Sport Neale AFL's hot Brownlow favourite

© Getty Neale AFL's hot Brownlow favourite

Brisbane star Lachie Neale enters Sunday night's Brownlow Medal count as the overwhelming favourite to take home the AFL's most prestigious individual honour for the first time.

This year's count will have a twist, being held as a virtual event with small functions for players in different cities amid ongoing coronavirus restrictions.

Gone is the usual glitz and glamour but it won't take any of the gloss off the winner after one of the most difficult seasons for players in which to perform.

My club-by-club Brownlow Medal guide

Who might have caught the umpires’ eye at your club? This is my Brownlow prediction for all 18 teams. Adelaide Rory Laird 8 Matt Crouch 3 Reilly O’Brien 3 Lachie Sholl 3 No contest here, Laird was brilliant in their wins. Brisbane Lachie Neale 26 Jarryd Lyons 11 Dayne Zorko 8 The Lions’ mids are an even bunch after Neale, with Hugh McCluggage and Jarrod Berry also on seven. Zorko polls well, but played more forward this year. Lyons had some big games. Carlton Sam Walsh 11 Patrick Cripps 9 Ed Curnow 5 Remarkably, Cripps might not win the Blues’ count.

2020 Brownlow Medal: Lachie Neale the soaring favourite in shortened season. Skip to sections navigation Skip to content Skip to footer. One of the unfortunate features of recent Brownlow Medals has been the hot favouritism of the eventual winner, too often killing off enjoyable speculation about

Like the entire AFL season, the 2020 Brownlow Medal is going ahead in a heavily modified format. So how will it work? Lachie Neale is the runaway favourite for this year' s medal. (AAP: Darren England). The Brisbane Lions midfielder has been the favourite for most of the season, and his sensational and

Neale, who tied for third last year, is a short-priced favourite with the TAB at $1.25 as he looks to add the Brownlow to a long list of individual accolades that are piling up this season.

The prolific Lions midfielder has already claimed the AFL Players' Association's Most Valuable Player and AFL Coaches' Association champion player of the year awards, and was named an All-Australian for the second time.

He leads a Brownlow field that heavily features players who could win the top accolade for the first time.

As is usually the case, the leading contenders are predominantly midfielders.

Melbourne's Christian Petracca ($7), Port Adelaide veteran Travis Boak ($8) and much-improved St Kilda ball-winner Jack Steele ($13) are best-placed to upset Neale after stellar seasons.

Lachie Neale wins Brownlow Medal as AFL's best and fairest ahead of Travis Boak, Jack Steele and Christian Petracca

Lachie Neale wins the 2020 Brownlow Medal after a brilliant AFL season with the Brisbane Lions, finishing 10 votes ahead of second-placed Travis Boak.Neale polled strongly throughout the night, nabbing three votes each in four of the first five games, finishing up on a whopping 31 votes despite the season being shortened to 17 games.

Brownlow medallist Lachie Neale is one of three AFL players from his tiny South Australian hometown, and he wasn't even supposed to be the best of them, write Cody Atkinson and Sean Lawson. Lachie Neale has come a long way to become a Brownlow Medallist with the Brisbane Lions.

The Brownlow is going virtual on Sunday night. There' s also a virtual certainty to win. Once again there' s a hot favourite for the most prized individual award in the AFL . With the form guide in hand, sit back on Sunday night and wait and see whether Neale becomes the latest hot favourite to win

Of the past winners, Geelong's Patrick Dangerfield ($21), Richmond's Dustin Martin ($26) and Fremantle's Nat Fyfe ($51) are considered outside chances.

But none of those three superstars have performed this season at the level they did in their Brownlow-winning campaigns.

Neale could join Dangerfield (2016), Martin (2017) and Gary Ablett Jnr (2009) as the only players to have won the Brownlow Medal, AFLPA MVP and AFLCA award in the same season.

"Lachie's had a spectacular year and Travis Boak has had an unbelievable year as a 32-year-old," Dangerfield said.

"It's always an award that throws up so many different possibilities, but I think Lachie would be a deserved winner."

The Brownlow would be a fitting reward for Neale, who has delivered two stunning seasons at Brisbane since his shock trade move from Fremantle.

The 27-year-old South Australian led the AFL for disposals in 2020 and ranked in the top five for clearances and contested possessions.

Hot Brownlow favourites have a strong record of winning in recent times.

Fyfe ($2), Dangerfield ($1.16), Martin ($1.05) and Hawthorn's Tom Mitchell ($1.45) all saluted in the four seasons before Fyfe emerged from a crowded market last year to win for the second time.

West Coast ball magnet Matt Priddis ($41) caused the biggest upset of the past two decades when he was a surprise winner in 2014.