AFL Brownlow Medal 2026 count and Isaac Heeney's suspended status

Consensus Summary

The 2026 AFL Brownlow Medal count concluded with a record-breaking victory for Collingwood’s Nick Daicos, who secured 47 votes to claim the prestigious award. The result avoided an unprecedented scenario where suspended Sydney Swans player Isaac Heeney could have won the medal despite his absence from the ceremony. Heeney, who finished with 26 votes tied for eighth, was the only genuine contender among the five Swans players suspended in August for breaching club standards following a post-match incident at the Pullman Hotel in Melbourne. The AFL had prepared a contingency plan for Heeney potentially winning the medal, with Sydney CEO Matthew Pavlich ready to accept it on his behalf and read a speech written by Heeney, though this was never needed.

The controversy surrounding Heeney and his teammates stemmed from their suspension in August, which was separate from an ongoing police investigation into sexual assault allegations. Victoria Police indicated that an update on the investigation would not be expected until late October, with no charges laid against the players. The five suspended players—Heeney, Chad Warner, Nick Blakey, Riley Bice, and James Jordon—were ruled ineligible for All-Australian honours and excluded from the Brownlow Medal function at Crown Palladium. Despite their absence, they remained eligible to win the award, creating a unique and awkward situation for the AFL.

Daicos’ dominant performance in the count was underscored by his consistent polling throughout the season, including 11 votes in his first season, 28 in 2023, and 38 in 2024 as the runner-up to Patrick Cripps’ historic 39-vote win. His 47 votes in 2026 not only broke the record but also left him 11 votes clear of his next closest competitor. Heeney, meanwhile, had a strong mid-season surge with three consecutive three-vote performances, briefly rising into the top four of the count. However, his total of 26 votes fell far short of Daicos’ total, with Heeney finishing 21 votes behind the winner.

While all sources agree on the core details of Heeney’s suspension, his vote tally, and Daicos’ victory, there are differences in emphasis. The ABC provides specific match dates and scores from the 2026 season, including games in September, while 7NEWS and 7NEWS_2 focus more on the broader context of Heeney’s career and the AFL’s contingency planning. The ABC also highlights that Heeney finished outside the top five, whereas 7NEWS and 7NEWS_2 report he tied for eighth. These discrepancies may stem from variations in how the count’s final standings were framed, though the numerical data itself remains consistent across sources.

The aftermath of the Brownlow Medal count left the Sydney Swans organization grappling with how to address the suspensions of their key players. While the AFL and the Swans avoided the awkward scenario of a suspended player winning the medal, the incident has cast a shadow over the club’s season. The police investigation remains ongoing, and the club’s handling of the situation—including the exclusion of the suspended players from the All-Australian squad and the Brownlow Medal ceremony—has drawn significant attention. As the season concludes, the focus now shifts to the resolution of the police investigation and the potential long-term impact on the suspended players’ careers.