Crows Rory Sloane and Eddie Betts have finished top five in the AFL Players’ Association MVP award.
Sloane, 26, came runner-up to Geelong star and ex-teammate Patrick Dangerfield, who won the peer-voted Leigh Matthews Trophy in a landslide.
Dangerfield polled 1,369 votes to beat out Sloane (443) and Richmond match winner Dustin Martin (297). Betts and Melbourne ruckman Max Gawn tied for fourth place with 238 votes, followed by Sydney Swans midfielder Luke Parker (218 votes).
It was further recognition for Sloane and Betts, who were both included in the 2016 All Australian team last week.
Sloane, who was named All Australian vice-captain, also finished runner-up to Dangerfield in the AFL Coaches Association Player of the Year award.
The respected midfielder is averaging a personal best 25.3 possessions and five clearances. Renowned for his ‘two-way’ running, Sloane ranked second in the AFL for pressure acts and third for tackles in the home and away season. He was also eighth for score assists.
The premier small forward in the competition, Betts has kicked a career-high 72 goals this season. At the end of the home and away season, the game-breaking 29-year-old also ranked second in the League in forward 50m tackles and sixth for goal assists.
Several other awards were presented on Tuesday night including Best Captain, which was won by Adelaide skipper Taylor Walker.
Parker won the Robert Rose Most Courageous Player Award presented by Ladder for the second year running. Another Swan, Callum Mills, followed in the footsteps of teammate and last year’s winner Isaac Heeney by claiming the Best First Year Player award.
The AFL Players’ 2016 22Under22 fan-voted team was also revealed, with Crows defenders Rory Laird and Jake Lever earning back-to-back selection. After 6,000 votes were cast by fans from all over Australia, the 50-man squad was narrowed to the best 22 players aged 22 and under. To be eligible for selection, players had to be aged 22 or younger for the entire AFL season, including finals.
The Education and Training Excellence Award, presented by La Trobe University, was awarded to North Melbourne’s Jamie Macmillan for his commitment to a Bachelor of Commerce and a variety of other extracurricular activities.
The Age journalist Emma Quayle took out the Grant Hattam Award for Excellence in Sports Journalism for her feature on Essendon’s Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti.
Winners and top polling players
MVP
Patrick Dangerfield (Geelong) – 1369 votes
Rory Sloane (Adelaide) – 443 votes
Dustin Martin (Richmond) – 297 votes
Eddie Betts (Adelaide) and Max Gawn (Melbourne) – 238 votes
Luke Parker (Sydney Swans) – 218 votes
Most Courageous
Luke Parker (Sydney Swans) – 133 votes
Callan Ward (GWS Giants) – 111 votes
Alex Rance (Richmond) – 100 votes
Joel Selwood (Geelong) – 58 votes
Jack Viney (Melbourne) – 55 votes
Best First Year
Callum Mills (Sydney Swans) – 328 votes
Darcy Parish (Essendon) – 137 votes
Jacob Weitering (Carlton) – 108 votes
Jade Gresham (St Kilda) – 40 votes
Marcus Adams (Western Bulldogs) – 30 votes
Best Captain
Taylor Walker (Adelaide) – 127 votes
Nick Riewoldt (St Kilda) – 111 votes
Callan Ward (GWS Giants) – 109 votes
Luke Hodge (Hawthorn) – 76 votes
Joel Selwood (Geelong) – 61 votes
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.
