'Hayes Fever' Round 9, 2010 Wrap - 3, 2, 1 Votes.

Given that both Judd and Ablett respectively had quiet weeks, were there any notable Brownlow smokies that made a dash in the voting stakes and attempted to bridge the sizable gap between the two aforementioned tally leaders and the rest of their competition?

The answer is yes, and one of these players was Hayes... Lenny Hayes.

This bloke is one of my favourite players outside of my own team (Carlton), and his game on the weekend exemplified why. The toughnut gathered 35 damaging disposals - 10 of which were in the third quarter - and was the standout barometer in the Saints fightback win against the Eagles.

Given his dominant performances in the past few weeks, it's hard to believe the TAB were offering odds of around $67 outright at Round 4/5. And if it weren't for the Saints poor form of late i'd suggest he'd have netted even more votes, as they are always hard to come by in a losing side. Personally, i'm still perplexed at how the bookies continue to underestimate his potential after what happened last year when they were robbed blind by those punters who snapped up the $8 they were offering for Hayes to win most votes at the Saints.

And if my Phantom Brownlow Tally is anything to go by, then Hayes looms as a suitable challenger to the 'Judd/Ablett Show'. Also, just as a sidenote, Hodge seems to be making a move also, but I hold out massive queries over his polling ability and 'likeability' factor to the umpires despite his very solid performances.

Collingwood V Geelong
3. J. Bartel
2. J. Kelly
1. D. Beams

North Melbourne V Western Bulldogs
3. A. Cooney
2. M. Boyd
1. B. Lake

Sydney V Fremantle
3. D. Mundy
2. P. Hasleby
1. M. Pavlich

Essendon V Richmond
3. D. Hille
2. J. Watson
1. L. Jetta

Melbourne V Port Adelaide
3. B. Green
2. A. Davey
1. T. Boak

Adelaide V Brisbane
3. R. Douglas
2. N. Van Berlo
1. A. McGrath

Carlton V Hawthorn
3. L. Hodge
2. L. Franklin
1. M. Osborne

West Coast V St. Kilda
3. L. Hayes
2. B. Goddard
1. N. Dal Santo

-----------------------------------------------------------

Leaderboard
14 - G. Ablett
12 - C. Judd
11 - L. Hayes (+)
11 - L. Hodge (+)
10 - M. Barlow
8 - A. Cooney (+)
8 - J. Bartel (+)
8 - A. Sandilands
8 - D. Swan
8 - A. Swallow
7 - M. Pavlich (+)
7 - J. Watson (+)
7 - S. Pendlebury
7 - J. Brennan*
7 - R. O'Keefe
6 - B. Goddard (+)
6 - M. Boyd (+)
6 - M. Priddis
6 - N. Riewoldt
6 - J. Brown
6 - T. Boak (+)

Note: (*) Ineligible. (+) Ranking Rise. (-) Ranking Drop.