MELBOURNE ruckman Max Gawn continues to reap the rewards of an impressive season, polling fourth in the AFL Players’ Association Most Valuable Player award on Tuesday night.
Gawn, who was recently named in the 2016 All-Australian team, tied with Adelaide forward Eddie Betts on 238 votes to finish in the top five.
Geelong superstar Patrick Dangerfield claimed the Leigh Matthews Trophy with an emphatic 1369 votes, ahead of Adelaide’s Rory Sloane (443) and Richmond midfielder Dustin Martin (297).
Melbourne's 2016 Best and Fairest champion Jack Viney polled fifth in the Robert Rose Most Courageous Player Award which was won by Swan Luke Parker.
MVP Voting Process
MVP voting is a two-stage process, beginning with each player voting for the three teammates he considers to have been the most valuable this season. Each club’s votes are then tallied to form a nomination list comprising 54 players across the 18 teams.
In the second round of voting, all players vote for their MVP on a 3, 2, 1 basis from the nominees of the 17 other clubs. The votes are tallied and the player with the highest score wins the honour of MVP. Players cannot vote for their own teammates in stage two of the process.
A similar process is followed for Best First Year Player and Most Courageous, but every captain is automatically nominated for the Best Captain Award.
AFLPA MVP AWARD WINNERS AND VOTING
Most Valuable Player – Leigh Matthews Trophy
1. Patrick Dangerfield (Geelong) – 1369
2. Rory Sloane (Adelaide) – 443
3. Dustin Martin (Richmond) – 297
=4. Max Gawn (Melbourne) – 238
=4. Eddie Betts (Adelaide) – 238
6. Luke Parker (Sydney Swans) – 218
7. Alex Rance (Richmond) – 188
8. Marcus Bontempelli (Western Bulldogs) – 179
9. Tom Lynch (Gold Coast) – 170
10. Josh Kennedy (West Coast) – 164
Robert Rose Most Courageous Player Award
1. Luke Parker (Sydney Swans) – 133
2. Callan Ward (GWS Giants) – 111
3. Alex Rance (Richmond) – 100
4. Joel Selwood (Geelong) – 58
5. Jack Viney (Melbourne) – 55
Best First Year Player Award
1. Callum Mills (Sydney Swans) – 328
2. Darcy Parish (Essendon) – 137
3. Jacob Weitering (Carlton) – 108
4. Jade Gresham (St Kilda) – 40
5. Marcus Adams (Western Bulldogs) – 30
Best Captain
1. Taylor Walker (Adelaide) – 127
2. Nick Riewoldt (St Kilda) – 111
3. Callan Ward (GWS Giants) – 109
4. Luke Hodge (Hawthorn) – 76
5. Joel Selwood (Geelong) - 61
