Collingwood champion Steele Sidebottom came within four votes of securing the club’s tenth Brownlow Medal on Monday night.

The 27-year-old polled a career-high 24 votes, leading the count with just six matches remaining.

He eventually finished second to Hawthorn ball magnet Tom Mitchell, who stormed to victory with 28 votes.

Sidebottom entered the night as a fancy to poll well but rarely featured as a genuine favourite in the eyes of the pundits.

But the umpires knew better, awarding him votes in seven matches between rounds three and 12, including three best-on-grounds between rounds three and five.

A further three in his 200th game against Essendon put him in the frame to win the Medal, but he could only manage four more votes for the rest of the year as Mitchell powered home.

Sidebottom’s performance was remarkable, for he had never polled more than 14 votes in a season in his first nine years at the club.

Brodie Grundy, another tipped to poll well pre-count, ended with 17 votes, 10 of which came in the final nine rounds.

Captain Scott Pendlebury came home with a rush to finish with 15, while Jordan De Goey polled 12 votes after receiving only five votes in his first 50 senior games.

Collingwood’s 2018 Brownlow Medal Leaderboard
24 votes – Steele Sidebottom
17 votes – Brodie Grundy
15 votes – Scott Pendlebury
12 votes – Jordan De Goey
8 votes – Adam Treloar
6 votes – Taylor Adams
3 votes – Mason Cox (ineligible), Will Hoskin-Elliott, Josh Thomas
2 votes – Matthew Scharenberg, Jaidyn Stephenson
1 vote – Tom Langdon