Adelaide’s Rory Sloane has hit the front of the Shadforth Financial Group AFLCA Champion Player Votes leaderboard following Round 5.
Sloane, who finished runner-up in last year’s award, received the maximum votes for his performance after collecting 30 disposals, 13 tackles and nine clearances in the Crows’ win against Gold Coast on Saturday.
The 27-year-old vice-captain overtakes cross-town rival Ollie Wines as the ladder leader after Wines received five votes from the coaches for his 35 disposals against the Blues.
Port Adelaide teammate Robbie Gray collected 10 coaches votes for his dominant five-goal haul against Carlton, which pushed him inside the top 10.
Geelong skipper Joel Selwood jumped to second place following his mammoth 43 disposal tally against St Kilda on Sunday, unsurprisingly receiving maximum votes for his efforts, while Richmond’s Dustin Martin slipped from second spot to fourth after collecting two votes against the Demons on Anzac Day eve.
Essendon’s Joe Daniher’s impact during the Anzac Day clash were equally reflected in the coaches votes with the key forward receiving nine votes for his performance alongside his Anzac Medal.
Other players to receive 10 votes from Round 5 were Fremantle’s David Mundy (30 disposals and six clearances) and Richmond’s Jack Riewoldt (six goals).
LEADERBOARD
33 – rory sloane (adel)
31 – Joel Selwood (Geel)
29 – OLLIE WINES (PA)
25 – DUSTIN MARTIN (RICH)
25 – CLAYTON OLIVER (MELB)
23 – Zach Merrett (ess)
21 – ELLIOT YEO (WC)
21 – LUKE SHUEY (WC)
20 – PATRICK DANGERFIELD (GEEL)
20 – Robbie Gray (pa)
20 – david mundy (frem)
AFL Coaches’ Association votes for Round 5:
Port Adelaide v Carlton
10 R. Gray (PA), 6 Polec (PA), 5 Ebert (PA), 5 Wines (PA), 4 Broadbent (PA)
Western Bulldogs v Brisbane
9 Zorko (BL), 8 Johannisen (WB), 7 Macrae (WB), 2 Cordy (WB), 2 Dahlhaus (WB), 2 Robinson (BL)
Gold Coast v Adelaide
10 Sloane (Adel), 8 M. Crouch (Adel), 3 Atkins (Adel), 3 B. Crouch (Adel), 3 Laird (Adel), 3 Lever (Adel)
Sydney v gws
9 Greene (GWS), 9 Mumford (GWS), 6 Cameron (GWS), 4 Ward (GWS), 1 Haynes (GWS), 1 Williams (GWS)
fremantle v north melbourne
10 Mundy (Frem), 4 Fyfe (Frem), 4 Johnson (Frem), 3 Cunnington (NM), 3 Hill (Frem), 2 Dumont (NM), 2 Macmillan (NM), 2 M. Williams (NM)
st kilda v geelong
10 J. Selwood (Geel), 7 Tuohy (Geel), 5 Steven (StK), 4 Duncan (Geel), 3 Blicavs (Geel), 1 Dangerfield (Geel)
hawthorn v west coast
8 Mitchell (Haw), 7 Rioli (Haw), 6 McEvoy (Haw), 3 Shiels (Haw), 3 Stratton (Haw), 2 Breust (Haw), 1 Shuey (WCE)
richmond v melbourne
10 Riewoldt (Rich), 6 Hibberd (Melb), 5 Oliver (Melb), 4 Nankervis (Rich), 2 Grimes (Rich), 2 Martin (Rich), 1 Houli (Rich)
essendon v collingwood
9 Daniher (Ess), 5 Fantasia (Ess), 5 Z. Merrett (Ess), 4 Goddard (Ess), 3 Treloar (Coll), 2 Howe (Coll), 1 Watson (Ess), 1 Wells (Coll)