AFL Awards 2024

[Meg]

Some pleasing outcomes tonight. Heeney, Gulden, Blakey, Chad Warner, James Rowbottom all recognised.

All Australian Team

Nick Blakey and Chad Warner are both first timers, joining Errol Gulden and Isaac Heeney as the Swans led the way with four selections.

AFLCA CHAMPION PLAYER

Heeney held a five-vote lead over Daicos going into round 24 after polling a perfect 10 in the Swans' clash against Essendon, but he was rested for the final round of the season against Adelaide.

Heeney (112 votes), Errol Gulden (86) and Chad Warner (80) were all recognised in a top 10 that was filled exclusively by midfielders.

117 Nick Daicos (COLL)
113 Patrick Cripps (CARL)
112 Isaac Heeney (SYD)
100 Caleb Serong (FRE)
97 Lachie Neale (BRIS)
93 Marcus Bontempelli (WBD)
86 Errol Gulden (SYD)
80 Zach Merrett (ESS)
80 Chad Warner (SYD)
78 Zak Butters (PORT)

Leigh Matthews Trophy (MVP)

1. Marcus Bontempelli
2. Patrick Cripps
3. Isaac Heeney
4. Nick Daicos
5. Jesse Hogan

so despite missing two games, Heeney stll out-rated Daicos as player most valued by other players.

Robert Rose Award (Most Courageous)

1. Zak Butters
2. James Rowbottom and Liam Baker
4. Jeremy McGovern
5. Josh Dunkley

Rowbottom recognised, as he should be.

For the second consecutive season, Port Adelaide vice-captain Zak Butters was crowned Robert Rose Most Courageous Player, ahead of Sydney's James Rowbottom and Richmond's Liam Baker, who tied for second. It's the first time since Luke Parker in 2015-2016 that a player has won in back-to-back years.

Lol, so Butters is most courageous and also most fined! Suggests players admire his toughness though AFL MRO (at least officially) does not.


The winners of the MVP, Best First-Year Player and Most Courageous Player are determined by a two-stage voting process.

Players first select three teammates, with those results tallied into a list of 54 nominees across the 18 clubs. All players then vote on a 3-2-1 basis, but they are not able to vote for a player at their own club. The player with the most votes wins.

[Maltopia]

Heeney would have likely won coaches award if not for outrageous ban for trying to break free of someone grabbing near his crotch, that he couldn’t have seen was bent over.

[lwjoyner]

agree would have also been easier if he had not been suspended for a ridiculous charge. also not sure why bont would win the players player award.

[Meg]

Damian Barrett’s take:

” IF ...

it was the wise, potentially premiership-winning call to rest a banged-up, tired Isaac Heeney from round 24 THEN ...

it also, unfortunately, was a personal status-robbing one. Led the AFL Coaches Association MVP award until that final round. Already ruled out of the Brownlow due to suspension. Oh well. There's a flag to be won. And this superstar will be physically primed.”

(Damian Barrett, Sliding Doors, AFL.com.au 30 Aug 2024)

[imuninformedtwo]

The one that did smake me laugh a bit was Roberts in the Rising Star. I wasn't expecting him to win it, but he only got three votes - all from the one judge (Jude Bolton). No Vic bias in the judging at all . . . not.

[0918330512]

The one that did smake me laugh a bit was Roberts in the Rising Star. I wasn't expecting him to win it, but he only got three votes - all from the one judge (Jude Bolton). No Vic bias in the judging at all . . . not.

I guess the other way to look at it is Matty Roberts only got votes from one judge - an ex-Swan (when every other judge didn’t deem him worthy of a vote. No Swans bias in the judging at all . . . not.

[0918330512]

Heeney would have likely won coaches award if not for outrageous ban for trying to break free of someone grabbing near his crotch, that he couldn’t have seen was bent over.

You could blame the suspension … or you could blame the match committee for resting him in the final round

they knew he was leading at round 21 and they knew he polled a minimum of 5 in round 22.

but football is generally a team game so selecting a player on that chance they’ll get an award is probably not the done thing. Probably not much point obsessing about the suspension either. A decision was made. We rightfully challenged it. It was deemed as upheld. End of story

[liz]

I guess the other way to look at it is Matty Roberts only got votes from one judge - an ex-Swan (when every other judge didn’t deem him worthy of a vote. No Swans bias in the judging at all . . . not.

Around a third of the journalists who provided their votes to afl.com.au earlier this week included Roberts for a vote or two or three (in one case, IIRC). So I don't think Jude pulled it out of nowhere. More likely he's the member of the voting panel who has most watched Roberts play.

The whole RS award is a popularity contest. The media decides who is going to win about two thirds of the way through the season and the judges generally group-think their way into line. (That was how Mills won, probably Hanners too. Goodes was a bit different, though Simon Black was a worthy rival.) There are no objective or countable criteria. Apart from Reid and Darcy, you could probably throw a blanket over this year's nominees. They've all had a few good matches. Some have had good seasons. Most seem like they could be excellent players, although history tells us that a handful will fade away within a couple of seasons.

I'm sure Dempsey's proud to have won, but his own acceptance speech showed he understands how this group of nominees stack up against each other.

[imuninformedtwo]

Around a third of the journalists who provided their votes to afl.com.au earlier this week included Roberts for a vote or two or three (in one case, IIRC). So I don't think Jude pulled it out of nowhere. More likely he's the member of the voting panel who has most watched Roberts play.

The whole RS award is a popularity contest. The media decides who is going to win about two thirds of the way through the season and the judges generally group-think their way into line. (That was how Mills won, probably Hanners too. Goodes was a bit different, though Simon Black was a worthy rival.) There are no objective or countable criteria. Apart from Reid and Darcy, you could probably throw a blanket over this year's nominees. They've all had a few good matches. Some have had good seasons. Most seem like they could be excellent players, although history tells us that a handful will fade away within a couple of seasons.

I'm sure Dempsey's proud to have won, but his own acceptance speech showed he understands how this group of nominees stack up against each other.

It scares the living @@@@ out of me as to how young, in AFL terms, Darcy is, and just how good he's going to be. I've felt it since his draft years and the nightmare is coming true. If you gave me the choice of taking Reid and N Daicos as a package, or just Darcy, I'd take Darcy.

[dejavoodoo44]

It scares the living @@@@ out of me as to how young, in AFL terms, Darcy is, and just how good he's going to be. I've felt it since his draft years and the nightmare is coming true. If you gave me the choice of taking Reid and N Daicos as a package, or just Darcy, I'd take Darcy.

I'm not sure if I'd go quite that far, but he's obviously going to be a star, if he isn't already. And I'm still a touch bitter and twisted, that after finishing second in 2021, the Dogs got pick 2, essentially for noticing that the tall kid who hanged around with Luke Darcy, was his son. Which was a year after they got pick 1, for working out that the dark skinned, gun forward from Framlingham was indigenous.

[imuninformedtwo]

I'm not sure if I'd go quite that far, but he's obviously going to be a star, if he isn't already. And I'm still a touch bitter and twisted, that after finishing second in 2021, the Dogs got pick 2, essentially for noticing that the tall kid who hanged around with Luke Darcy, was his son. Which was a year after they got pick 1, for working out that the dark skinned, gun forward from Framlingham was indigenous.

The other bit was the year he and Daicos went top four, yay - let’s celebrate the history of our game, says Vic media.

The Suns have one good year with their Academy - outrageous.

The Swans are privately seething. The idea that the work they do is now on an equal footing with the NGAs and someone rooting someone twenty years ago is nonsense.

[dejavoodoo44]

The other bit was the year he and Daicos went top four, yay - let’s celebrate the history of our game, says Vic media.

The Suns have one good year with their Academy - outrageous.

The Swans are privately seething. The idea that the work they do is now on an equal footing with the NGAs and someone rooting someone twenty years ago is nonsense.

There was a fairly recent episode of Gettable, where Kinnear Beatson was interviewed by Cal Twomey and Riley Beveridge. For some reason, they decided to ask him about the upcoming rule changes to the NGAs. His reply was along the lines of, "Yeah, fine: as long as the clubs can provide detailed evidence on how they contributed to the development of those players."

Which led to both Twomey and Beveridge looking a bit sheepish and then changing the subject.

[KSAS]

I've heard Gerard Healy repeatedly calling out the NGAs being a farce on his SEN evening show with Kane Cornes. He goes at length explaining the big difference the Northern Academies & the NGAs and then calling out the (Vic) Media who treats both as being equal.

He explaims how the NGA is a rort because clubs get access to players because of their surnames, despite already having natural pathways to the AFL. Being just a knee jerk reaction to the Northern Academies. Kane shuts up & haven't heard him oppose Gerard on this.

[imuninformedtwo]

I've heard Gerard Healy repeatedly calling out the NGAs being a farce on his SEN evening show with Kane Cornes. He goes at length explaining the big difference the Northern Academies & the NGAs and then calling out the (Vic) Media who treats both as being equal.

He explaims how the NGA is a rort because clubs get access to players because of their surnames, despite already having natural pathways to the AFL. Being just a knee jerk reaction to the Northern Academies. Kane shuts up & haven't heard him oppose Gerard on this.

One of the classics of the genre was James Borlase, who came 'through' Adelaide's NGA Academy. His two parents are Australian, his dad played for Port Adelaide, but because they lived briefly in Egypt when James was born, Adelaide was able to sign him into their Academy. Ok, he's no super star, but I'll be stuffed if that's growing and developing the game.