The 2023 Brownlow Medal awaits on Monday evening, with the league's best and fairest competitor set to be recognised at Melbourne's Crown Palladium.
This year's count appears likely to go right down to the wire, withย Western Bulldogsย captainย Marcus Bontempelliย and Collingwood father-son gunย Nick Daicosย representing the two main favourites to take out the prestigious award.
Daicos was considered the runaway winner prior to injuring his knee in Round 21, subsequently leaving the door open to a potential Bontempelli swoop, with the likes of Melbourne's Christian Petracca, Port Adelaide'sย Zak Butters, and Sydney'sย Errol Gulden also slated to press for high finishes on Monday.
The question is, though, did 'Bont' do enough in Daicos' three-game absence to get over the top of the magnificent Magpie in the umpires' unpredictable voting?
We made our top-five prediction in anticipation of Monday night's count.
4. Fourth place: Zak Butters (Port Adelaide)
Zak Butters ranked sixth in our MVP count this year, tallying 188 votes throughout the course of a breakout season in Ken Hinkley's rising engine room.
Butters, who also earned a maiden All-Australian call-up this season, averaged 27.5 disposals, 5.0 marks, 3.4 tackles, and 5.2 inside-50s per game in 2023, helping rocket Port Adelaide into the top four.
Midfielder
Disposals
Tackles
Clearances
The 23-year-old Western Jets graduate showcased his proficiency around stoppages this season, consistently proving an ability to win clearances as well as use the ball efficiently going inside Port's forward arc.
Like Gulden, Butters was particularly prolific during the latter stages of the home and away season, notching an average of 31.3 possessions per contest through the Power's Rounds 19-23 fixtures.
