A HUNGOVER and tired Adam Cooney has admitted it was "a little bit silly" not to have prepared an acceptance speech.
And he also confessed his mother did not believe he had won the Brownlow medal.
Cooney said when he called his mum with the good news, she was driving to her nursing job and it took him some time to convince her that he had won the prestigious award.
Cooney also revealed that he went to the bathroom with a few rounds of votes left and was briefly locked out of the room as the live telecast resumed from a commercial break.
The Western Bulldogs' midfielder confronted the media this morning and said he was still in a state of shock over his Brownlow Medal win.
The 22-year-old said he had spent the day drinking with teammates in the lead-up to last night's count and he was still struggling to come to terms with his win.
"It's a little bit of a blur actually, the second half of the count was all a little bit of a blur," Cooney told reporters today.
"I'm still in a little bit of shock, I haven't had much sleep and I've done a few interviews already today, so I think it's going to be a pretty long day."
Cooney said he still did not feel like a Brownlow medallist.
"Definitely not, not at all, I think it's definitely going to take maybe a few weeks to sink in," he said.
He said it had lifted the spirits of his teammates a little, after Friday night's preliminary final loss to Geelong, but could not make up for the disappointment of missing the grand final.
"Obviously it was disappointing to go out in a preliminary final and the boys have been pretty flat all weekend," he said.
"I suppose it's maybe something little to take out of it, but hopefully next year we can go one better and make the grand final and win it."
Pre-count favourite Gary Ablett congratulated Cooney and said not winning meant he could concentrate on Saturday's grand final against Hawthorn.
"He's a worthy winner, he's had a fantastic season and it's well deserved," Ablett said.
"I will look forward to this week now."
Cooney was one of the top-10 favourites before the count and he polled three votes in round one.
He played all 25 games for the Bulldogs this season and managed six best-afield performances.
Last week, he made his first All-Australian team.
Cooney played through the finals series despite suffering from a fractured kneecap.
While he thanked many people on stage, he forgot coach Rodney Eade.
But Eade later heaped praise on Cooney and said he would cope well with the added exposure the award would bring.
"He's one player who will be unaffected by winning the Brownlow," Eade said.
"A lot of players might get ahead of themselves or not cope with the pressure, but he is one who I think would be unaffected."
Cooney was the number one draft pick in 2003 and made his AFL debut the following season.
He has played 112 games and this year was the first time Cooney had managed a full pre-season, with injury often restricting him early in his career.
Cooney hails from Adelaide, where he played his junior football with West Adelaide in the SANFL.
In 2002, West Adelaide junior footballer Jake Watson, the nephew of Essendon legend Tim Watson, died suddenly on the football field.
Later in the same season, West Adelaide juniors Glenn Knott and Ben Mitchell died in a car crash.
Cooney was a member of the club's junior team that won the premiership that year.
"Certainly (in) my junior footy, that year was a tough year - it was such a great end to the year, winning the premiership for those guys," Cooney said.
"We won that premiership for those guys and we miss them still today, a couple of them would have played AFL footy."
AAP
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