STAR midfielder Clayton Oliver has been recognised for his stellar season, taking out the AFL Coaches Association’s AFL Champion Player of the Year Award on Thursday night.
The 24-year-old claimed the honour with 114 votes, finishing comfortably ahead of the Western Bulldogs’ Marcus Bontempelli and Port Adelaide’s Ollie Wines (101 votes each).
Oliver becomes just the second Melbourne player to win the award, which is voted by the 18 coaches, with ruckman Max Gawn the other (2018).
The recognition follows dominant displays by the Demon, which have seen him record the most contested possessions (388) and clearances (167) in the competition.
He’s also racked up the fifth-most total disposals, currently averaging 31.6.
With voting concealed for the final two rounds of the regular season, Oliver didn’t earn himself any votes against Adelaide in Round 22 but added 10 against Geelong to extend his lead and seal the coveted award.
Last weekend marked the third time he had received perfect votes, while there was only a total of five games throughout the season where he wasn’t awarded a vote.
Christian Petracca’s tally of 86 votes meant he finished in a respectable eighth position, with Essendon the only other side to have two players of the same team in the top 10.
The AFLCA award has been handed out since 2003, with coaches from both sides casting their votes after each home-and-away game in a 5-4-3-2-1 format.
2021 AFL Coaches Association Champion Player of the Year Award
114 – Clayton Oliver (Melbourne)
101 – Marcus Bontempelli (Western Bulldogs)
101 – Ollie Wines (Port Adelaide)
100 – Jack Steele (St Kilda)
97 – Touk Miller (Gold Coast SUNS)
92 – Sam Walsh (Carlton)
91 – Zach Merrett (Essendon)
86 – Christian Petracca (Melbourne)
81 – Darcy Parish (Essendon)
74 – Rory Laird (Adelaide)
Clayton Oliver votes: round-by-round
Round 1 – Melbourne v Fremantle
AFLCA votes: 7
Round 2 – St Kilda v Melbourne
AFLCA votes: 9
Round 3 – GWS Giants v Melbourne
AFLCA votes: 0
Round 4 – Melbourne v Geelong
AFLCA votes: 4
Round 5 – Hawthorn v Melbourne
AFLCA votes: 3
Round 6 – Melbourne v Richmond
AFLCA votes: 3
Round 7 – North Melbourne v Melbourne
AFLCA votes: 0
Round 8 – Melbourne v Sydney
AFLCA votes: 6
Round 9 – Melbourne v Carlton
AFLCA votes: 10
Round 10 – Adelaide v Melbourne
AFLCA votes: 10
Round 11 – Western Bulldogs v Melbourne
AFLCA votes: 9
Round 12 – Melbourne v Brisbane
AFLCA votes: 7
Round 13 – Melbourne v Collingwood
AFLCA votes: 0
Round 14 – BYE
Round 15 – Essendon v Melbourne
AFLCA votes: 3
Round 16 – Melbourne v GWS Giants
AFLCA votes: 0
Round 17 – Port Adelaide v Melbourne
AFLCA votes: 8
Round 18 – Melbourne v Hawthorn
AFLCA votes: 6
Round 19 – Melbourne v Western Bulldogs
AFLCA votes: 7
Round 20 – Gold Coast SUNS v Melbourne
AFLCA votes: 9
Round 21 – West Coast Eagles v Melbourne
AFLCA votes: 3
Round 22 – Melbourne v Adelaide
AFLCA votes: 0
Round 23 – Geelong v Melbourne
AFLCA votes: 10
