NEAFL MVP under wraps

The MVP award will be presented in the wake of the final weekend of regular season fixtures, at the NEAFL gala presentation night in Sydney on August 24.

Aspley’s Matt Payne has led the award for the best part of two months, but Ainslie on-baller Aaron Vandenberg (pictured) is breathing down his neck, fresh from a maximum ten-vote effort in the Tricolours’ win over Hills Eagles last weekend.

The award could well be a two-horse race; given the fact Payne and Vandenberg are comfortably ahead of the chasing pack, though there are a raft of classy players amongst the bunch.

Uniquely, the award will be decided by both umpires and coach’s votes, submitted post game via the match day paperwork, with votes cast on a 5-4-3-2-1 basis.

Coaches meet directly after a game’s conclusion and decide on the best five players on the ground, submitting a single round of 5-4-3-2-1 votes between them.

Umpiring submissions are largely the same as in the past, with all umpires discussing standout individuals, before finalising their top five picks.

As such, the maximum amount of votes a single player can earn per match is 10 – courtesy of the maximum five votes from both umpires and coaches, and with more votes cast than ever before, the likelihood of a tied count is lessened considerably.

MVP Leaderboard as at Round 16

66        Matthew Payne – Aspley 

61        Aaron Vandenberg – Ainslie 

44        Jason Burge – Southport 

43        Daniel Robinson – Sydney Swans 

41        Blake   Grewar – Redland 

40        Matthew O’Dwyer – Sydney University 

39        Mark Whiley – UWS Giants 

37        Nick Salter – Ainslie 

35        Alwyn Davey – NT Thunder 

33        Austin Lucy – Aspley