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The Brownlow: A Tribute to the Greats of Australian Football
Australian football is a team sport and to win a premiership its ultimate reward, but the performance of the individual has always been celebrated, which is why the Brownlow Medal is such a treasured and celebrated part of the game.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2003
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 4, 2025
An amazing and instantly important historical record of a group of outstanding players in AFL history.
The first Brownlow was awarded in 1924 to the fairest and best player in the competition, on the votes of the officiating umpire. The same system is still in operation nearly a century later. There are criticisms of the award nowadays as the ‘mid-fielders award’ and certainly it is very rare for a defender to win it; St Kilda’s Neil Roberts and Verdun Howell in the late fifties come to mind as exceptions. But there have been a variety of big and small men, skilled and robust. Undeniably a group of talented players.
The book is a happy conjunction of creative and interesting photographs by Sean Garnsworthy of all the living winners in more or less their natural habitats in the years following their awards: in the city, country, relaxed, gone to seed, still fit, stylish or not. The text is by as number of contributors and is informed and interesting.
It’s an historical artefact now as quite a number of winners died they were photographed and interviewed, but before publication, and more have gone since, some quite young.
My favourite photo is Fitzroy legend Kevin Murray (winner 1969) sitting on the bumper of an old Bedford truck in rural Victoria wearing his old playing gear. Photographed in 2001, still looks fit. Marvellous book.
The first Brownlow was awarded in 1924 to the fairest and best player in the competition, on the votes of the officiating umpire. The same system is still in operation nearly a century later. There are criticisms of the award nowadays as the ‘mid-fielders award’ and certainly it is very rare for a defender to win it; St Kilda’s Neil Roberts and Verdun Howell in the late fifties come to mind as exceptions. But there have been a variety of big and small men, skilled and robust. Undeniably a group of talented players.
The book is a happy conjunction of creative and interesting photographs by Sean Garnsworthy of all the living winners in more or less their natural habitats in the years following their awards: in the city, country, relaxed, gone to seed, still fit, stylish or not. The text is by as number of contributors and is informed and interesting.
It’s an historical artefact now as quite a number of winners died they were photographed and interviewed, but before publication, and more have gone since, some quite young.
My favourite photo is Fitzroy legend Kevin Murray (winner 1969) sitting on the bumper of an old Bedford truck in rural Victoria wearing his old playing gear. Photographed in 2001, still looks fit. Marvellous book.
January 4, 2026
it definitely shared some good historical knowledge. I found it a hard slog af times, because it felt like a lot of newspaper columns about each player. Some of the interviews were good, but honestly, I was glad when I finished it. Maybe chronological order wasn't the best choice? Also, with the modern player, the constant "winning a Brownlow isn't a premiership" was highly annoying. That's obvious, even in local sports, all players feel the same way.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews