Adam Goodes' brilliant second half which helped Sydney Swans earned the right to defend their 2005 premiership by beating Fremantle Dockers, helped the Sydney star win the 2006 Brownlow Medal, awarded to the best and fairest player in the Australian Football League.

It is the second time Goodes has won the award (he shared the honour in 2003 with Nathan Buckley and Mark Ricciuto), making him only the 12th multiple winner in Brownlow history.

The Brownlow Medal is awarded to the Australian Football League’s most valuable player. First awarded in 1924, it is one of the most prestigious individual honours in Australian sport, and the live broadcast of the award banquet always attracts a large national audience.

Brownlow voting

At the end of every home and away match the umpires vote for whom they believe were the three best players in the game in which they officiated. They award three votes for the best player, two votes for the next best, and one for the third best. At season's end the votes are tallied, and the Brownlow goes to the player with the highest seasonal total. The votes are kept secret until the night of the banquet, and speculation about who has won is a major topic of conversation in the media, as well as in offices, homes and bars around the country. Betting on the Brownlow has also become a huge industry.

Because the medal is awarded to the "Best and Fairest" player in the league, anybody suspended by the AFL disciplinary tribunal during the season is ineligible to win the award that year, although his tally of points is logged.

Going into Round 22, Goodes led Western Bulldogs veteran and sentimental favourite Scott West by one vote and 2004 winner Chris Judd of West Coast by two votes. Judd's teammate Daniel Kerr was tied for second with West, but was ruled out after being suspended in Round 14.