Stinkers and stars in AFL finals voting

The damning nature of failing to perform in finals was clearly reflected in voting for the Gary Ayres Award, with three coaches failing to give any of their players a single vote in losing efforts.

While four players were rewarded for outstanding playoff performances, snaring a perfect 10 in the voting for the AFL Coaches Association player of the finals, no one from Port Adelaide, the Western Bulldogs or Carlton could muster even a single vote from their coaches.

That’s a star-studded cohort including captains Marcus Bontempelli (Western Bulldogs), Patrick Cripps (Carlton) and Connor Rozee (Port Adelaide) who made no impact on matches when it mattered most in the eyes of their coaches.

Cripps could consider himself hard done by, having racked up 31 possessions, and a goal, Carlton’s first, as he his put his team on his shoulders to rally them from a scoreless opening 50 minutes to lose by just 28 points at the Gabba.

But the three opening week losers were comprehensively beaten, with three players from GWS the only members of one of four defeated teams across the opening weekend of finals getting recognition for their efforts in a losing team.

Sydney superstar Isaac Heeney was one of those to get a perfect 10 for his 30-possession, three-goal stunner in his team’s remarkable come-from-behind win over the Giants that earnt the ultimate plaudit from teammate Jake Lloyd.

“He (Heeney) was the one that was keeping us in the game. And, you know, he just decided to go, ‘I’m going to take over this game’,” Lloyd said.

“He was massive in that last quarter.”

Geelong’s Max Holmes, Hawthorn’s Jai Newcombe and Brisbane’s All-Australian veteran Dayne Zorko were the other three players to get the perfect 10, with each coach awarding votes from five down to one across either team.

Recruiters across several clubs would have walking taller after the finals too, with Geelong’s 27-year-old pick-up out of the VFL, Shaun Mannagh, earning seven votes in his debut final.

Hawthorn’s Massimo D’Ambrosio, picked up after Essendon let him go, also got two votes, while Hawks ruckman Lloyd Meek, who crossed from Fremantle, was given four.

The Gary Ayres Award is presented in recognition of the player who has been adjudged as the best player throughout the AFL finals series, as voted by the coaches on a weekly basis.

PERFECT 10 VOTES IN GARY AYRES AWARD

10 Isaac Heeney SYD

10 Max Holmes GEEL

10 Jai Newcombe HAW

10 Dayne Zorko BL