Daicos draws level with Butters atop AFLCA award as six players earn perfect 10s in Round 7
Collingwood star Nick Daicos has drawn level with Port Adelaide’s Zak Butters at the top of the AFL Coaches Association Champion Player of the Year race after Round 7, with six players collecting perfect 10s from the coaches over the weekend. Daicos picked up eight votes on Anzac Day, hours before Butters earned six in Port’s win over Geelong, leaving the pair locked on 48 votes after seven rounds.
Western Bulldogs captain Marcus Bontempelli remains in third on 36 after earning eight votes despite a heavy loss to Sydney, while St Kilda co-captain Cal Wilkie moved into fourth on 32 with seven votes in the Saints’ big win over West Coast. Sydney’s Charlie Curnow secured a perfect 10 for his seven-goal performance against the Bulldogs.
The other players to receive maximum votes in Round 7 were Kysaiah Pickett, Scott Pendlebury, Jason Horne-Francis, Lachie Neale and Toby Greene. Hawthorn’s Jai Newcombe was judged best afield with nine votes in the Hawks’ win over Gold Coast. Shai Bolton and Fremantle’s Luke Jackson also received nine votes, with Jackson’s haul coming against Carlton.
In a notable quirk from St Kilda’s rout of West Coast, Wilkie was one of four Saints to receive seven votes, alongside Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera, Jack Higgins and Hugo Garcia, while Marcus Windhager and Brad Hill picked up one vote each. Under the AFLCA system, the two senior coaches from each match award votes on a 5-4-3-2-1 basis, with a maximum of 10 votes available to any player per game.
The player with the most votes at the end of the home-and-away season will be named the AFLCA Champion Player of the Year. After seven rounds, Daicos and Butters share the lead on 48, with Bontempelli (36) and Wilkie (32) leading the chase.