Dual Brownlow medallist Gary Ablett on Monday became the single highest vote-getter in the award’s history.
With two votes in round 20 against Hawthorn, the Little Master jumped ahead of Gary Dempsey to take sole ownership of the mantle.
With 248 career votes Ablett is now two votes clear of any other and his 53 best-on-ground performances are seven more than the mark set by Chris Judd in second place.
It was a record-breaking night for Ablett, who also became the first man to poll Brownlow votes against all 18 league teams.
Teammate Patrick Dangerfield is not far behind Ablett, requiring votes against St Kilda to also complete the set.
Dangerfield was the highest-polling Cat on the night, finishing three votes ahead of Ablett and Joel Selwood after storming home to record eight votes in the final four rounds.
The effort gave Dangerfield, the 2016 medallist, a tenth-placed finish on the night.
Fellow All Australian Tom Stewart was barely recognised by the umpires, recording just four single votes in four separate performances.
Debutant Tim Kelly, who is yet to re-sign for the Cats, received 13 votes.
Ten Cats polled votes on the evening, accumulating a total 88 that left Geelong in fourth place on the league table.
The day before the Brownlow, Geelong Cats’ valiant women lost by just 13 points to Hawthorn in a pressure-packed VFLW Grand Final.
The Hawks’ watertight defence kept Geelong scoreless in the second quarter and goalless in the third, extending a two-point quarter time lead to 13 at the final break.
The Cats scored a goal in the last quarter to challenge Hawthorn.
But Hawthorn’s Emily Gilder slotted a set-shot goal 12 minutes in, from a free kick, to seal the win.
Nina Morrison (20 disposals and a game-high six inside-50s) and Olivia Purcell (19 and game-highs of 10 tackles and eight clearances) were best on ground for Geelong.
Madeline Keryk (16 disposals and eight tackles), Richelle Cranston (15 and seven clearances) and Maddy McMahon (14 and 23 hitouts) were similarly hard-nosed in contests as the Cats won the clearance count and generated 34 inside-50s to 24.
But Hawthorn won the tackle count 84 to 78 and their suffocating pressure helped minimise the effectiveness of Geelong’s forward line.
