The 2002 Brownlow Medallist led the vote count for most of the event before being passed by 22 year-old Western Bulldogs midfielder and eventual winner Adam Cooney in Round 21.
Cooney became the first Bulldogs player to receive the award since former Footscray captain Scott Wynd won the 1992 Brownlow Medal.
Black proved to be the Brownlow bolter from the beginning with four best-on-ground performances in the first eight rounds. He had reached 20 votes by the halfway point of the season but failed to poll in the next five matches when the Lions experienced a form slump.
He extended his lead with a best-on-ground performance against the West Coast Eagles in Round 16 which ended up being his final votes for the evening.
Black held on to his lead for the next four rounds despite strong competition from Cooney, Brownlow favourite Gary Ablett from Geelong and popular Richmond forward Matthew Richardson.
When Cooney polled the maximum three votes against Essendon in Round 21, he took a one vote heading into the final round. Black, Ablett and Richardson were all within striking distance, yet neither were able to poll a vote in Round 22.
Black finished only one vote shy of a second Brownlow Medal with 23 votes while Ablett and Richardson finished equal third with 22 votes apiece.
Fellow Lions Co-Captains Luke Power and Jonathan Brown finished second and third on the Club’s Brownlow vote tally with 11 votes and 10 votes respectively.
Daniel Bradshaw and Jared Brennan rounded out the Lions’ top five with seven votes each while Anthony Corrie earned the first two Brownlow votes of his career with a stunning display against Melbourne in Round 6 at the Gabba.
Brownlow Medal Top Ten
Adam Cooney - 24
Simon Black - 23
Gary Ablett - 22
Matthew Richardson - 22
Adam Goodes - 22*
Lance Franklin - 20*
Joel Selwood - 19
Brent Harvey - 17
Matthew Pavlich - 17
Chris Judd - 16
Brad Sewell - 16
* = ineligible
Lions Brownlow Medal Votes
Simon Black - 23
Luke Power - 11
Jonathan Brown - 10
Daniel Bradshaw - 7
Jared Brennan - 7
Anthony Corrie - 2
Travis Johnstone - 2
Jed Adcock - 1
Jamie Charman - 1
Josh Drummond - 1
Rhan Hooper - 1
