IT WAS the Brown show in the opening round of the Smithy’s VFL last weekend, while a No.3 AFL draft pick also starred, according to the voting in the new VFL Coaches Player of the Year Award.

Three players polled a perfect 10 votes across the 10 matches played in Round 1 – Casey Demons full-forward Mitch Brown, Collingwood midfielder Callum Brown and Carlton onballer Paddy Dow.

Mitch Brown took 14 marks and kicked 7.3 in a powerful display to help the Demons thrash Sandringham at Casey Fields on Sunday, shortly after Callum Brown completed a brilliant performance that yielded 32 possessions and a goal as the Magpies came from behind to edge out Box Hill Hawks in an opening round classic at Victoria Park.

Friday was Paddy’s Day as Dow carved up the Brisbane Lions with the same numbers as Callum Brown – 32 disposals and a goal – in a comfortable victory for the Blues at Ikon Park.

Sydney ball magnet and 2014 AFL Rising Star Lewis Taylor, Geelong excitement machine Quinton Narkle and North Melbourne goalsneak Eddie Ford all put their hands up for AFL selection with nine-vote games.

Similar to the AFL Coaches Association Player of the Year, the VFL award is voted on by the coaches of each club after every game.

The coaches are awarding 5-4-3-2-1 to their best players in the game from either team, with those votes collated and revealed each week on vfl.com.au.

A total of 68 players attracted the coaches’ attention in Round 1.

Twitter: @BRhodesVFL

ROUND 1 VOTES

Sydney 13.12 (90) def Footscray 6.10 (46)
9 Lewis Taylor (Syd)
5 Ryan Clarke (Syd)
4 Joel Amartey (Syd)
4 Robbie McComb (Foo)
4 Ben Ronke (Syd)
3 Will Gould (Syd)
1 Lachie Sullivan (Foo)

Carlton 11.18 (84) def Brisbane Lions 5.12 (42)
10 Paddy Dow (Car)
6 Will Hayes (Car)
6 Lewis Young (Car)
4 Ryan Lester (BL)
4 Jack Newnes (Car)

Gold Coast 20.11 (131) def Northern Bullants 11.10 (76)
8 Josh Corbett (GC)
5 Malcolm Rosas (GC)
5 Tom Wilson (NB)
4 James Tsitas (GC)
3 Oleg Markov (GC)
3 Ned Moyle (GC)
2 Jy Farrar (GC)

Geelong 12.14 (86) def Essendon 8.10 (58)
9 Quinton Narkle (Gee)
8 Matthew Ling (Gee)
6 Oliver Dempsey (Gee)
5 Joe Atley (Ess)
1 Cody Brand (Ess)
1 Brandon Zerk-Thatcher (Ess)

Werribee 12.11 (83) def Frankston 7.15 (57)
7 Kye Declase (Wer)
7 Tom Gribble (Wer)
7 Trent Mynott (Fra)
5 Nathan Cooper (Wer)
2 Shaun Mannagh (Wer)
1 Will Fordham (Fra)
1 Ryley Stoddart (Fra)

Richmond 16.4 (100) def Southport 10.9 (69)
5 Jacob Dawson (Sou)
5 Maurice Rioli (Ric)
4 Lachlan Street (Ric)
4 Mackenzie Willis (Sou)
4 Boyd Woodcock (Sou)
3 Noah Cumberland (Ric)
3 Samson Ryan (Ric)
1 Judson Clarke (Ric)
1 Rhyan Mansell (Ric)

Collingwood 18.4 (112) def Box Hill Hawks 17.8 (110)
10 Callum Brown (Col)
8 Will Day (Box)
6 Lachie Tardrew (Col)
2 Sam Fowler (Col)
2 Damian Mascitti (Box)
2 Tom Wilson (Col)

Casey Demons 21.13 (139) def Sandringham 8.9 (57)
10 Mitch Brown (Cas)
7 Luke Dunstan (Cas)
6 Jimmy Munro (Cas)
4 Mitch White (Cas)
2 Deakyn Smith (Cas)
1 Oskar Baker (Cas)

GWS 10.13 (73) def Port Melbourne 7.13 (55)
8 Finn Callaghan (GWS)
5 Braydon Preuss (GWS)
4 Ryan Hebron (GWS)
4 Jake Stein (GWS)
3 James Wehr (GWS)
2 Jesse Cucinotta (PM)
2 Adam Kennedy (GWS)
1 Leek Aleer (GWS)
1 Harvey Hooper (PM)

North Melbourne 15.12 (102) def Williamstown 11.12 (78)
9 Eddie Ford (NM)
8 Harry Jones (NM)
6 Callum Coleman-Jones (NM)
4 Dom Tyson (NM)
2 James Cousins (Wil)
1 Billy Myers (Wil)

LEADERBOARD

10 Callum Brown (Col) 10
10 Mitch Brown (Cas) 10
10 Paddy Dow (Car) 10
9 Eddie Ford (NM) 9
9 Quinton Narkle (Gee) 9
9 Lewis Taylor (Syd) 9
8 Finn Callaghan (GWS) 8
8 Josh Corbett (GC) 8
8 Will Day (Box) 8
8 Harry Jones (NM) 8
8 Matthew Ling (Gee) 8

FROSTY MILLER MEDAL LEADING GOALKICKER

7 Mitch Brown (Cas) 7
5 Josh Corbett (GC) 5
5 Eddie Ford (NM) 5
4 Sam Fowler (Col) 4
4 Ryan Hebron (GWS) 4
4 Tom Wilson (Col) 4
3 16 players

SMITHY’S VFL ROUND 1 RECORDS

(Figures in brackets are the previous record)

• 13.12 90 Sydney/South Melbourne's highest score v Footscray (11.11 77, 2021)
• 44 Sydney/South Melbourne's biggest win v Footscray (7gl all venues 1886, 2gl Whitten Oval, 1892)
• 5.12 42 Brisbane Lions' lowest score v Carlton (13.7 85, 2021)
• 11.18 84 Carlton's lowest score v Brisbane Lions (24.10 154, 2021)
• 20.11 131 Gold Coast's highest score v Northern Bullants (9.7 61, 2010)
• 11.10 76 Northern Bullants' lowest score v Gold Coast (26.10 166, 2010)
• 18.4 112 Collingwood's highest score v Box Hill Hawks at Victoria Park (13.14 92, 2014)
• 21.13 139 Casey Demons' highest score v Sandringham at Casey Fields (18.12 120, 2011)
• 82 Casey Demons' biggest win v Sandringham at Casey Fields (61, 2011)
• 10.13 73 GWS' lowest score v Port Melbourne (11.9 75, 2021)
• 18 GWS' biggest win v Port Melbourne (9, 2021)
• 7.13 55 Port Melbourne's lowest score v GWS (9.12 66, 2021)
• 15.12 102 North Melbourne's highest score v Williamstown (13.15 93, 1920)

SMITHY’S VFL MILESTONES

• NORTH MELBOURNE PLAYED ITS 850TH VFA/VFL MATCH (445-336-69)
• FRANKSTON PLAYED ITS 450TH VFL ERA MATCH (167-277-6)
• Jesse Glass-McCasker (Carlton) played his 50^th VFL match (13 goals)
• Neville Jetta (Collingwood) played his 50^th VFL match (38 goals)
• Sydney won its first VFL era away match (1-3)
• Sydney/South Melbourne defeated Footscray for the first time since May 1, 1896 (11-3-1)
• Gold Coast defeated Northern Bullants for the first time (1-1)
• Werribee defeated Frankston for the 11th time in a row (last loss August 19, 2009)
• Richmond v Southport occurred for the first time
• Collingwood squared its head-to-head with Box Hill Hawks (9-9)
• North Melbourne defeated Williamstown for the first time since June 30, 1923 (46-25-8)

SMITHY’S VFL DEBUTS

(season total: 94, NEAFL games counted)

• Box Hill Hawks: Luis D’Angelo, Will Day, Brady Grey, Ned Long, Jai Serong
• Brisbane Lions: Kai Lohmann, Darcy Wilmot
• Carlton: Dom Akuei, Josh Cripps, Hugh Hamilton, Michael Lewis, Jesse Motlop
• Casey Demons: Blake Howes, Judd McVee, Bryce Milford, Andy Moniz-Wakefield, Jacob Van Rooyen, Taj Woewodin
• Collingwood: Aiden Begg, Arlo Draper, Harvey Harrison, Ash Johnson, Cooper Murley
• Essendon: Cooper Anderson, Kaine Baldwin, Joel Fitzgerald, Lachy Godden, Will Golds, Ben Hobbs, Alastair Lord, Lockie Rayner, Patrick Voss, Kyle Weightman
• Footscray: Josh Chatfield, Luke Cleary, Luke Goater, Arthur Jones, Will Lewis
• Frankston: Taylin Duman, Jai Florent, Angus Grant
• Geelong: Billy Crofts, Oliver Dempsey, Thomas Feely, Mitch Knevitt, Ben Lloyd, Charlie Sprague, Cooper Stephens, Paul Tsapatolis, Cooper Whyte
• Gold Coast: Mac Andrew, Sandy Brock, Malachi Dumas, Morgan Ferres, Jackson Griffiths, Connor Matheson, Connor Munro, Jonah Semmler
• GWS: Leek Aleer, Finn Callaghan, Hamish Gilmore, Ethan Grace, Cooper Hamilton, Brodie Romensky
• North Melbourne: Miller Bergman, Paul Curtis, Connor Hinkley, Max Mitchell-Russell, Flynn Perez, Connor Weightman
• Northern Bullants: Ben De Bolfo, Peter Gentile
• Port Melbourne: Oscar Morrison, Will Reinhold, Jackson Weidemann
• Richmond: Sam Banks, Tom Brown, Judson Clarke, Massimo D’Ambrosio, John Jorgensen
• Sandringham: Liam Hayes, Max Heath, Josiah Kyle, Paddy Ryder, Marcus Windhager
• Southport: Boyd Woodcock
• Sydney: Peter Ladhams, Lachie Rankin, Matthew Roberts, Corey Warner
• Werribee: Marty Brennan, Saad El-Hawli
• Williamstown: Charlie Molan, Ben Woodfull

SMITHY’S VFL FIRST GOAL

(season total: 37, NEAFL goals counted)

• Box Hill Hawks: Will Day (1^st), Brady Grey (1^st), Jai Serong (1^st)
• Brisbane Lions: Kai Lohmann (1^st game)
• Carlton: Paddy Dow (5^th), Zavier Maher (2^nd), Joel Trudgeon (3^rd)
• Casey Demons: Bailey Laurie (3^rd), Jacob Van Rooyen (1^st)
• Collingwood: Harvey Harrison (1^st), Ash Johnson (1^st), Cooper Murley (1^st)
• Essendon: Kaine Baldwin (1^st), Patrick Voss (1^st), Kyle Weightman (1^st)
• Footscray: Jarrod Gilbee (3^rd)
• Geelong: Oliver Dempsey (1^st), Thomas Feely (1^st)
• Gold Coast: Malachi Dumas (1^st), Morgan Ferres (1^st), Connor Munro (1^st)
• North Melbourne: Paul Curtis (1^st), Flynn Perez (1^st), Connor Weightman (1^st)
• Northern Bullants: Tim Jones (10^th)
• Richmond: Sam Banks (1^st), Judson Clarke (1^st), John Jorgensen (1^st)
• Sandringham: Josiah Kyle (1^st), Paddy Ryder (1^st)
• Southport: Boyd Woodcock (1^st)
• Sydney: Peter Ladhams (1^st), Lachlan McAndrew (6^th)
• Werribee: Sam Paea (2^nd)
• Williamstown: Noah Gadsby (2^nd), Corey Preston (3^rd), Ben Woodfull (1^st)

All Smithy’s VFL matches in 2022 will be live streamed free. The match of the round will be screened on Channel 7 and 7Plus, while all other matches will be live and available on demand via afl.com.au and the AFL Live Official App.
To access live scores, results, ladder, stats and to link to live streams/replays, download the VFL/W Official App from the Apple or Google Play app stores.