| 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 Trent Cotchin, who shared the award with Sam Mitchell after Jobe Watson's medal was rescinded due to the Essendon Football Club supplements saga | |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 |
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.[1] 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.
Jobe Watson of the Essendon Football Club originally received the medal by polling 30 votes;[2] 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.[3][4]
- ^ Lovett, Michael (ed.). AFL Record Season Guide 2016. Docklands, Victoria: Slattery Media Group. p. 593.
- ^ Blake, Martin (24 September 2012). "Reward at last for Dons skipper". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media.
- ^ Nicholson, Larissa (11 November 2016). "Essendon player Jobe Watson hands back Brownlow Medal". The Age. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
- ^ "2012 Brownlow Medal to go to Sam Mitchell and Trent Cotchin". The Age. Fairfax Media. 15 November 2016. Retrieved 15 November 2016.