Just three votes separate the top two on our MVP leaderboard after Round 8, with Essendon captain Zach Merrett adding to his tally for the eighth straight week.
Merrett polled a further 17 votes for his dominant efforts against West Coast on Saturday night to bring his season haul past triple digits to 107 votes, now narrowly trailing long-time leader Isaac Heeney.
Heeney managed to retain his lead in our MVP race by polling eight votes from the Swans' win over rivals GWS, with teammates Errol Gulden, Will Hayward and Chad Warner earning most of the love.
Surprisingly, Collingwood match-winner Nick Daicos was the only player to poll 20 votes for Round 8, with three managing 19 votes, one with 18 and five with 17.
Brisbane's Dayne Zorko, Showdown Medal winner Jake Soligo and Saints speedster Jack Sinclair all polled strongly across Round 8.
Daicos' heroics against Carlton see the young Magpies sensation rise into the top 10, passing Western Bulldogs captain Marcus Bontempelli - who amassed 18 votes over the weekend.
Melbourne captain Max Gawn is in third overall with 100 votes to his name after polling a further 11 from Saturday's win over Geelong, while Fremantle midfielder Caleb Sering is up to fourth thanks to a strong performance against Richmond.
Gold Coast's Matt Rowell and GWS star Tom Green both failed to poll votes but remain in the top 10, while Port Adelaide's Zak Butters came away from the Showdown defeat with a further 17 votes to his name.
Adelaide vs Port Adelaide
| Mitch Keating | Frank Seal | Aidan Cellini | Nick Splitter | |
| 5 | Jake Soligo | Zak Butters | Jake Soligo | Jake Soligo |
| 4 | Zak Butters | Jake Soligo | Zak Butters | Zak Butters |
| 3 | Josh Worrell | Matt Crouch | Matt Crouch | Izak Rankine |
| 2 | Jason Horne-Francis | Izak Rankine | Ollie Wines | Jordan Dawson |
| 1 | Matt Crouch | Max Michalanney | Izak Rankine | Matt Crouch |
Carlton vs Collingwood
| Mitch Keating | Frank Seal | Aidan Cellini | Nick Splitter | |
| 5 | Nick Daicos | Nick Daicos | Nick Daicos | Nick Daicos |
| 4 | Scott Pendlebury | Sam Walsh | Patrick Cripps | Jack Crisp |
| 3 | Harry McKay | Jack Crisp | Harry McKay | George Hewett |
| 2 | Nic Newman | Scott Pendlebury | Jack Crisp | Harry McKay |
| 1 | Jack Crisp | Nic Newman | Scott Pendlebury | Patrick Lipinski |
Sydney vs GWS
| Mitch Keating | Frank Seal | Aidan Cellini | Nick Splitter | |
| 5 | Chad Warner | Isaac Heeney | Errol Gulden | Chad Warner |
| 4 | Errol Gulden | Will Hayward | Brodie Grundy | Errol Gulden |
| 3 | Will Hayward | Errol Gulden | Will Hayward | Will Hayward |
| 2 | Isaac Heeney | Chad Warner | James Peatling | Finn Callaghan |
| 1 | James Rowbottom | James Peatling | Isaac Heeney | James Rowbottom |
St Kilda vs North Melbourne
| Mitch Keating | Frank Seal | Aidan Cellini | Nick Splitter | |
| 5 | Jack Sinclair | Jack Sinclair | Jack Sinclair | Darcy Wilson |
| 4 | Darcy Wilson | Darcy Wilson | Darcy Wilson | Jack Sinclair |
| 3 | Bradley Hill | George Wardlaw | Tristan Xerri | Marcus Windhager |
| 2 | Tristan Xerri | Tristan Xerri | Rowan Marshall | Tristan Xerri |
| 1 | Jack Hayes | Rowan Marshall | Jack Steele | Jack Hayes |
Melbourne vs Geelong
| Mitch Keating | Frank Seal | Aidan Cellini | Nick Splitter | |
| 5 | Jake Lever | Clayton Oliver | Jake Lever | Steven May |
| 4 | Steven May | Max Gawn | Max Gawn | Clayton Oliver |
| 3 | Clayton Oliver | Max Holmes | Max Holmes | Jake Lever |
| 2 | Max Gawn | Jake Lever | Tom Atkins | Max Holmes |
| 1 | Zach Guthrie | Steven May | Zach Guthrie | Max Gawn |
West Coast vs Essendon
| Mitch Keating | Frank Seal | Aidan Cellini | Nick Splitter | |
| 5 | Zach Merrett | Darcy Parish | Zach Merrett | Zach Merrett |
| 4 | Sam Durham | Nic Martin | Darcy Parish | Darcy Parish |
| 3 | Darcy Parish | Tim Kelly | Tim Kelly | Tim Kelly |
| 2 | Jake Waterman | Zach Merrett | Jake Waterman | Thomas Barrass |
| 1 | Thomas Barrass | Thomas Barrass | Sam Durham | Sam Durham |
Richmond vs Fremantle
| Mitch Keating | Frank Seal | Aidan Cellini | Nick Splitter | |
| 5 | Hayden Young | Luke Ryan | Luke Ryan | Caleb Serong |
| 4 | Caleb Serong | Caleb Serong | Caleb Serong | Luke Ryan |
| 3 | Luke Ryan | Hayden Young | Hayden Young | Hayden Young |
| 2 | Matthew Johnson | Josh Treacy | Andrew Brayshaw | Josh Treacy |
| 1 | Josh Treacy | Andrew Brayshaw | Josh Treacy | Nick Vlastuin |
Western Bulldogs vs Hawthorn
| Mitch Keating | Frank Seal | Aidan Cellini | Nick Splitter | |
| 5 | Marcus Bontempelli | Marcus Bontempelli | Jarman Impey | Dylan Moore |
| 4 | Dylan Moore | James Sicily | Marcus Bontempelli | Marcus Bontempelli |
| 3 | Jarman Impey | Lloyd Meek | James Sicily | James Sicily |
| 2 | Tim English | Dylan Moore | Lloyd Meek | Jarman Impey |
| 1 | James Sicily | Bailey Dale | Tim English | Adam Treloar |
Brisbane vs Gold Coast
| Mitch Keating | Frank Seal | Aidan Cellini | Nick Splitter | |
| 5 | Josh Dunkley | Dayne Zorko | Dayne Zorko | Dayne Zorko |
| 4 | Dayne Zorko | Lachie Neale | Josh Dunkley | Josh Dunkley |
| 3 | Lachie Neale | Josh Dunkley | Lachie Neale | Lachie Neale |
| 2 | Harris Andrews | Harris Andrews | Harris Andrews | Hugh McCluggage |
| 1 | Sam Flanders | Hugh McCluggage | Hugh McCluggage | Harris Andrews |
LEADERBOARD
| PLAYER | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Isaac Heeney |
8 | 110 |
| 2 | Zach Merrett |
17 | 107 |
| 3 | Max Gawn |
11 | 100 |
| 4 | Caleb Serong |
17 | 85 |
| 5 | Matthew Rowell |
0 | 84 |
| 6 | Zak Butters |
17 | 81 |
| 7 | Tom Green |
0 | 70 |
| 8 | Patrick Cripps |
4 | 69 |
| 8 | Nick Daicos |
20 | 69 |
| 10 | Marcus Bontempelli |
18 | 68 |
