For Brownlow Medallist Adam Cooney, Mad Monday led to Tired Tuesday.

Having spent the day leading up to Monday night's count with teammates in a post-season drinking session, followed by more celebrations after his unexpected win, the young Western Bulldogs midfielder was clearly not relishing the round of media commitments he faced.

"It was a long day yesterday, we started at about 10 o'clock in the morning," Cooney told reporters.

"I said that if I knew that I'd be any chance I wouldn't have had as many beers as I did yesterday.

"So I was a little bit seedy this morning when I woke up and had a lot of interviews to do, it was a long day and it is still a bit of a shock."

He was hoping not to be required for much more partying.

"I hope not, I think I've got a couple of mates coming over from Adelaide, I've got a few more media commitments first before I even think about anything like that," he said.

"I might have a few waters today, just to relax."

Instead, he was looking forward to some quiet moments to allow the achievement to transform in his mind from blurred fantasy into reality.

"It's a little bit of a blur actually, the second half of the count was all a little bit of a blur, I'm still in a little bit of shock," Cooney said.

"... Once I get home this afternoon, maybe I'll sit down on the couch and just relax and take it all in."

Cooney was looking forward to reflecting on the win with his father, who was flying in from Adelaide on Tuesday, after finding time for only a very brief phone conversation on Monday night.

The 22-year-old was still struggling to believe his season was good enough to pip the likes of runner-up Brisbane's Simon Black, or Geelong's Gary Ablett and Richmond's Matthew Richardson, who tied for third.

"It was probably my most consistent year personally, but I was still a little bit inconsistent at times, so I suppose you can never tell, can you?" he said.

Cooney said his win had lifted the spirits of his teammates, after Friday night's preliminary final loss to Geelong, but could not make up for the disappointment of missing the grand final.

"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."

Conversely, Geelong coach Mark Thompson said Ablett's disappointment at being the beaten favourite for the second year running was eased by having Saturday's grand final to look forward to.

"Gary's been unlucky two years in a row but he's fine - no counselling needed," Thompson said.

"He's got bigger fish to fry this week. We're playing in a grand final and that's super important. That's one of the greatest things he'll ever achieve."

Thompson said Ablett missing rounds 16 to 18 through injury cost him.

"Every player wants to win a Brownlow and he realises that before he was injured, he was in a position where he could have won had he played those games," he said.

"I think he's quite happy that Adam Cooney's won and he did poll well, but he can move on.

"I've got no doubt that he'd be a chance to win it some time again in the future. Missing three games probably hurt him, didn't it?"

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