Tom Mitchell (26 votes) and Stephen Coniglio (24) both went voteless in round 21 but will take some catching with two home-and-away rounds to go.
Brisbane's Dayne Beams is now the nearest challenger, polling two votes in the win over his former club Collingwood to take him five off Mitchell.
West Coast midfielder Elliot Yeo also moved up the leaderboard into fourth with a two-vote effort against Port Adelaide.
Power hard nut Ollie Wines joined Clayton Oliver on 19 after he was awarded one vote in the loss to West Coast.
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No other players in the top 10 polled on the weekend, meaning only four players can take out the award.
There were still plenty of big names among the votes however, with Dyson Heppell, Shaun Burgoyne, Jack Riewoldt, Luke Shuey all picking up the maximum.
Fremantle's Ed Langdon opened his account for the season with three votes against Carlton, while Jake Lloyd, Taylor Adams and Lachie Whitfield all performed well on the weekend.
THE ROVER’S BROWNLOW VOTES: ROUND 21
Essendon Bombers v St Kilda Saints
3: Dyson Heppell (Esendon)
2: David Myers (Essendon)
1: Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti
Hawthorn Hawks v Geelong Cats
3: Shaun Burgoyne (Hawthorn)
2: Gary Ablett (Geelong)
1: Patrick Dangerfield (Geelong)
Gold Coast Suns v Richmond Tigers
3: Jack Riewoldt (Richmond)
2: Dustin Martin (Richmond)
1: Josh Caddy (Richmond)
Port Adelaide Power v West Coast Eagles
3: Luke Shuey (West Coast)
2: Elliot Yeo (West Coast)
1: Ollie Wines (Port Adelaide)
Collingwood Magpies v Brisbane Lions
3: Taylor Adams (Collingwood)
2: Dayne Beams (Brisbane)
1: Jaidyn Stephenson (Collingwood)
GWS Giants v Adelaide Crows
3: Lachie Whitfield (GWS)
2: Dylan Shiel (GWS)
1: Tom Lynch (Adelaide)
North Melbourne Kangaroos v Western Bulldogs
3: Marcus Bontempelli (Western Bulldogs)
2: Lachie Hunter (Western Bulldogs)
1: Caleb Daniel (Western Bulldogs)
Melbourne Demons v Sydney Swans
3: Jake Lloyd (Sydney)
2: Angus Brayshaw (Melbourne)
1: Isaac Heeney (Sydney)
Fremantle Dockers v Carlton Blues
3: Ed Langdon (Fremantle)
2: Lachie Neale (Fremantle)
1: Nathan Wilson (Fremantle)
