Best head-to-head bets for Brownlow Medal 2017

LET’S face it, unless you are at the event itself or partaking in some drinking games at home alongside your buddies, the Brownlow Medal count can be a long and arduous process to get through.

Whether it is the self-congratulatory nature of the league itself recapping the year, the painful montages of retiring players, or the elongated ad breaks throughout the coverage, even the most ardent footy fan’s patience gets tested as the night wears on.

Thankfully the team at Sportsbet.com.au decided enough is enough and have opened a number of special betting markets to keep the fans entertained throughout the night.

The exotic option we are looking at for Monday night’s count is the head-to-head votes market.

We have selected our four best bets and pieced together a four-legged multi which should keep you awake until Dusty dons the Charlie.

Head-to-head betting selections:

Dylan Shiel to poll more votes than Scott Pendlebury ($1.80)

Brad Hill to poll more votes than Travis Boak ($2.20)

Joe Daniher to poll more votes than Ben Brown ($1.65)

Seb Ross to poll more votes than Trent Cotchin ($1.50)

Combined multi value: $9.80 @ Sportsbet.com.au

Dylan Shiel vs. Scott Pendlebury

Are we missing something here?

Look, we all know Pendles is an out-and-out thoroughbred, but not only did the Collingwood skipper fail to play after round 17, he also recorded his lowest possessions per game count in seven years and his lowest goals per game in eight.

Before even looking at the personal numbers, Shiel already has four additional games in which to poll. Further to that, the Giants on-baller averaged an elite 27 touches per game and was awarded his maiden All-Australian jersey.

We think Shiel is over the odds and we are more than happy to take that price.

Dylan Shiel to poll more votes than Scott Pendlebury ($1.80)

Brad Hill vs. Travis Boak

We all knew Brad Hill had ability but few could foretold how profound his impact would be. The former Hawk was arguably the recruit of the year, finishing inside the top 10 for total kicks for the entire league. In a year where Fyfe and Neale were well down on their usual output, Hill recorded career-best numbers across the board.

Travis Boak’s year was almost the polar opposite to Hill’s. Putting together his lowest possession numbers in six years, the Port skipper took a backseat to teammates Ollie Wines, Robbie Gray and new recruit Sam Powell-Pepper.

Hill had a number of standout games while Boak struggled to match his usual lofty output.

Back in the Docker.

Brad Hill to poll more votes than Travis Boak ($2.20)

Joe Daniher vs. Ben Brown

While both players had fantastic years as their respective sides’ focal points, we are favouring Daniher here.

We already know the Bomber is almost a lock to get three votes against the Pies and Cats after winning the best-on-ground medals, but four-goal games against the Saints and the Power alongside a five-goal haul against the Eagles should see the father-son prodigy in the votes.

Recording more wins also plays in Daniher’s favour, and we think he is the best bet of the night in the head-to-head market.

Joe Daniher to poll more votes than Ben Brown ($1.65)

Seb Ross vs. Trent Cotchin

In a pure statistics sense it is hard to argue that Ross didn’t have a far better season than Cotchin.

In a year where the Saints missed David Armitage for most of it and Jack Steven lacked the explosiveness of recent campaigns, Ross put together his finest-ever season.

Averaging 29.9 touches a game, Ross became the Saints’ premier ball-winner in 2017.

While Cotchin had a quality year by anyone’s reckoning, only twice did he surpass 30 touches in a game. To further compound his lowest possession averages this decade, Cotchin has played in the Dustin Martin shadow all season, and the addition of Dion Prestia also took the umpires’ attention off the 2012 Brownlow Medal winner.

Ross is certain to poll in the nine-game stretch where he amassed 30 or more touches and we believe being the only consistent Saint on-baller will help him poll more votes than the Tiger captain.

Seb Ross to poll more votes than Trent Cotchin ($1.50)