2012 Brownlow Medal
The 2012 Brownlow Medal was the 85th year the award was presented to the player adjudged the fairest and best player during the Australian Football League (AFL) home-and-away season. The award was won jointly by Sam Mitchell of the Hawthorn Football Club and Trent Cotchin of the Richmond Football Club, each of whom polled 26 votes during the 2012 AFL season.
| 2012 Brownlow Medal | |
|---|---|
Trent Cotchin, who shared the award with Sam Mitchell after Jobe Watson's medal was rescinded due to the Essendon Football Club supplements saga | |
| Date | 24 September |
| Location | Crown Palladium |
| Hosted by | Bruce McAvaney |
| Winners | Trent Cotchin (Richmond) Sam Mitchell (Hawthorn) |
| Television/radio coverage | |
| Network | Seven Network Fox Footy |
Jobe Watson of the Essendon Football Club originally received the medal by polling 30 votes; however, Watson and 33 of his Essendon teammates were later found guilty and suspended for using a banned substance during the 2012 season under the club's sports science program, a scandal known as the Essendon supplements saga. On 15 November 2016, four years after initially receiving the medal, the AFL Commission ruled Watson retrospectively ineligible for the award due to the suspension he received, and they awarded the medal jointly to Cotchin and Mitchell, the players with the next most votes.