GIANTS star Clayton Oliver capped off an outstanding debut season at the club with a strong showing at Monday night’s Brownlow Medal.
While Nick Daicos won the award in record-breaking fashion, finishing on 47 votes, it was Oliver who topped the count for those in orange and charcoal.
Oliver finished 11th overall in Monday’s Brownlow Medal following a brilliant season, finishing on 23 votes to comfortably top the GIANTS’ leaderboard.
Fellow star midfielder Finn Callaghan and club legend Toby Greene were the club’s next-best performers, finishing on 10 votes each following their own strong campaigns.
Greene’s 10 votes saw him reach a special milestone on Monday night, with the two-time Kevin Sheedy Medallist becoming the first GIANT to tally 100 career Brownlow votes.
Other GIANTS to feature in the votes on Monday night were Jake Stringer (6), Lachie Ash (5), Stephen Coniglio (2), Lachie Whitfield (2), and Brent Daniels (1), while exciting youngsters Phoenix Gothard (3) and Harvey Thomas (1) each polled their first career Brownlow votes.
It was Oliver who was the star of the show from a GIANTS perspective however, with the three-time All Australian polling consistently across the night, with a red-hot patch mid-season seeing him sit equal second on 18 votes at the halfway mark of the count.
Oliver polled in 13 games in total, kickstarted by claiming two votes in his very first game for the club after bursting onto the scene in his new colours with 27 disposals, 10 clearances, and a goal in the 27-point Opening Round win over the Hawks.
After picking up six more votes across rounds two, five, and six, it was a stellar five-week stretch that helped Oliver fly up the leaderboard, with the star midfielder polling in five straight games between rounds eight to twelve to collect 10 votes and trail only Daicos at the end of round 12.
Oliver then polled in rounds 17,18, and 19, before capping off his night with two more votes in round 23 for his 29-disposal, six-clearance game in a 54-point win over the Eagles.
With his 23 votes on Monday night, Oliver took his career tally to 144 Brownlow votes, placing him inside the top 50 on the all-time career Brownlow votes leaderboard – ahead of the likes of Andrew McLeod, Matthew Richardson, Tom Mitchell, Luke Hodge, Tony Lockett, and Wayne Carey.
Callaghan and Greene were also rewarded with strong seasons, with Callaghan polling in five games and Greene in six.
Callaghan was deemed best on ground by the umpires in the round five win over the Tigers - in which he had 37 disposals and six clearances – and in the round 12 win over the Demons - in which he picked up 31 disposals and kicked two goals.
Across his six games, Greene received the top votes just once, picking up the three votes in the round seven win over Kangaroos in Canberra after registering 28 disposals, two goals, and eight clearances.
Others to poll maximum votes were Stringer in Opening Round and in round 17 for his career-high seven goals in the win over the Dockers, Ash in round 23 after picking up 36 disposals in a win over the Eagles, and Gothard in round 11 for a breakout 29-disposals, two-goal, 10-tackle performance in the huge 78-point win over the Lions.
Meanwhile Thomas’ first career Brownlow votes came in round 12 after the emerging youngster picked up 24 disposals and two goals in the 49-point win over the Demons in Alice Springs.
