One of the most wide open fields in recent seasons will vie for Adelaide’s 2014 Club Champion title.
There appears to be no outright favourite for the count, to be held at the Adelaide Convention Centre on Friday night.
Adelaide’s Club Champion voting system - every player in every game receives a rating ranging from zero to a maximum of eight – recognises consistency and fulfilling roles as well as high performance.
This contrasts with most Individual awards, including the Brownlow Medal, which are often restricted to the top three on the ground from both teams.
A quick straw poll among players and officials raised a number of options to wear the 2014 Gold Jacket.
Last year’s Malcolm Blight Medallist Rory Sloane had another fine season and polled the most votes in the afc.com.au fans’ MVP. He played every game and averaged 23.7 disposals – and if it is a close finish, we know he starred in his 100th AFL game in the last round against St Kilda.
Ruckman Sam Jacobs was rarely beaten in 2014, averaging 34.7 hit outs and 16.3 disposals to return to his form of 2012 when he finished fourth in the Blight Medal count.
The main role of the key defender is to stop the opposition’s best tall forwards and Daniel Talia again did that on a regular basis in 2014. The 2012 AFL Rising Star finished fourth last year after receiving votes in 18 games.
Brodie Smith also took his game to the next level this year with his run and kicking from half-back on show in many games. Runner-up in the fans’ MVP, he averaged 22.5 disposals and had 25 or more in eight matches.
Patrick Dangerfield’s highs this season were outstanding and will earn him extra votes, particularly in a burst from rounds five to eight. He averaged 24.9 disposals in 22 games.
Small forward Eddie Betts kicked 51 goals from 22 games in his first season with the Crows but will also be rewarded for his goal assists and defensive pressure.
Two-time winner Scott Thompson’s chances will be hurt by missing three games late in the season but he averaged 27.3 possessions in his 19 games.
There will be a number of other presentations on Friday night including Best Team Man, Coach’s Award, Dr Brian Sando OAM Award, Mark Bickley Award and the member-voted 19th Man Award.
There are also two new awards with the introduction of Adelaide’s SANFL side. The inaugural best-and-fairest will be announced, plus the Dean Bailey Award for development players.
There will be comprehensive coverage of the event on the club’s website afc.com.au on Friday night, including a live stream of the last hour of the presentation.
Fans can also follow the event on our Twitter account Adelaide_FC and the hashtag #blightmedal
The full leaderboard, round-by-round voting, interviews, video highlights and photos of the red carpet arrivals will also be available on afc.com.au after the event.
