Cousins takes home Charlie

Brownlow Medal 2005 Review

West Coast Eagles' captain Ben Cousins has collected the Brownlow medal by just one vote ahead of team-mate Daniel Kerr.

It was the first time in the medal's 81-year history that team-mates have finished first and second on the final tally board, though more surprising was how close Kerr came to sharing the prized award or even snatching it in the last round of voting.

Cousins, the pre-count favourite, was speculated late last week to have tied with the Swans' skipper Brett Kirk, but that was dismissed as Kirk tailed out and only managed to be awarded 10 votes.

Punters around Australia would have surely been worried as the count came towards an end, Adelaide midfielder Tyson Edwards was there abouts for most of the count, while Nick Dal Santo was within reach going into the final round only to be denied by Stephen Milne's 11-goals - three votes - against the struggling former champion, the Brisbane Lions.

Western Bulldog midfielder Scott West, who has consistently polled votes in seasons gone by, was again foiled. With just four votes from the first 11 rounds many would have been wondering about his chances, but a stellar second half that almost saw the Bulldogs snatch a finals place went in his favour though like previous counts he finished just short.

Fremantle dynamo forward Matthew Pavlich, touted as another contender after some outstanding performances as the Dockers made a late run for September action, stalled on 14 votes to finish ninth overall.

Sydney forward Barry Hall, the SportsAustralia.com player of year 2005, finished sixth with 16 votes. The fans favourite Luke Hodge from Hawthorn began the count strongly but like his team tailed off after round 11. Last season's winner Chris Judd was another to finish inside the top 10 with a creditable 15 votes and eighth overall despite being suspended in round eight.

Of the others Brisbane Lions midfielder Luke Power finished with 14 votes despite his teams' ordinary season. Leader after the first few rounds, Melbourne's Cameron Bruce, not surprisingly fell away after round three as he missed several games through a shoulder injury at the opening bounce of the round four game against St Kilda - he was until that happened my pick to collect the medal.

The Tigers Nathan Brown, before his terrible misfortune with the broken leg, was another contender, and was at that stage leading our own player award count. Brown was another who had several awards within his grasp, no surprise Richmond fell away after his untimely exit and missed the finals all together.

Sydney's Jude Bolton was a surprise leader early, while Hawthorn ruckman Peter Everitt polled 13 votes.

For Cousins the medal, deserved in the eyes of many, is a great highlight to date for a career that has seen him feature as the Eagles best on three occasions (2001-02-03). Appointed captain in 2001 he has virtually carried the team through the below par years of 2000 & 2001 and early in the reign of current coach John Worsfold.

Cousins debuted in 1996 after being recruited in the 1995 national draft from East Fremantle under the father/son rule in which the Eagles can select the son of a former WAFL great, though he was eligible to play for Geelong under the same rule as his dad, Brian Cousins, played VFL games for the Cats before hanging up his boots.

Hard work and dedication has seen Cousins named a five-time all Australian, including the vice-captain status this season, the rising star award winner in his debut season and a rare appearance for Australia in the 1999 International Rules series.

Nicknamed Baby Ben in 1996, and Cuz today he has numerous media awards to his credit both here in Western Australia and around the nation, and will hopefully add the Premiership medal to his collection come Saturday evening.

[Brownlow Leaderboard - Top 15]

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