Nick Daicos is judged to a different standard than others

Following the Brownlow Medal, AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon wondered whether those runners-up should also be recognized along with the winner, as if to appease upset Magpie fans.

Good luck doing this.

The coaching staff’s votes are generally considered high, so the coaches’ (Chris Scott, Sam Mitchell and Garry Lyon) decision to award Ash a medal likely carried nuances that are not obvious to most football fans.

Giants’ Ash stepped up when Victoria needed him in the first quarter with Jacob Weitering coming off the ground. Despite the changes, he had nine tackles and his dashing run as the game came to a close shifted the momentum in the direction of the big Vs. If it wasn’t for his performance, who would they turn to? Scott said Ash shines brightest when the game is hot.

Daicos, 23, emerged from the EJWhitten Medal discussion alongside Zak Butters and Bontempelli after his 38 disposals, including seven clearances and 13 scores. He also had a game-high five tackles. He was both determined and intelligent.

They had to make a call right after the tense fight, and they did.

Given that all individual awards in the AFL, with the exception of the Coleman Medal, are opinion-based, it is often about as useful to engage in correspondence about such decisions as complaining about Canada’s Cooper Woods being awarded the gold medal before Mikaël Kingsbury.

Having voted for awards before, I know it’s never a fun job.

But the decision once again raises the question of whether Daicos was held to higher standards than other players when voted on because of the extraordinary standard he has set in just 95 AFL games.

Collingwood certainly branded him hard last season. Daicos received 87 trainer votes compared to Cameron’s 42 but fell short in the best and fairest rankings.

At times it felt like he was following the beat of his own drum on the pitch, which could have cost him dearly, but he is still by far the most valuable Magpie. His runner-up finish was similar to Jeremy Howe’s failure to win the award of the year in 2017.

Judges look at many things differently, but their voting patterns add weight to the argument that they evaluate Daicos differently than their peers.

His efforts still claim recognition with three Brownlow Medal placements.

Trump, who received 32 votes last season and 38 in 2024, found a better opponent each time. His 38 votes in 2024 would have won him every medal awarded before that season but Carlton’s Patrick Cripps somehow got 45 votes.

If the raw measure of divestitures is used to evaluate performance, Daicos finds it harder to poll outside the box than the previous two winners.

Daicos kept a clean sheet in 11 matches in 2024 and 2025 after gaining 30 or more touches in the match. Cripps had 30 touches just once in 2024 and failed to get three votes. Rowell did it four times in 2025, the same amount Daicos did that season.

It’s hard to argue that Daicos doesn’t use his touch as well as these two great players. He must feel like Greg Williams sometimes.

Cripps received two Brownlow votes in 2024 when he made fewer than 20 disposals. In 2025, Matt Rowell managed to pick up two top-flight games and a Brownlow vote in matches where he tackled like a rugby league player but gained fewer than 20 touches.

Daicos managed to get one vote in six matches in which he won fewer than 20 eliminations throughout his career.

Cripps received three votes for reaching 40 or more touches. The referees gave him three votes in six of the nine matches in which he had at least 40 disposals.

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Of course, disposals are a rough measure, but Daicos’ quality of play is such that he can change the course of the game with his touches in a way that only the best players in the game can.

And Ash deserved his moment in the sun as he is a rising star who will become more widely known after his performance in State of Origin.

As Daicos approaches 100 caps, with only Bontempelli rivaling him for the title of the game’s best player (Sam Darcy could join them this season), it seems incredible that the Magpie has won the coaches’ award, the Players’ Association MVP and the Rising Star award, as well as the best and fairest in four seasons alone.

Lately others seem to be finding it better than Daicos. While doing this, they miss what is in front of them.

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