Fyfe to shun Brownlow
Fremantle star Nat Fyfe won't watch Monday night's Brownlow Medal count and may not be in Australia to hear the result.
Fyfe is expected to poll strongly but the midfielder is ineligible after being suspended twice during the season.
Only two ineligible players have topped a Brownlow Medal poll. North Melbourne ruckman Corey McKernan tied with Michael Voss and James Hird on 21 votes in 1996, then Western Bulldogs key forward Chris Grant received 27 votes in 1996 but the award went to Robert Harvey, who was one vote behind.
Fyfe has a solid polling hist-ory. He received 18 votes last year and 14 in 2012 despite playing just nine games.
While the 23-year-old has already won the AFL Players' Association MVP award, finished runner-up in the AFL Coaches' Association award and been chosen in the All- Australian team, he is not on the guest list at Melbourne's Crown Casino for the Brownlow Medal.
He said he wouldn't even watch the coverage or look for the result. "No, I don't need to," Fyfe said. "It's not about the individual awards.
"I might not be in the country, with travel plans. Who knows at this stage but I'm sure there'll be a worthy winner."
Reigning Brownlow medallist Gary Ablett will present the medal to the winner if he doesn't claim the award for the third time.
He said it was important for everybody to focus on the winner if Fyfe topped the poll.
Ablett has tipped Joel Selwood to improve on last year's result, when he finished runner-up, and win his first Brownlow Medal.
Ablett was a raging favourite to win his third Brownlow Medal before sustaining a season-ending shoulder injury against Collingwood in round 16. He remains the second favourite behind Selwood.
Only four men - Bob Skilton, Dick Reynolds, Haydn Bunton and Ian Stewart - have won three Brownlows. Ablett is one of 10 players to win the award twice.
A third Brownlow would further elevate Ablett's status in the game but he said he didn't want to think about winning the award because it could end in disappointment.
"If you think of it like that, then you go into the night and you don't win, you'll come out really disappointed," he said.
"I just go in with no expectations. If you walk away with it, then great. If you don't, you look to next season.
"The way I've always looked at it is football is just a game. As much as I love it, it is just a game. They are individual awards. They don't define you as a person.
"If it's to happen, great. I'm sure I'll enjoy it with my family. If not, then I'll make sure I get up and congratulate whoever that is."
Ablett ruled himself out of November's International Rules Test in Perth. He won't start running until next month and will avoid contact work until January.
