As is always the case on Brownlow Medal night, a handful of surprises arose when the envelopes were opened, with the men in white perceiving performances in a different light to the coaches, the media and the broader football landscape.
 
The Gold Coast SUNS didn’t feature prominently, as expected, given the poor season. Although, several outstanding individual performances were recognised by the umpires with three’s and two’s when the votes were read out on Monday night.
 
Departing midfielder Harley Bennell polled the most votes for the SUNS with seven, narrowly ahead of Charlie Dixon who collected six votes on the back of two best on ground performances.
 
Despite enduring an injury-decimated season, dual Brownlow medallist Gary Ablett entered rare territory with his five votes seeing him break the 100-vote barrier at a second club, after he collected 112 during his nine seasons at Geelong.
 
The Gold Coast captain polled in three consecutive games between round 14 and 16 (2+1+2), during a remarkable return from a long absence due to his highly publicised shoulder injury. Unfortunately the champion midfielder had his season brought to a premature close the next weekend after suffering a serious knee injury in the loss to the Crows at Adelaide Oval.
 
2015 Club Champion, Tom Lynch, polled five votes late in the season, collecting two votes in the SUNS' round 19 QClash win over Brisbane on the back of a five-goal haul, as well as the maximum against Essendon in round 21 after booting 3.3 in the two-point win.
 
Despite producing one of the more dominant performances by a SUN all year against Adelaide in round 17, the spearhead didn’t draw any plaudits from the umpires, with Patrick Dangerfield (3 votes), Bennell (2) and Scott Thompson (1) demonstrating why the award is widely regarded as a midfielders prize.
 
Contrary to this belief, Dixon’s two record-breaking hauls against Brisbane and North Melbourne were looked upon favourably by the men handing out the votes. The powerhouse forward collected two sets of three for his six-goal, Marcus Ashcroft medal winning performance in round five and his seven-goal decimation of North Melbourne in round 14.
 
Bennell’s haul of seven votes was built from his performances after one of the biggest controversies of 2015. After a three-week absence, the prodigious talent returned at Adelaide Oval in round 17 and with the blowtorch burning brightly.

He collected 39 possessions in a phenomenal effort against a star-studded Adelaide midfield, with the umpires recognised his stunning return with two votes.
 
A week later, in one of Gold Coast’s finest performances of 2015 – a draw with Grand Finalists West Coast in round 18 – Bennell followed up his brilliant comeback with a more well-rounded effort against the Eagles. The West Australian accumulated 28 disposals, seven clearances and seven tackles opposed to All Australian Andrew Gaff, in an effort that drew three votes from those in white.
 
Aaron Hall’s resurgence as a midfielder in the closing stages of the season was recognised with the Tasmanian polling five votes from three separate games in the second half of the year. He collected the three votes in the round 19 win over Brisbane, shading Lynch despite the key forward winning the Marcus Ashcroft medal.
 
Mature-aged rookie, Adam Saad, was one of the stories of the year at Metricon Stadium, rising from anonymity this time last year, to be gracing the red carpet on the AFL’s night of nights less than 12 months later.
 
The rebounding defender polled his first vote in round five when he earned a Rising Star nomination, and then in round 11, he collected two votes, sandwiched between eventual winner Nat Fyfe and champion ruckman Aaron Sandilands. Fair company, to say the least.
 
Key defenders are rarely recognised at the games most coveted individual accolade, and this remained the case on Monday night, with Alex Rance polling the most votes on eight, ahead of Michael Hurley and Jeremy McGovern with two apiece. Steven May’s demolition of Coleman medal winner, Josh Kennedy, in round 18 was rewarded with a solitary vote, behind midfielder’s Bennell and runner-up Matt Priddis.
 
Total Votes:
Harley Bennell – 7
Charlie Dixon – 6
Gary Ablett – 5
Aaron Hall – 5
Tom Lynch – 5
Michael Rischitelli – 3
Adam Saad – 3
Brandon Matera – 1
Dion Prestia – 1
Steven May – 1