The AFL Players' Association has announced their Most Valuable Player of the Month award that will recognise the performances of individuals throughout the season.
Each month, every player will vote to decide which player takes home the award, with the winner to automatically be nominated for the AFL Players' MVP Award given to the best player at the end of the season.
Past winners Leigh Matthews (1982), Gerard Healy (1988), Tim Watson (1989) and Chris Judd (2006, 2011) will all select six nominees per month, before the players vote to decide the winner.
โSix rounds in and many players have displayed stellar early season form. It will be intriguing to see which player has most impressed his peers by receiving their top votes for the previous month,โ Matthews said on the concept of a player of the month award.
The six players nominated for the month of April are:
Rory Sloane
Games: 6
Disposals (avg.): 29.5
Contested possessions (avg.): 15.7 (ranked #3)
Tackles (avg.): 9.7 (ranked #1)
Clearances (avg.): 7.7 (ranked #3)
Centre clearances (total): 23 (ranked #6)
Score involvements (total): 54 (ranked #4)
Dustin Martin
Games: 6
Disposals (avg.): 28.5
Contested possessions (avg.): 14.2 (ranked #10)
Tackles (avg.): 4.5
Kicks (avg.): 20.5 (ranked #3)
Clearances (avg.): 6.8 (ranked #9)
Inside 50s (avg.): 6.2 (ranked #1)
Metres gained (total: 3728 (ranked #1)
Ollie Wines
Games: 6
Disposals (avg.): 28
Contested possessions: 13.7 per game (ranked #13)
Total goal assists: 7 (ranked #6)
Eddie Betts
Games: 6
Goals (total): 20 (ranked #2)
Disposals: 16.2 (career-high)
Marks (avg.): 4 (career-high)
Tackles (avg.): 3
Marks inside 50 (avg.): 3 (ranked #7)
Score involvements (total): 51 (ranked #9)
Joel Selwood
Games: 6
Disposals (avg.): 29.5
Tackles: 7.3 (ranked #7)
Total goal assists: 11 (ranked #2)
Total effective disposals (avg.): 22.50 (ranked #7)
Contested possessions (avg.): 14.33 (ranked #9)
Zach Merrett
Games: 6
Disposals (avg.): 33 (ranked #2)
Kicks (avg.): 21.7 (ranked #2)
Metres gained (avg.): 615.9 per game (ranked #2)
Total uncontested possessions: 137 (ranked #3)
The winner will be selected on Wednesday afternoon.
