PORT ADELAIDE midfielder Zak Butters was one of just five players to receive a perfect ten votes in the 2021 AFLCA Champion Player of the Year Award after his side’s 54-point win over Essendon on Saturday evening.
Butters finished with a career-high 36 disposals, six clearances and a goal in an impressive showing from the 20-year-old.
He also had eight score involvements and a game-high six tackles, and all while going at 86.1 per cent disposal efficiency.
Defender Dan Houston scored eight votes from the coaches after recording a goal and 25 important disposals, including a career-high 21 kicks.
His 657 metres gained was by far the best on the ground and his eleven score involvements was a game-high.
Port Adelaide dominated the votes as it did the scoreboard on Saturday.
Ollie Wines (38 disposals, five tackles, five clearances) and Scott Lycett (26 hit-outs, 21 didposals, six marks, three clearances and a goal) each got five votes, while Darcy Byrne-Jones and Travis Boak polled a vote each.
Others to join Butters with a perfect 10 votes included Geelong’s Joel Selwood, Gold Coast’s Noah Anderson, Marcus Bontempelli from the Bulldogs and Fremantle’s David Mundy.
Martin leads all comers with 19 votes on the leaderboard with Dan Houston (12 votes) fifth overall and Boak a couple behind in seventh.
Round 2 – votes v Essendon
10 votes – Butters (PA)
8 votes – Houston (PA)
5 votes – Wines (PA)
5 votes – Lycett (PA)
1 vote – Byrne-Jones (PA)
1 vote – Boak (PA)
Overall leader board
19 votes – Dustin Martin (Richmond)
18 votes – Taylor Walker (Adelaide)
16 votes – Darcy Moore (Collingwood), Clayton Oliver (Melbourne)
12 votes – Dan Houston (Port Adelaide), Jack Macrae (Western Bulldogs)
11 votes – Travis Boak (Port Adelaide)
10 votes – Zak Butters (Port Adelaide), Steven May (Melbourne), Tim Membery (St Kilda), Callum Mills (Sydney), Tom Mitchell (Hawthorn), David Mundy (Fremantle), Bailey Smith (Western Bulldogs), Joel Selwood (Geelong)
