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Nick Daicos has not had to wait long for his first three votes. He was awarded best-on-ground honours in his first match - the opening round win against St Kilda.

One of his key rivals, Marcus Bontempelli, is also out of the blokes early - he picked up one vote for his opening round match, followed by three votes in round 1 (which is weird, right - because round 1 was actually his second match).

It’s a battle of the locks in the Brownlow ballroom, with AFL great Kevin Sheedy asking Geelong star Bailey Smith for a selfie.

Both are sporting statement hairstyles – their distinctive locks unmissable as they posed up for the shot. Speaking of distinctive, Smith’s interpretation of the black-tie dress code is …. relaxed.

There’s boring black for the good time cat.

His suit verged more on mushroom in tone than sophisticated black. Smith was a late arrival at the Brownlow count, arriving in the room around 7.30pm (AEST). He has a wise head beside him on the Geelong table, sitting next to Patrick Dangerfield.

Another high-profile trade saga this year has been that of star Power midfielder Zak Butters.

While it seemed that a move to Geelong was on the cards, the pull of his boyhood favourite club, the Western Bulldogs, proved too strong.

Originally from Bacchus Marsh in Melbourne’s north-west, the midfielder said as he arrived on the red carpet that he was looking forward to a new chapter back in Victoria.

“It’s good to be home. I’m living with my parents for a bit, so I’m excited to do that … happy to be back in Melbourne, back around friends and family,” he said.

The future of Essendon’s Zach Merrett has been the talk of the town recently. After a failed attempt to negotiate a trade to the Hawks last year, the former Bombers captain has once again requested to make the move this trade period.

Merrett arrived a little earlier to tonight’s ceremony alongside wife Alexandra, and said he was feeling positive about what’s to come.

“I’m feeling good, feeling relaxed. [There’s] still a bit to work through … but feeling excited for tonight,” Merrett said.

The former Bombers captain also had plenty of suggestions when this masthead enquired about any AFL rules that he would be eager to change if he had the opportunity.

“I think we could take away the stand-on-the-mark rule … If we could stop fining players so much for silly incidents, that would be a good start,” he said. “[But] keep the length of the game, please.”

Speaking on AFL 360 on Kayo Sports earlier tonight ahead of the Brownlow Medal, Cats coach Chris Scott opened up on Giants great Toby Greene’s commitment to Geelong, but also on the club missing out on Zak Butters.

“I really admired the time he took to make his decision, and it looked a long time – for a long time, to me, like it was just going to be too difficult for him to leave,” Scott said of Greene.

“He’s just so committed to that football club, and so aware of, I guess, the pressure he put on some other players to commit to their cause.

“And, again I think this was one of these things where the pull of family was likely the deciding vote.

Zach Merrett would be a welcome addition at Hawthorn in more ways than one.

Apart from adding some class to the Hawks’ midfield if he can manage a trade from Essendon, he could also add some class to the side’s post-match behaviour - yes, we are looking at you hotheads James Sicily and Tom Barrass.

During the red carpet photo shoot tonight, Merrett took the time to smooth out his wife Alexandra’s blue dress - it had an impressive train - before posing for pictures.

He’s always held himself well, our Zach, and we can’t imagine him unleashing a barrage of abuse towards the umpires after a game.

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