Fremantle gun jumps ahead as quintet of stars produce perfect games: AFL MVP – Round 6

A number of the AFL's megastars looked at their game-wrecking best over the Easter weekend, with five players taking home a perfect 20 votes in the race for Zero Hanger's AFL MVP.

Nick Daicos demonstrated his ruthlessness in the midfield as Collingwood destroyed Brisbane at the Gabba by 52 points, winning a game-high eight clearances, six inside 50s and 12 score involvements from 38 disposals. This ultimately notched him the full 20 votes, his brother Josh Daicos following closely with 15 votes after he posted 30 disposals of his own, firmly closing the door on the Daicos vs Ashcroft brothers debate that had been circling on social media ahead of the game.

George Hewett convincingly obliterated the Kangaroos' midfield on Good Friday, winning 12 clearances and kicking a goal amongst his game-leading 34 disposals, understandably taking the full 20 votes. Adam Cerra also polled 16 votes, respectively, as he gathered 28 disposals and kicked a goal of his own in the Blues' 82-point smackdown of North Melbourne.

Peter Wright and Marcus Bontempelli both returned in style in Round 6, dominating in their own unique ways to secure 20 votes for their respective games each. Bontempelli reminded the country who the league's best player is, destructive against a weak St Kilda midfield as he bulldozed his way to 30 disposals, eight clearances and two goals that sparked the five-goal to zero second quarter from the Bulldogs. He had 20 disposals at the half, just the third time he's done that in his career, demonstrating to everyone that he is well past the calf injury that kept him out for the first five rounds of the season.

Wright was the man of the hour in Essendon's thrilling comeback win over West Coast, his six goals from seven marks pivotal in preventing the upset and the Eagles' first win of 2025. He dominated in a different way to Bont, but deserved his 20 votes equally as much.

Kysiah Pickett (20 votes) ironically was back to his best against the Dockers, the team he's been linked to moving to in the upcoming off-season. "Kozzy" kicked five goals and was involved in a further five scores throughout the match, the Demons winning their first game of 2025 despite omitting key players and losing more to injury the previous week.

A further four players also went home with 19 votes this weekend. Jordan Dawson's team-high disposals (27) and metres gained (620) saw him earn a near-perfect tally, while Nick Vlaustin turned back the clock to the Richmond dynasty days for a ridiculous 13 marks and 11 rebound 50s from 27 disposals in Richmond's stunning upset over Gold Coast. Teammate Tim Taranto had one of his best games in the yellow sash, polling closely with 17 votes thanks to his 35-disposal outing.

Zak Butters (19 votes) again starred in Port Adelaide's victory over Sydney, finishing with 27 disposals at 85% efficiency, seven clearances and eight tackles as the Power held on late. Captain Connor Rozee (16 votes) continues to stand up to the mantle off in a half-back role, his 825 metres gained from 27 disposals perfectly capturing his return to form.

Bailey Smith rounded out the long weekend with 15 votes as he dominated the Hawks, flaunting his skills and letting the 88,000 fans in attendance hear about it, posting 28 disposals in the latest Easter Monday classic. Shaun Mannagh, whose third goal of the day was the eventual sealer, won over our voters with 13 votes for the game, his first tally of any kind this season.

Brisbane vs Collingwood

North Melbourne vs Carlton

West Coast vs Essendon

Melbourne vs Fremantle

Adelaide vs GWS

Richmond vs Gold Coast

Sydney vs Port Adelaide

Western Bulldogs vs St Kilda

Geelong vs Hawthorn

LEADERBOARD

RANK		PLAYER	LAST ROUND	TOTAL
1		Andrew Brayshaw	13	59
2		Matthew Rowell	5	58
3		Izak Rankine	3	54
3		Connor Rozee	16	54
3		Nick Daicos	20	54
6		Bailey Smith	15	53
7		Zach Merrett	2	51
8		Toby Greene	0	50
8		Steele Sidebottom	2	50
10		Hugh McCluggage	0	49