Take a look at these lesser-known Carlton facts ahead of Sunday night's Brownlow Medal count:
- Patrick Cripps could become the youngest player to enter Carlton’s top 10 all-time Brownlow vote count tomorrow night, and the second quickest to do so by games played. Unsurprisingly, it was Chris Judd who was the fastest to the mark, polling 75 votes in 73 games including winning the award in 2010: it took Cripps 101 games to reach that mark.
- Surely, Sunday night is the night where Cripps polls his first votes against Geelong. Despite averaging 32 disposals and 11 clearances against them in his last three outings, the Cats are one of three teams that Cripps is yet to poll against. That should change in Round 3, where Cripps had 24 disposals, 12 clearances and two goals as he led the Blues to a memorable win.
- Speaking of the long wait: this time last year, we were convinced that Levi Casboult’s wait for a Brownlow vote would be over. That didn’t quite happen, but we’d be very surprised if his performances against Geelong and Essendon in Rounds 3 and 4 are overlooked. In those wins, Casboult polled more AFLCA votes than anyone else on the ground.
- Casboult won’t be alone on the night in terms of looking for his first career Brownlow vote. After over 100 games, Lachie Plowman should break his duck after some match-saving moments against North Melbourne in Round 8. Zac Fisher will have eyes on his Round 11, four-goal showing against West Coast, while Michael Gibbons had a big night against Gold Coast in Round 13.
- Jack Martin could become the first Blue since Andrew Walker in 2004 to poll Brownlow votes in his first game for the Club. While it was Walker’s first AFL game on that memorable day at Ikon Park, Martin’s first in Navy Blue came in his 99th. Few will forget Martin’s efforts against the reigning premier, where he kicked four goals in a stunning third-quarter burst: his main competition will come from his co-captain Cripps, as well as Dion Prestia and namesake Dustin Martin.
- With the retirements of Kade Simpson and Matthew Kreuzer, only seven players who will be on Carlton’s list in 2021 have had a three-vote game in Navy Blue: Marc Murphy, Sam Petrevski-Seton, Patrick Cripps, Liam Jones, Nic Newman and the Curnow brothers. Youngsters David Cuningham (Round 4) and Sam Walsh (Round 8, Round 16) could join them.
- You might think Eddie Betts is a notable omission from that list, and you’d be right. Somehow, Betts hasn’t been voted as best on ground in a Carlton jumper, despite his famous eight-goal haul against Essendon in 2011. Could his match-winning exploits at the Cattery in Round 3 be enough to get him over the line?
- You might also think Sam Docherty is another notable omission from that list, and you’d be right again. Docherty only polled two votes against Sydney (Round 6) and one vote against Hawthorn (Round 22) in 2017. If Cuningham doesn’t get the three-vote nod in Round 4, the co-captain’s eyes will light up in a performance where he was a one-man wall down back.
- Of current players in the competition, Marc Murphy has polled in 58 individual games: the ninth-most in the League. With 112 career votes to his name, he’s desperately unlucky not to have polled more — he’s had 23 one-vote games. Only 10 players in the history of the game have had more.
- With Murphy likely to poll in the Round 13 win against Gold Coast, it will make it 14 out of 15 seasons where Murphy has featured among the votes. The only year he didn’t poll was in 2007: his second season of football.
