- Watson to hand back his Brownlow
- Jobe Watson's full statement
THE AFL will wait until its Commission meeting on Tuesday before making a decision on whether it awards the 2012 Brownlow Medal to joint runners-up Trent Cotchin and Sam Mitchell.
Jobe Watson on Friday announced he would hand back the medal he won in 2012, when he was subject to Essendon's supplements program.
The 2012 Brownlow Medal could now be retrospectively awarded to Cotchin and Mitchell, who were tied on 26 votes behind Watson.
AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan said the Commission would meet on Tuesday to consider Watson's statement and "formally rule on the future of the 2012 Brownlow Medal".
"The AFL acknowledges that this was an extremely difficult decision to make," McLachlan said.
"In Jobe’s own words, he is honouring the history of the medal and putting the interests of the game first, and this is an honourable position for him to have taken."
Mitchell refused to comment on the controversy on Friday.
The West Coast recruit was in the middle of a media conference when news broke of Watson's decision.
"I'm not here to talk about that," Mitchell said.
Eagles coach Adam Simpson, who was alongside Mitchell when the news broke, said: "We’ve got potentially the next Brownlow medallist here."
In March, Cotchin said he would accept the medal if Watson was stripped of it.
Top 10 vote-winners in the 2012 Brownlow Medal
1. Jobe Watson - 30 votes
2. Trent Cotchin - 26
Sam Mitchell - 26
4. Dane Swan - 25
Scott Thompson - 25
6. Gary Ablett - 24
7. Patrick Dangerfield - 23
8. Dayne Beams - 19
Lenny Hayes - 19
Josh Kennedy - 19
