Izak Rankine's late season form has earned the Crows star a top ten finish in Monday night's historic Brownlow count, while Kozzy Pickett was desperately unlucky to go home empty handed.
Port midfielder Jason Horne-Francis and Saints star Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera each finished inside the top 15 vote-getters, with Picket only a couple of votes behind in a Brownlow race winner Nick Daicos had ended with rounds to spare.
Daicos, completing a fourth-straight podium finish, claimed his first Brownlow Medal with an all-time record 47 votes in a healthy buffer over Bailey Smith and Marcus Bomtempelli.
Amongst strong tallies for the competition's First Nations stars, Shai Bolton polled well early and sat inside the top 10 by the midway point of the season.
Bolton twice earned maximum votes from the umpires on course to Fremantle's second-ever Grand Final appearance, and finished behind only Luke Jackson in his club's leading vote-getters.
Rankine and Wanganeen-Milera both finished atop the tally for their respective clubs.
The Adelaide gun was six-times judged best-on-field with three votes, including the final three games of the season to finish with 25, while Wanganeen-Milera did most of his polling in the back-end of the year.
In similar fashion to when Wanganeen-Milera fell behind Jack Viney in the umpires eyes despite a game-winning display last season, a 44-touch effort in round fifteen against the Dogs wasn't enough to earn him the maximum three, instead receiving two for the match.
Pickett and Horne-Francis, who was ineligible for the medal, finished second for the Dees and Power, respectively.
Kozzy earned three votes five times, and would count himself unlucky not to have gone home with at least one honour handed out on the night.
Up for mark of the year, goal of the year and Jim Stynes memorial Community Leadership Award, the Melbourne forward was unable to nab any of the accolades.
Pickett's dead-eye long shot from the boundary in Mpartnwe (Alice Springs) lost out to Brisbane's Connor McKenna and his soccer from tight in the pocket.
Bolton was also up for mark of the year, with Nick Watson's hanger in the wet taking home the award.
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In a nice moment on the night, Swans recruit Malcolm Rosas polled his first-ever Brownlow votes for his seven-goal afternoon against Melbourne in round eight.
In 1993, Gavin Wanganeen became the first Indigenous player to win the Brownlow, with Sydney great Adam Goodes twice going home with the game's highest individual honour in 2003 and 2006.
Maddy Prespakis became the third, and first in the women's competition, winning the AFLW best and fairest in 2020.
Late last month, a record five First Nations players were selected in the All Australian team after impressive campaigns: Bolton, Wanganeen-Milera, Pickett, Jarman Impey and Wayne Milera.
The AFL season concludes on Saturday when the Dockers meet Brisbane at the MCG for the grand final.
Brisbane's Charlie Cameron is chasing three-straight premiership medals, while Fremantle's Alex Pearce could become the first-ever Indigenous premiership captain should the Dockers lift the trophy.
