyone’s guess. As it happened, Chris Yarran, Simpson and St Kilda’s Nick Reiwoldt were the respective 3-2-1 votegetters there. 

Vice-Captain Kade Simpson with his partner Diana Steiner. (Photo: AFL Photos)

To reflect Simpson’s rounded involvement in the game, the 22-gamer was also shortlisted for the Jim Stynes Community Leadership Award, as was Levi Casboult for Mark of the Year. The Carlton Football Club extends its congratulations to the respective winners of those awards West Coast’s Beau Waters and Port Adelaide’s Chad Wingard.

Meanwhile, Chris Judd, whom many outsiders had sought to pension off through the season proper, finished the 2014 Brownlow Medal count with seven votes, surpassing Leigh Matthews in fifth place for most career votes in Brownlow Medal history.

With 209 votes, including 46x3 votes in his career, Judd now sits in equal third place with Geelong’s/Gold Coast’s Gary Ablett (who has also earned 46x3) behind St Kilda’s Robert Harvey on 215 votes and Footscray’s/North Melbourne’s Gary Dempsey on 246.

Carlton’s 2014 Brownlow Medal votegetters

9 - Marc Murphy, Bryce Gibbs

8 - Kade Simpson

7 - Chris Judd

6 – Lachie Henderson

4 – Jarrad Waite, Chris Yarran

3 – Andrejs Everitt, Brock McLean

2 - Simon White

1 – Tom Bell, Andrew Carrazzo, Mitch Robinson*, Robert Warnock