The votes for Zero Hanger'sย 2023 MVP award have been finalised, with the top 10 finishers finally revealed.
Ahead of the 24th and final round, the award was still up for grabs, with this year's victor set to follow Port Adelaide's Ollie Wines (255 votes in 2021) and shared winners Patrick Cripps and Touk Miller (210 votes in 2022) in taking out the award.
Across the course of this season, theย Zero Hanger team - consisting of editor Mitch Keating, general manager Nick Splitter, writer Ed Carmine and digital reporter Jack Jovanovski - voted on every game to establish our AFL MVP for 2023.
Votes were given out on a 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 system for each game, meaning the maximum score any player can record in any game is 20.
2023 Zero Hanger MVP top 10ย
10th. Toby Greene (GWS) - 172 votesย
Entering the season as a standalone skipper, Greene was monumental for the Giants as they steered themselves to a finals return under new coach Adam Kingsley.
Greene was a force to be reckoned with in the attacking third for GWS, booting a career-high 60 goals for the season to finish fourth in the Coleman Medal race.
The Giants captain would poll in 12 games across the 2023 season to finish with 172 votes and a 10th-placed finish.
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9th. Jordan Dawson (Adelaide) - 178 votes
It was a stunningly consistent season from the new Adelaide captain, averaging 27.1 disposals, 6.7 tackles and 3.8 clearances per game as the Crows almost managed a surprise return to September.
Dawson thrived as a midfielder in his second season at West Lakes, working in tandem with Rory Laird to create headaches for the opposition across the course of the year.
The former Swan would poll 178 MVP votes in 2023 - an increase of more than 100 votes than last year - after polling in 17 of a possible 23 games.
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8th. Tim Taranto (Richmond) - 180 votes
Coming in at eight and just two votes ahead of Dawson is Richmond recruit Tim Taranto, who has been one of the pickups of the year after moving from GWS.
Taranto has enjoyed a career-best campaign in the yellow and black, finishing the year in the top 10 of our MVP race after ranking 94th for votes polled in 2022.
While he won't claim an All-Australian nod, Taranto will be among the best runners for the Brownlow Medal and Richmond's best and fairest, having polled MVP votes in 15 games this year - including a run of four games that earned him 76 of a possible 80 votes between Rounds 11 and 14.
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7th Caleb Serong (Fremantle) - 183 votes
Fremantle's young star went to a new gear in 2023, stepping up to Andrew Brayshaw's level and rivalling the Dockers onballer as Justin Longmuir's best midfielder this season.
Serong would make a late dash to secure his position at seventh, polling in each of the final five rounds and adding 53 votes to his tally to finish the season with 183 to his name.
The 22-year-old would poll in a total of 15 games of his 22 appearances this year and will be favoured to claim his maiden Doig Medal as the Dockers' best and fairest.
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6th. Zak Butters (Port Adelaide) - 188 votes
41 votes in his final three matches, including a perfect game in Round 24, saw Butters leap into sixth spot and hold a narrow 16-vote gap over 10th in our MVP order.
Butters would also poll in 10 successive matches from Rounds 4-13 to rise toward the top of the leaderboard before a quieter few weeks followed.
Piecing together a stellar breakout season that has helped Port Adelaide claim a return to September and a top four spot on the ladder, Butters firms as a strong chance to secure a podium finish on Brownlow night.
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5th. Nick Daicos (Collingwood) - 197 votes
Held the lead in our MVP race before suffering a knee injury in Round 21, with missed matches proving costly for any player among the top 10.
Daicos stunningly polled in just 12 games - but in all 12 games he polled at least 10 votes, meaning he's a stronger chance to come away with Brownlow votes in all of those performances.
The Magpies sensation also had the most votes polled in six Magpies games this year, giving him a great chance to be seen as the No.1 player on the field in the eyes of the umpires.
He also polled 78 of a possible 80 votes between Rounds 15-18 to stamp his authority on the competition and take a strong lead into the home stretch.
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4th. Errol Gulden (Sydney) - 202 votes
The Swans wingman polled 19 of a possible 20 votes in his side's Round 24 defeat to end his season on a high, only continuing his strong finish to the year.
While the one extra vote in the loss to the Demons would've seen Gulden finish on the podium, the third-year Sydney star is a bolter to finish among the top five after polling votes in eight of his last nine matches - five of which being 19 or 20-vote games.
Gulden is one of just four players to break the 200-vote mark and could be a darkhorse for the podium in the Brownlow Medal count.
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3rd. Lachie Neale (Brisbane) - 203 votes
Neale's perfect 20-vote game to see out his side's home and away campaign and book a home final was the difference in the Lions co-captain finishing as a standalone third-place runner.
The Brisbane ball magnet notched up votes in 15 separate games this year to set a tally of 203 votes, 21 more than his 2022 total that saw him finish fifth.
Neale was viewed as a contender who flew under the radar this season, often sitting outside of the top five for most of the year before putting together a strong finish to his 2023 season.
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2nd. Christian Petracca (Melbourne) - 224 votes
The only player to finish in the top 10 for all three of Zero Hanger'sย MVP leaderboards since the award's inception in 2021, with Petracca having finished in seventh the past two years.
The Demons star polled in a staggering 18 separate games this year, with his zero-vote return in Round 23 likely proving costly. Petracca was a live chance to win the MVP title heading into the final round, but a total of just nine votes over the final fortnight saw him fall short.
224 votes is the fourth highest votes total we've had by any player in a single season and would've won Petracca last year's award - however the 2023 included one extra round.
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1st. Marcus Bontempelli (Western Bulldogs) - 243 votes
The premier player of the competition: Marcus Bontempelli.
The Bulldogs skipper follows Brownlow winners Oliver Wines (2021 ZH MVP winner and Brownlow Medallist) and Patrick Cripps (2022 ZH MVP winner and Brownlow Medallist), as well as Gold Coast's Touk Miller (also 2022 ZH MVP), in taking out the honour.
Bontempelli polled six 20-vote games across the season and managed a further six games with at least 12 votes - polling in a total of 17 games from a possible 23.
A slow start would see Bontempelli fail to poll a vote over the first two rounds, only to poll 74 of a possible 80 over the following month. His strong opening half of the year would continue with 20-vote games in Rounds 6 and 8, while Round 9 would mark the seventh successive week in a row he managed at least one vote.
Bontempelli was in a tight contest with Daicos for much of the year before the young Magpie's season-ending setback, which then opened the race for the Dogs star and Melbourne's Christian Petracca to take the title.
The MVP was on offer to both players with one round remaining, with Bontempelli carrying a 13-vote lead into the final weekend of the season. While Round 24 didn't go the Dogs' way, Bontempelli would poll 15 votes in the win over Geelong to secure the MVP crown.
His season tally of 243 votes is the second-highest recorded across the three years of voting for the Zero Hanger MVP,ย trailing only the inaugural winner in Wines, who polled 255 votes in 2021.
Bontempelli firms as a formidable contender for the 2023 Brownlow Medal and will also be in line for his fifth Charles Sutton Medal this year.
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VIEW: FULL MVP LEADERBOARD
Round 24 MVP votes
Essendon vs Collingwood
| Mitch Keating | Ed Carmine | Jack Jovanovski | Nick Splitter | |
| 5 | Jordan De Goey | Jordan De Goey | Jordan De Goey | Jordan De Goey |
| 4 | Jack Ginnivan | Scott Pendlebury | Tom Mitchell | Tom Mitchell |
| 3 | Scott Pendlebury | Jack Ginnivan | Josh Daicos | Scott Pendlebury |
| 2 | Josh Daicos | Tom Mitchell | Jack Ginnivan | Jack Ginnivan |
| 1 | Tom Mitchell | Josh Daicos | Scott Pendlebury | Brayden Maynard |
Hawthorn vs Fremantle
| Mitch Keating | Ed Carmine | Jack Jovanovski | Nick Splitter | |
| 5 | Caleb Serong | Caleb Serong | Caleb Serong | Caleb Serong |
| 4 | Andrew Brayshaw | Andrew Brayshaw | Andrew Brayshaw | Andrew Brayshaw |
| 3 | Tom Emmett | Tom Emmett | Hayden Young | Hayden Young |
| 2 | Hayden Young | Hayden Young | Tom Emmett | James Sicily |
| 1 | Dylan Moore | Luke Ryan | Dylan Moore | Luke Ryan |
North Melbourne vs Gold Coast
| Mitch Keating | Ed Carmine | Jack Jovanovski | Nick Splitter | |
| 5 | Nick Larkey | Nick Larkey | Nick Larkey | Nick Larkey |
| 4 | Tarryn Thomas | Tarryn Thomas | Tarryn Thomas | Tarryn Thomas |
| 3 | Bailey Scott | Bailey Scott | Jy Simpkin | Matthew Rowell |
| 2 | Eddie Ford | Harry Sheezel | Matthew Rowell | Bailey Scott |
| 1 | Harry Sheezel | Eddie Ford | Eddie Ford | Harry Sheezel |
Brisbane vs St Kilda
| Mitch Keating | Ed Carmine | Jack Jovanovski | Nick Splitter | |
| 5 | Lachie Neale | Lachie Neale | Lachie Neale | Lachie Neale |
| 4 | Rowan Marshall | Jarrod Berry | Jarrod Berry | Rowan Marshall |
| 3 | Dayne Zorko | Rowan Marshall | Rowan Marshall | Jarrod Berry |
| 2 | Oscar McInerney | Dayne Zorko | Dayne Zorko | Jack Sinclair |
| 1 | Joe Daniher | Joe Daniher | Jack Sinclair | Joe Daniher |
Geelong vs Western Bulldogs
| Mitch Keating | Ed Carmine | Jack Jovanovski | Nick Splitter | |
| 5 | Adam Treloar | Tom Liberatore | Adam Treloar | Marcus Bontempelli |
| 4 | Tom Liberatore | Adam Treloar | Marcus Bontempelli | Tom Liberatore |
| 3 | Marcus Bontempelli | Marcus Bontempelli | Tom Liberatore | Tom Stewart |
| 2 | Isaac Smith | Rory Lobb | Rory Lobb | Adam Treloar |
| 1 | Rory Lobb | Isaac Smith | Isaac Smith | Isaac Smith |
West Coast vs Adelaideย
| Mitch Keating | Ed Carmine | Jack Jovanovski | Nick Splitter | |
| 5 | Taylor Walker | Taylor Walker | Taylor Walker | Taylor Walker |
| 4 | Rory Laird | Jordan Dawson | Jordan Dawson | Jordan Dawson |
| 3 | Jordan Dawson | Rory Laird | Rory Laird | Rory Laird |
| 2 | Josh Rachele | Tim Kelly | Tim Kelly | Tim Kelly |
| 1 | Tim Kelly | Josh Rachele | Liam Duggan | Matt Crouch |
Port Adelaide vs Richmond
| Mitch Keating | Ed Carmine | Jack Jovanovski | Nick Splitter | |
| 5 | Zak Butters | Zak Butters | Zak Butters | Zak Butters |
| 4 | Connor Rozee | Connor Rozee | Connor Rozee | Connor Rozee |
| 3 | Dustin Martin | Dustin Martin | Dustin Martin | Dustin Martin |
| 2 | Sam Powell-Pepper | Sam Powell-Pepper | Dan Houston | Sam Powell-Pepper |
| 1 | Xavier Duursma | Xavier Duursma | Sam Powell-Pepper | Dan Houston |
Sydney vs Melbourne
| Mitch Keating | Ed Carmine | Jack Jovanovski | Nick Splitter | |
| 5 | Errol Gulden | Errol Gulden | Errol Gulden | Jack Viney |
| 4 | Jack Viney | Bayley Fritsch | Jack Viney | Errol Gulden |
| 3 | Christian Petracca | Jack Viney | Bayley Fritsch | Bayley Fritsch |
| 2 | Bayley Fritsch | Christian Petracca | Christian Petracca | Christian Petracca |
| 1 | Callum Mills | Callum Mills | Callum Mills | Callum Mills |
Carlton vs GWS
| Mitch Keating | Ed Carmine | Jack Jovanovski | Nick Splitter | |
| 5 | Tom Green | Tom Green | Tom Green | Tom Green |
| 4 | Brent Daniels | Toby Greene | Stephen Coniglio | Toby Greene |
| 3 | Toby Greene | Brent Daniels | Brent Daniels | Brent Daniels |
| 2 | George Hewett | Toby Bedford | Lachie Whitfield | Stephen Coniglio |
| 1 | Toby Bedford | George Hewett | Toby Bedford | Toby Bedford |
