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Richmond captain Trent Cotchin and former Hawthorn captain Sam Mitchell were co-winners of the 2012 Brownlow Medal, after Essendon captain Jobe Watson was ruled ineligible. Julian Smith/AAP

Fairest and best? Status counts in the Brownlow Medal

Team captains have a slight statistical advantage in being judged best on ground, says sports economist Liam Lenten.
The Lake Tyers football team in the late 1930s. The club was incredibly successful, winning the East Gippsland League in 1934, 1938 and 1939. Colin and Paul Tatz, Black Pearls: The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Hall of Fame

The long and complicated history of Aboriginal involvement in football

With the AFL’s indigenous round about to take place, it’s important to recognise the full history of Indigenous involvement in the sport, including the many obstacles players faced.
Drafting Alex Rance is just one of the spectacular draft choices Richmond has made in recent years. AAP

How good draft choices can make or break AFL teams

Research shows that a few AFL teams have had much more success at drafting players than others. Richmond’s recent premiership was in part build on good draft choices.
Robbie ‘Bones’ McGhie after playing in the 1973 Grand Final, in which his team, Richmond, won. Rennie Ellis Photographic Archive

‘Bones’ McGhie, a cigarette and nostalgia for a greater game

Football has changed dramatically in the 35 years since Richmond last had a chance at the Grand Final. But while footy is now ‘an industry’, the arrival of the first women’s league is to be celebrated.
Adam Goodes training at the SCG in 2015. David Gray/Reuters

Refusing to play the race game

For Indigenous people, refusal is a powerful act of sovereignty. In Grand Final week, it’s timely to reflect on Adam Goodes’ refusal to accept racism in football or an official send off when he retired - and the repercussions of his stance, a year on.

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