AFL coaches and umpires often disagree and the Brownlow Medal historically has been no different.

While Port Adelaide utility Robbie Gray is one of the favourites for Monday night’s count, the accolade he received from the AFL Coaches Association does not necessarily boost his claims.

The best season of Gray’s eight-year AFL career at the Power earned him the Coaches Association Champion Player of the Year award.

Sydney’s Adam Goodes won the coaches’ award award in 2003 and then shared the Brownlow that season with Collingwood’s Nathan Buckley and Mark Ricciuto from Adelaide.

But since then, Gary Ablett’s first medal in 2009 is the only other time a player has won the two prestigious awards in the same season.

And another big individual honour, the AFL Players Association Most Valuable Player award, cannot be a Brownlow pointer this time.

Fremantle midfielder Nat Fyfe deservedly took out the MVP, but has been ineligible for the Brownlow since his round-two suspension.

No Port player has won the Brownlow.

Gavin Wanganeen is a Power legend, but he won his Brownlow at Essendon in 1993.

Gray is third in this year’s betting behind Geelong captain Joel Selwood and Ablett.

The Gold Coast captain was well on the way to becoming only the game’s fifth triple Brownlow Medallist when he suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in round 16.

That has thrown this year’s count wide open for players such as Selwood and Gray.

After Saturday night’s nail-biting preliminary final loss to Hawthorn, Port coach Ken Hinkley made it clear he expects Gray to have caught the umpires’ attention for their Brownlow votes.

“Robbie has had an unbelievable year and if people who are controlling the game have got good vision, we’ll actually see probably an interesting result on Monday night – because he was clearly the best player in the competition this year,” Hinkley said.

One feature of Monday night’s count will be how well Fyfe polls, given his ineligibility for most of the season.

No ineligible player has polled the most votes since the Western Bulldogs’ Chris Grant in 1997, although Hawthorn midfielder Sam Mitchell was second to 2011 winner Dane Swan (Collingwood) by only four votes in 2011.