THE BRILLIANT form of Carlton midfielder Bryce Gibbs sees him rise to outright third place in AFL.com.au's Brownlow Medal predictor.

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Gibbs has been a prime driver of his side's season, with the Blues having surpassed pre-season expectations to post a 5-5 record and facing the struggling Brisbane Lions next at Etihad Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Bryce Gibbs' golden run

Rd 6 v Essendon - 32 disposals, two votes*Rd 7 v Collingwood  - 30 disposals, three votes*
Rd 8 v Port Adelaide - 30 disposals, three votes*Rd 10 v Geelong - 34 disposals, three votes*

*predicted

Despite his hot run in recent weeks, Gibbs represents value for money as per Crownbet's odds for the Brownlow – on the eighth line of betting at $41.

The Blue trails Geelong's Patrick Dangerfield and Sydney Swan Luke Parker by just one vote. Dangerfield is the bookmaker's favourite while Parker is third.

Gibbs was outstanding after skipper Marc Murphy was consigned to the bench early in the first quarter after spraining his ankle against Geelong on Sunday.

"You've got to shoulder more weight when you lose a key player like 'Murph' and (Gibbs) did that," coach Brendon Bolton said after the 19-point upset win.

"In and around the contest he was really strong, and he made good decisions on the outside with the ball."

"His past month's been really important to us because he is a leader."

Gibbs, 27, had not registered in our predicted Brownlow count until round six versus Essendon, when he scored two.

Since then, he has polled three votes in wins against Collingwood, Port Adelaide and Geelong.

Punters who had a dabble on Gibbs at the start of the season would be excited – the bookmakers had him at $151 before round one.

Whether the umpires recognise Gibbs' excellence is another matter. His highest count in any Brownlow was in 2009 when he reached 15 votes, with Gary Ablett the winner with 30.

However, if Carlton continues its winning form, it will be hard for the whistleblowers to ignore the 2014 club champion.

It's worth noting how open the race is though, with 11 players within three votes of the lead after almost half of the season.

Listen now: Alex Rance and the AFL Exchange team discuss the burning issues out of round 10