Williams and James were both in the room when AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou completed the counting of votes, while Collis was unable to attend. Williams, Carlton’s Brownlow Medallist of 1994, and with Judd one of only four League footballers to have completed the Brownlow Medal double at different clubs, was able to personally offer his congratulations to Judd following the count at Crown Palladium.
Carlton’s inaugural Brownlow Medallist of 1947, Bert Deacon, died in January 1974. James and Collis, the respective Medal winners of 1961 and ’64, are both yet to have held conversation with Judd, but intend to forward messages of congratulations to their man.
Bert Deacon, Gordon Collis and John James, circa 1964
And all three were only too willing to offer the following tributes.
Greg Williams
“I was a bit shocked he’d received so many votes and I think he might have been a bit shocked himself. I reckoned that he might have got 20 votes, so it was a huge win and I congratulated him on the night.
He’s the most tagged player in the AFL. He cops so much from everybody really, and yet to play at the level he does is amazing. He’s just a great athlete. We saw in the Swans final his pick-ups at full speed. He’s an unbelievable player, there’s no doubt about it.
He’s in an unbelievable position, to have won two Brownlow Medals already at 27. He’ll hit his prime in the next couple of years and I’m pretty sure he’ll win another one along the way, which will put him in a unique band of players.
There’s no doubt that his professionalism sets the standard. That’s why he’s been so good for Carlton. He’s got everything going for him. He’s on a roll at the moment and it’s just fantastic that Carlton’s got him. And he’ll be back training soon, because he knows that’s what it takes at this level. The challenge now is for the blokes around him to help, so there’s a lot of upside for Carlton.
The main thing for him and for all the Carlton players is to win a premiership. That’s the hardest thing.”
Gordon Collis
“I haven’t seen enough of Chris to really give an educated view, but from what I have seen, for the role that he plays, he’s a strong player. The thing that impresses me about him is that if you watch him closely it’s amazing what he’s doing in a quick passage of play. He might touch the ball two or three times, and in that time he might have covered 40 or 50 metres. He’s a non-stop player, and it would be a very difficult thing to stop him because of that strength factor and his aerobic fitness.
Of course he’s got that acute awareness of what’s happening around him and where his mates are, and he doesn’t often make a wrong decision when he’s got the ball. It’s usually to advantage isn’t it, and that’s one of the stand-out things about him. He doesn’t waste the ball and he creates opportunities.
He’s inspirational both as a captain and as a player, and you really can’t ask for anything more than that. From a club point of view you couldn’t wish to have a better player at the helm than Judd could you.
He’s a bit like James Hird. He can sum up a situation in terms of where the game is at. He seems to have the ability to fire himself up at a critical moment in the game and therefore exert a lot of influence in a short period of time. Players with that sort of ability are pretty rare.
John James
I’ve never had the chance to hold a conversation with Chris in my life, but if I did I’d simply congratulate him and welcome him to the group as a worthy and most deserving winner.
I’m quite proud of him and am very excited there’s another man in the group. We’ve had five in 87 years and that’s not enough is it.
He’s one of the best balanced players I’ve ever seen. As far as I am concerned, his balance is absolutely perfect. He and Ablett are just about on a par. He’s terribly strong in the packs, I’ve rarely seen him tackled because he can brush them off so easily. He can’t be put off his game, he has that happy knack of being able to read the game to perfection and I reckon his judgement is as good as I’ve seen in football.
He’s not renowned for his high marking like ‘Jezza’ [Alex Jesaulenko] was, not by any stretch of the imagination. He’s pure and simple a possession winner, a ball magnet.
He’s probably the greatest asset Carlton has had in years. Them getting him was similar to them getting Williams.
