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Coaches votes: Merrett jumps to the front

Back-to-back nine-vote games has Essendon vice-captain Zach Merrett leading the 2017 Shadforth Financial Group AFLCA Champion Player of the Year Award after Round 2.

Merrett collected 32 disposals and kicked a goal as the Bombers fended off a late surge from the Lions to remain undefeated in season 2017, while excitement machine Orazio Fantasia received seven votes from the coaches following his five-goal effort.

Sitting in equal first-place after two rounds is Port Adelaide’s Ollie Wines, who received eight votes for his 31 touches, 17 contested possessions, four contested marks and two goals against the Dockers — second only to Robbie Gray’s 30 disposals and six majors as the best player on the ground in the eyes of the coaches.

Merrett and Wines sit one vote ahead of young Melbourne midfielder Clayton Oliver, who collected 31 touches and nine tackles in the win against Carlton and duly received eight votes, with Demons teammate Christian Salem receiving maximum votes.

Other players to collect 10 votes from the coaches include Trent Cotchin (26 disposals and two goals), Sam Jacobs (15 touches and six contested marks) and Shaun Higgins (27 disposals and two goals).

LEADERBOARD

18 – Zach Merrett (Ess)
18 – ollie wines (pa)
17 – Clayton Oliver (melb)
15 – Elliot Yeo (wc)
13 – Dayne Beams (Bris)
13 – Shaun Higgins (WB)
13 – Dustin Martin (Rich)
12 – Orazio Fantasia (Ess)
12 – Joel Selwood (Geel)
11 – Trent Cotchin (Rich)
11 – Patrick Dangerfield (geel)

AFL Coaches’ Association votes for Round 2:

RICHMOND V Collingwood

10 Cotchin (Rich), 7 Grundy (Coll), 4 Treloar (Coll), 3 Martin (Rich), 3 Nankervis (Rich), 2 Hoskin-Elliott (Coll), 1 Goldsack (Coll)

Western Bulldogs V Sydney

9 Bontempelli (WB), 9 Reid (Syd), 4 Wood (WB), 3 Jong (WB), 3 Picken (WB), 1 Adams (WB), 1 Franklin (Syd)

Hawthorn v adelaide

10 Jacobs (Adel), 6 Sloane (Adel), 4 Lynch (Adel), 4 O’Meara (Haw), 3 Mitchell (Haw), 2 Walker (Adel), 1 Breust (Haw)

GWS v Gold Coast

7 Greene (GWS), 7 Shiel (GWS), 5 Kelly (GWS), 4 Cameron (GWS), 4 Davis (GWS), 3 Ward (GWS)

Brisbane v essendon

9 Z. Merrett (Ess), 7 Fantasia (Ess), 7 Martin (BL), 4 Watson (Ess), 3 D. Beams (BL)

West Coast v St KIlda

9 Shuey (WCE), 7 Yeo (WCE), 6 Ross (StK), 4 Gaff (WCE), 3 Roberton (StK), 1 McGovern (WCE)

Geelong v north melbourne

10 Higgins (NM), 7 Dangerfield (Geel), 7 Selwood (Geel), 3 Menzel (Geel), 2 Brown (NM), 1 Tarrant (NM)

Melbourne v carlton

10 Salem (Melb), 8 Oliver (Melb), 3 Cripps (Carl), 3 Murphy (Carl), 3 Wright (Carl), 2 Jetta (Melb), 1 Jones (Melb)

port adelaide v FREMANTLE

10 R. Gray (PA), 8 Wines (PA), 3 Polec (PA), 3 Powell-Pepper (PA), 2 Jonas (PA), 2 Ryder (PA), 1 Dixon (PA), 1 Ebert (PA)