Patrick Dangerfield has lived up to the fairest description of the Brownlow medallist just hours after winning the award, allowing a teammate crash in his room
Nat Fyfe posed topless the morning after his Brownlow win in 2015 but any chance Dangerfield would replicate that on Tuesday went out the window when he let Geelong defender Lachie Henderson take up residence on his couch.
After a few radio interviews in his room and with the medal tucked neatly into his pocket, Dangerfield cautiously stepped into the morning Melbourne sun to discuss his "long, hard and late" celebrations.
"It was late for me, 3 o'clock is late for me," he told reporters on Tuesday.
"I've been pretty lucky to play for two wonderful clubs (Adelaide and Geelong) and to be able to share it with the players last night and spend time with each other was pretty special."
The win was also celebrated well outside football's inner sanctum, with most of Dangerfield's extended family making a justified ruckus at a pub in Byron Bay.
"As soon as I walked off stage, I gave one of my uncles a call and I was put on loudspeaker pretty quickly," he said.
"They were pretty rowdy, I think they got kicked out after a while but they were all pretty excited."
Some of the credit for the Brownlow triumph goes to family too - at least the Dangerfields living on the Victorian surf coast.
Unlike seasons past, Dangerfield wasn't preoccupied with how he would spend his off-season this year.
"That thought process is no longer there so the focus for me is footy and enjoying life outside footy," he said.
That life outside footy will properly begin after end-of-season celebrations with teammates on Wednesday.
