Hawthorn star Tom Mitchell has won the 2018 Brownlow Medal, prevailing over Collingwood's Steele Sidebottom to claim the AFL's greatest individual honour.

The gun onballer polled maximum votes in the first three rounds of the season on the way to a total of 28, claiming an unassailable lead after 21 rounds and outpolling Sidebottom (24) and Melbourne young gun Angus Brayshaw (21).

A comfortable favourite prior to Monday night's count, 25-year-old Mitchell is the sixth Hawthorn player to win the prestigious award.

The Hawks star admitted his heart was racing near the end of the count.

"The exciting thing about the Brownlow is that it's so unpredictable," Mitchell said.

"No one knows what's going to happen — I was sitting there like everyone else, a little bit unsure."

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It all appeared to be too much for Hawks coach Alastair Clarkson, who appeared to be napping during Mitchell's acceptance speech.

As Mitchell started thanking the Hawks, the camera cut to the coach, who was startled and smiled sheepishly as the audience laughed.

For all the inevitability of Mitchell becoming Hawthorn's sixth Brownlow Medallist, there was one blemish in his outstanding season.

He was fined for misconduct after round five for a high elbow on North Melbourne ruckman Todd Goldstein.

Had Mitchell been suspended for the offence, it would have made him ineligible for the Brownlow.

"I do remember the incident. I think Goldy actually looked after me a bit in the post-game as well," Mitchell said.

"I don't reckon there was a lot in the incident from memory, I think it probably didn't look great on the vision, but I don't think there was a lot of contact in it.

"It was lucky for me that I didn't get suspended."

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Indeed, Goldstein played down the contact in a post-match TV interview, saying: "It was like a fly touching me."

Mitchell was destined to be an AFL star — his father Barry played more than 200 games at Sydney, Collingwood and Carlton.

He joined Sydney as a father-son selection. After struggling initially, Mitchell found his feet four years ago and has played 76 consecutive games.

He joined the Hawks two years ago and has flourished under Clarkson.

Mitchell also credits partner Hannah Davis for straightening his diet, which featured too much junk food and takeaway.

Now Mitchell wants a leadership role at the Hawks.

"I will be doing as much as I can to help the younger guys coming through, and my teammates in the midfield around me, to make them better players," he said.

Sidebottom nearly causes the upset

Last year's winner, Richmond star Dustin Martin, had been viewed as a chance to finish strongly and become just the seventh player and the first since St Kilda great Robert Harvey in 1997-98 to claim back-to-back Brownlows.

But it was Sidebottom who threatened to spring a major upset.

A $51 rank outsider who had never previously placed in the top 10, Sidebottom led the count after 17 rounds with Mitchell trailing by a solitary vote.

Mitchell took out his first Brownlow Medal, winning with two rounds to spare. ( AAP: Julian Smith )

But Mitchell polled three votes against Carlton in round 18 and Fremantle in round 19, leaving his rivals in the dust.

Melbourne ruckman Max Gawn polled 20 votes to finish equal-fourth with Carlton midfielder Patrick Cripps and Adelaide's Rory Laird tied Martin for sixth place.

Mitchell, who also won the AFL Players' Association most valuable player award, averaged a league-high 35.7 disposals and 7.9 clearances per game during the home-and-away season and ranked third for contested possessions.

The ball magnet tipped the 50-disposal mark twice, including a record 54-disposal outing against Collingwood in round one.

Heavy favourite Tom Mitchell was named 2018 Brownlow Medallist after a superb season with Hawthorn. ( AAP: Julian Smith )

All-Australian duo Gawn and Brodie Grundy's outstanding seasons had led many to tip this could be the year the "midfielders medal" returned to a ruckman's hands.

Gawn failed to poll in the Demons' round four loss to Hawthorn despite having a whopping 66 hitouts while Grundy finished equal-10th with 17 votes.

Ineligible Fremantle star and 2015 Brownlow winner Nat Fyfe surged to an early lead with 14 votes after nine rounds.

But the star Docker went on to miss six games with a hamstring injury, having had his one-week ban for striking Collingwood's Levi Greenwood upheld by the AFL tribunal.

AAP