Marcus Bontempelli is the players’ king again, with the Western Bulldogs superstar voted by his peers as not only the AFL’s best player, but also the best captain – for the second consecutive season.
Bontempelli on Wednesday night became just the second ever player to win at least three Leigh Matthews Trophies, voted the AFL Players’ MVP for the third time in four seasons after also claiming the award in 2021 and 2023. Only Gary Ablett Jnr, who was named MVP five times, has won the award more.
In other AFLPA awards given out as part of the AFL awards night, Bontempelli was also named Best Captain, while Port Adelaide’s Zak Butters claimed his second straight the Robert Rose Most Courageous Award and West Coast gun Harley Reid was voted Best First-Year Player.
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In a hotly-contested field for the MVP, Bontempelli was voted by his peers as the best player in the AFL this season, edging out Carlton captain Patrick Cripps and Sydney star Isaac Heeney, who finished second and third respectively.
Collingwood star Nick Daicos finished fourth, while Giants forward and Coleman Medallist Jesse Hogan was a surprise fifth placing to round out the top five.
Bontempelli, 28, last year became just the sixth player ever to claim multiple MVP awards, joining Greg Williams (1985 and 1994), Michael Voss (2002 and 2003), Chris Judd (2006 and 2011), Gary Ablett Jr. (2007-2009, 2012 and 2013) and Nathan Fyfe (2014 and 2015).
MVP voting is a two-stage process, beginning with each player voting for the three teammates they consider to have been the most valuable this season. Each club’s votes are then tallied to form a nomination list — which was released earlier this week — 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. Players can’t vote for their own teammates in stage two of the process.
The votes are tallied and the player with the highest score wins the honour of MVP.
A similar process is followed for Best First Year Player and Most Courageous, but every captain is automatically nominated for the Best Captain Award.
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Bontempelli, like he did in 2021 and 2023, was also named Best Captain in the same year he was voted MVP. The Bulldogs skipper edged out Cripps and Essendon’s Zach Merrett, with Giants’ Toby Greene and Melbourne’s Max Gawn rounding out the top five.
Bontempelli joins Voss (four times) and Wayne Carey (three) as players to have won the Best Captain award at least three times.
Butters, 23, was named the AFL’s most courageous player for the second consecutive year. The most recent player to claim consecutive Most Courageous Awards was Swan Luke Parker when he went back-to-back in 2015 and 2016.
Butters claimed the award ahead of Richmond’s Liam Baker and Sydney’s James Rowbottom, who both received equal votes to finish second on the podium. West Coast’s Jeremy McGovern and Brisbane’s Josh Dunkley completed the top five
And despite missing out on the AFL Rising Star award due to suspension, West Coast phenomenon Reid was crowned the Best First-Year player, becoming the third Eagle to win the title after Daniel Kerr (2001) and Chris Judd (2002).
Reid pipped St Kilda’s Darcy Wilson and Melbourne’s Caleb Windsor, with North Melbourne’s Colby McKercher and Geelong’s Lawson Humphries rounding out the top five.
AFLPA AWARDS — WINNERS AND VOTES
Leigh Matthews Trophy for the Most Valuable Player
1. Marcus Bontempelli (Western Bulldogs)
2. Patrick Cripps (Carlton)
3. Isaac Heeney (Sydney Swans)
4. Nick Daicos (Collingwood)
5. Jesse Hogan (GWS Giants)
Robert Rose Most Courageous Award
1. Zak Butters (Port Adelaide)
=2. James Rowbottom (Sydney) and Liam Baker (Richmond)
4. Jeremy McGovern (West Coast Eagles)
5. Josh Dunkley (Brisbane Lions)
Best First-Year Player Award
1. Harley Reid (West Coast Eagles)
2. Darcy Wilson (St Kilda)
3. Caleb Windsor (Melbourne)
4. Colby McKercher (North Melbourne)
5. Lawson Humphries (Geelong Cats)
Best Captain
1. Marcus Bontempelli (Western Bulldogs)
2. Patrick Cripps (Carlton)
3. Zach Merrett (Essendon)
4. Toby Greene (GWS Giants)
5. Max Gawn (Melbourne)
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