Nick Daicos arrived at Crown Palladium on Monday night as the hottest favourite in this year’s Brownlow Medal count, with the Collingwood midfielder tipped to become the Magpies’ tenth winner of the league’s best-and-fairest award. According to Currents Latest News, which is following the count live from the AFL’s night of nights, Daicos was met by a media scrum on the red carpet as journalists sought comment from the man poised to take home the medal. Marcus Bontempelli and Bailey Smith round out the frontrunner group, but the count itself has not yet been decided, and the field remains open until votes are read.
Inside the frontrunner race: Daicos, Bontempelli and Smith
Three names dominate conversation ahead of the count: Daicos, Bontempelli and Smith. Each has had a different kind of season, but it’s Daicos who has walked into Crown Palladium carrying the weight of expectation.
Why Nick Daicos leads the betting and media conversation
The scrum that met Daicos on arrival tells its own story. Currents Latest News reported he was greeted by “somewhat of a media scrum on the red carpet a little earlier, with journalists eager to hear from the man who could soon become the Magpies’ tenth winner.” That level of pre-count attention, usually reserved for the clearest favourites, shows where the conversation has settled in the hours before voting is revealed. Daicos has spent the night as the player every camera and every microphone wants first, a position that in Brownlow history tends to belong to the man expecting to walk the stage.
Marcus Bontempelli’s case as the Bulldogs’ perennial contender
Marcus Bontempelli arrives at Crown Palladium as the frontrunner most familiar with this stage. The Bulldogs captain has been part of the best-and-fairest conversation across multiple seasons, and his name sitting alongside Daicos and Smith in tonight’s frontrunner group points to that consistency rather than a one-off push. The specifics of his 2026 tally weren’t detailed in pre-count coverage, but his place among the top three favourites suggests a season judged strong enough to again put him in genuine contention.
Bailey Smith’s path back into best-and-fairest contention
Bailey Smith completes the frontrunner trio, and his name carries a different kind of significance here. Being grouped with Daicos and Bontempelli as a genuine contender marks a return to the top tier of Brownlow calculations, the kind of positioning that follows a season strong enough to be judged among the competition’s best. As with Bontempelli, the detailed vote breakdown wasn’t available ahead of the count, but Smith’s inclusion in the frontrunner group alongside two established stars says a lot about how his year has been read heading into Monday night.
What a Daicos win would mean for Collingwood’s Brownlow history
A Daicos victory would make him Collingwood’s tenth Brownlow Medallist, according to Currents Latest News’ live coverage of the count. That figure places any win in the context of the club’s long history with the award, adding another name to a list that already runs deep for the Magpies. For a player who has spent his young career under intense scrutiny at one of the AFL’s most-watched clubs, a Brownlow on Monday night would be the first individual medal of his career.
Red carpet arrivals set the scene before the count
The red carpet outside Crown Palladium has, as usual, doubled as its own spectacle before a single vote is read. Currents Latest News described the scene as “glitz and red carpet glamour on AFL’s night of nights,” with players and partners turning out in style ahead of the presentation.
Media scrum greets Daicos on arrival
Daicos was the most sought-after figure on the carpet, drawing the media scrum described in live coverage of his arrival. Reporters clustered around the Collingwood star well before the formal proceedings began, a sign of how firmly he has been installed as the man to beat.
AFL identities James Hird and Mark McVeigh among the notable guests
Former players and AFL identities also featured among the red carpet arrivals. According to Currents Latest News, “James Hird again ran second to old friend Mark McVeigh on the Brownlow red carpet,” a lighter, familiar note among the evening’s arrivals alongside the current playing group.
Fashion moment: Annalise Dalins’ $1 million jewels
Fashion coverage of the night singled out Annalise Dalins, who wore jewellery valued at $1 million to the event. Currents Latest News reported she “did not disappoint with her dress either,” appearing in a corseted gown by Maison d’Alin Le’ Kal. The pairing of high-value jewellery with a custom gown made her arrival one of the most talked-about fashion moments of the red carpet before attention shifted fully to the count itself.
Dockers’ alternative function highlights the night’s split staging
Not every club’s players and partners were in Melbourne for the main event. Fremantle held its own Brownlow Medal function in Perth, an alternative staging that Currents Latest News noted “may not offer the same stage as the main event in Melbourne” but still gave Dockers’ players and partners a night to dress up and celebrate away from Crown Palladium. The Perth function points to a longstanding quirk of Brownlow night: while the count and its glamour are centred in Melbourne, clubs based interstate often run parallel celebrations for players and partners who aren’t travelling for the main event.
How the count and presentation will unfold at Crown Palladium tonight
The presentation is being staged at Crown Palladium, the venue hosting what Currents Latest News calls the AFL’s “night of nights.” The count follows the standard Brownlow format, with votes from each round of the season tallied and read out live until a winner emerges. Daicos, Bontempelli and Smith are all in position to be part of the finish, depending on how the votes fall across the season’s rounds. Currents Latest News is tracking live updates from the count as the field narrows.
What happens next: the countdown to the official Brownlow Medal announcement
The official result will be confirmed as vote counting concludes at Crown Palladium, with Daicos, Bontempelli and Smith the three names most likely to be read out in the closing stages. Currents Latest News is continuing to update its live coverage of the count as it progresses toward a result. Whichever of the three frontrunners takes the medal, Monday night’s result will only be confirmed once the final votes are tallied on stage.
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