Patrick Cripps, Lachie Neale, Tim Kelly or Marcus Bontempelli may be speaking a little earlier than expected on Brownlow Medal night, with the AFL deciding to shorten football’s most prestigious event.

The league has confirmed to The Age that the count – to be held this year on Monday, September 23 – will be cropped at both the start and the end to streamline the event for guests and TV viewers alike.

The decision was rubber-stamped in Nagambie on Wednesday, when league chief Gillon McLachlan explained it to the club CEOs who had gathered in country Victoria for a two-day summit.

One of the Brownlow Medal’s biggest criticisms in recent years has been how late it finishes, with last year’s winner Tom Mitchell not making a speech until 11pm.