Why Adam Cooney feels an “uncomfortableness and an awkwardness” surrounding his 2008 Brownlow Medal

Adam Cooney has opened up about his 2008 Brownlow Medal victory and how it does make him somewhat uncomfortable.

The former Western Bulldogs star won with 24 votes from Simon Black in 2nd and Gary Ablett, Matthew Richardson, Adam Goodes and Lance Franklin right behind him.

Cooney, while discussing the situation surrounding the 2012 medal, which was stripped from Essendon midfielder Jobe Watson and handed to Trent Cotchin and Sam Mitchell, admits his 2008 award fills him with some unease due to constant commentary from the public surrounding it.

“I won one legitimately and I still don’t feel like a legitimate Brownlow Medallist,” Cooney told SEN Breakfast.

“This is what I deal with on a daily basis (jokes about Matthew Richardson). Every single day I get questions about my Brownlow Medal and there’s an uncomfortableness for me about it.”

When pressed on why he questions the legitimacy of his Brownlow Medal, Cooney admitted it largely comes down to the fact that he was never able to recapture that form, and the reaction in the room to Richardson’s near-win.

Players in attendance on the night were clearly behind the Richmond champion winning, cheering on as he piled up votes.

“You never feel like you’re a worthy winner, I suppose and I imagine the feeling Trent and Sam have would be multiplied,” he said.

“It’s not that I didn’t deserve it. Just that an uncomfortable winner because I guess I had one really outstanding year and I was never able to get back to that level.

“Whether or not I was a worthy winner doesn’t really matter, I got the most votes, it was a low count, I would’ve finished 45th in the Brownlow this year with 24 votes.

“I was lucky on the night that everything went my way. There were three or four weeks of voting where the favourites just didn’t poll and I was able to hang on.

“I mean, yeah there’s an uncomfortableness and an awkwardness about it, particularly when you get so much negative feedback about it. It does make you doubt whether you are a worthy winner.

“Every couple of days someone anywhere it comes up. It’s okay though. I sleep okay at night – with the medal around my neck.”

Geelong champion Ablett entered the night as favourite to take home the medal, with teammate Jimmy Bartel, Brent Harvey, Chris Judd and Cooney also in the mix.

Cooney had an elite run as a midfielder for the Dogs from 2006 to 2010, before injuries began to plague his career.

He played 250 total games, finishing his career with 30 for Essendon across 2015 and 2016.