A near-perfect performance for Collingwood young gun Nick Daicos has seen the Magpies ball-magnet reclaim the top spot in our 2023 MVP race after five rounds.

Daicos has now polled at least 12 votes in four of the opening five matches of the season to record a total of 63 for the year, nine more than the next best in Western Bulldogs captain Marcus Bontempelli.

'The Bont' has amassed all 54 of his votes in 2023 from the past three weeks alone, adding another 14 to his tally after successive unanimous best-afield performances.

Demons gun Clayton Oliver and Cats spearhead Jeremy Cameron sit in equal third, while Adelaide skipper Jordan Dawson is shooting up the leaderboard after a second straight 20-vote performance.

Dawson was one of four players to receive five votes each from all four of our adjudicators from Round 5.

Reminder: votes are given out in a 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 system for each game, meaning the maximum score any player can record in any game is 20.

Adelaide vs Carlton

Adelaide captain Jordan Dawson was again the standout performer for the Crows, with last Thursday's thumping over the Blues seeing the defensive-minded midfielder hold his place in the centre of the ground.

Working in tandem with Rory Laird, who polled 16 votes to accompany Dawson among the best-afield, the Crows skipper was an easy selection for the BOG nod.

Defender Tom Doedee, midfielder-turned-forward Ben Keays and sharpshooter Darcy Fogarty were also among those to poll votes in the 56-point win over Carlton.

Mitch Keating Ed Carmine Dani Sorati Nick Splitter
5 Jordan Dawson Jordan Dawson Jordan Dawson Jordan Dawson
4 Rory Laird Rory Laird Rory Laird Rory Laird
3 Tom Doedee Ben Keays Darcy Fogarty Tom Doedee
2 Darcy Fogarty Darcy Fogarty Tom Doedee Darcy Fogarty
1 Ben Keays Tom Doedee Taylor Walker Taylor Walker

Fremantle vs Gold Coast

The Dockers fought back bravely in the second half to snatch their second win of the season, preventing the Suns from moving to eight premiership points themselves.

Caleb Serong's fine form continued into the Norwood Oval encounter, with the hard-nosed onballer polling a perfect 20 votes for his 37-disposal display.

Ruckman Sean Darcy towered over second-gamer Ned Moyle in the middle, while former Sun Will Brodie was a standout after being injected into the game as the sub.

Michael Walters led the scorers with four goals, while Suns duo Jack Lukosius and Noah Anderson were key in Gold Coast's strong start.

Mitch Keating Ed Carmine Dani Sorati Nick Splitter
5 Caleb Serong Caleb Serong Caleb Serong Caleb Serong
4 Sean Darcy Sean Darcy Sean Darcy Noah Anderson
3 Noah Anderson Michael Walters Michael Walters Sean Darcy
2 Michael Walters Will Brodie Jack Lukosius Hayden Young
1 Will Brodie Jack Lukosius Will Brodie Jack Lukosius

Richmond vs Sydney

Tom Papley put on a show for the local South Australians on Friday night, booting all six of his majors in the second half to lead the Swans to a 44-point win over Richmond.

The Sydney goalsneak was a clear favourite for best-afield honours and polled 20 votes, while defender Nick Blakey also stood tall in the absence of star defenders to be among the Swans' top performers.

Isaac Heeney was critical in linking up the forward third with the midfield, while Errol Gulden again showed signs of his growth and development.

Albeit in defeat, Tigers pair Jacob Hopper and Liam Baker stood out for the losing side.

Mitch Keating Ed Carmine Dani Sorati Nick Splitter
5 Tom Papley Tom Papley Tom Papley Tom Papley
4 Nick Blakey Nick Blakey Nick Blakey Isaac Heeney
3 Isaac Heeney Liam Baker Isaac Heeney Nick Blakey
2 Jacob Hopper Isaac Heeney Liam Baker Liam Baker
1 Liam Baker Jacob Hopper Jacob Hopper Errol Gulden

Brisbane vs North Melbourne

Lachie Neale was damaging from the first bounce against North Melbourne, recording 37 disposals, 13 clearances and 17 contested possessions at Mt Barker Oval on Saturday.

That performance led to a 20-vote outing for the Brisbane co-captain, who was a key piece in a mammoth victory over North Melbourne.

Forward trio Joe Daniher, Eric Hipwood and Charlie Cameron combined for 13 goals en route to a 75-point shellacking, with all three earning votes from the win.

Veteran Dayne Zorko was also impressive, while recruit Josh Dunkley featured in the votes for the fifth time in as many rounds.

Mitch Keating Ed Carmine Dani Sorati Nick Splitter
5 Lachie Neale Lachie Neale Lachie Neale Lachie Neale
4 Joe Daniher Joe Daniher Joe Daniher Joe Daniher
3 Dayne Zorko Dayne Zorko Dayne Zorko Josh Dunkley
2 Josh Dunkley Eric Hipwood Josh Dunkley Eric Hipwood
1 Eric Hipwood Josh Dunkley Charlie Cameron Charlie Cameron

Essendon vs Melbourne

A Sam Draper-inspired win saw the Bombers upset the Demons at Adelaide Oval on Saturday afternoon, with Essendon getting the upper hand on Melbourne's star midfield ensemble.

Zach Merrett and Darcy Parish combined to give the Bombers first use through the middle, with Draper and ruck partner Andrew Phillips often waiting for the spoils in attack.

Defender Jayden Laverde was a constant presence on Brad Scott's last line to help steer the Bombers to a convincing win.

Former MVP leader Clayton Oliver managed to poll four votes in the loss, having collected 41 disposals thanks to a strong finish.

Mitch Keating Ed Carmine Dani Sorati Nick Splitter
5 Zach Merrett Zach Merrett Zach Merrett Darcy Parish
4 Darcy Parish Sam Draper Darcy Parish Dylan Shiel
3 Sam Draper Darcy Parish Sam Draper Zach Merrett
2 Jayden Laverde Clayton Oliver Jayden Laverde Jayden Laverde
1 Clayton Oliver Jayden Laverde Clayton Oliver Sam Draper

Port Adelaide vs Western Bulldogs

Despite having two of the best performers on the field, the Bulldogs struggled to tame Port Adelaide on their home deck in the wet, falling to the Power by 14 points thanks to a late onslaught from Zak Butters.

The in-and-under Power star was arguably Ken Hinkley's best on Saturday night, with key defender Aliir Aliir again proving to be a headache for opposing sides looking for an avenue to goal.

Recruit Jason Horne-Francis was stellar in the final quarter to help his side over the line.

Dogs captain Marcus Bontempelli and ruckman Tim English were standouts for the travelling side, but found little help from a majority of their teammates.

Mitch Keating Ed Carmine Dani Sorati Nick Splitter
5 Tim English Tim English Tim English Zak Butters
4 Marcus Bontempelli Aliir Aliir Zak Butters Marcus Bontempelli
3 Zak Butters Marcus Bontempelli Marcus Bontempelli Tim English
2 Aliir Aliir Zak Butters Aliir Aliir Connor Rozee
1 Jason Horne-Francis Cody Weightman Cody Weightman Jason Horne-Francis

Geelong vs West Coast

The Cats piled on the goals in the opening half to notch up their second win of the season before the main break.

Jeremy Cameron, Tom Hawkins and Brad Close booted four goals each in the 47-point victory, with West Coast counterparts Oscar Allen and Jake Waterman levelling their efforts.

All-Australian Mark Blicavs was among the Cats' best, booting two goals of his own, while captain Patrick Dangerfield again found some form to help his side secure their second win of the year.

Mitch Keating Ed Carmine Dani Sorati Nick Splitter
5 Mark Blicavs Tom Hawkins Tom Hawkins Mark Blicavs
4 Tom Hawkins Mark Blicavs Mark Blicavs Tom Hawkins
3 Patrick Dangerfield Jeremy Cameron Jeremy Cameron Patrick Dangerfield
2 Jeremy Cameron Patrick Dangerfield Patrick Dangerfield Jeremy Cameron
1 Oscar Allen Bradley Close Bradley Close Bradley Close

GWS Giants vs Hawthorn

A thriller at Norwood Oval saw Harry Himmelberg fly high to get his side over the line, with the versatile Giants' heroics earning him three votes in the two-point win.

Star forward Toby Greene, who booted three goals, fell one vote shy of a perfect game, with key defender Sam Taylor landing 17 votes of his own.

Tom Green was at his ball-winning best in the first half to record 20 possessions by the main break, before Hawk Conor Nash looked to put the clamps on the in-form GWS midfielder to have a day out himself.

Jai Newcombe impressed with his work rate in midfield to also feature among the vote-getters.

Mitch Keating Ed Carmine Dani Sorati Nick Splitter
5 Toby Greene Sam Taylor Toby Greene Toby Greene
4 Sam Taylor Toby Greene Tom Green Tom Green
3 Tom Green Tom Green Sam Taylor Sam Taylor
2 Conor Nash Jai Newcombe Harrison Himmelberg Conor Nash
1 Jai Newcombe Harrison Himmelberg Jai Newcombe Jai Newcombe

Collingwood vs St Kilda

The Magpie staved off a late run from the Saints to claim a six-point victory, with second-year sensation Nick Daicos recording a career-high 42 possessions.

His performance would land him 19 of a possible 20 votes, with St Kilda backman Callum Wilkie snatching the other five-vote nod.

Wilkie was supported by midfielder Brad Crouch in the narrow loss, with the ex-Adelaide ball magnet amassing 33 disposals and two goals to continue his strong season.

The Magpies had players poll across the board, with Tom Mitchell, Bobby Hill, and Darcy Moore all earning a handful of votes alongside Daicos.

Mitch Keating Ed Carmine Dani Sorati Nick Splitter
5 Nick Daicos Nick Daicos Nick Daicos Callum Wilkie
4 Callum Wilkie Callum Wilkie Callum Wilkie Nick Daicos
3 Brad Crouch Tom Mitchell Tom Mitchell Tom Mitchell
2 Darcy Moore Bobby Hill Bobby Hill Brad Crouch
1 Tom Mitchell Josh Battle Darcy Moore Bobby Hill

 

Leaderboard after Round 5: 

 

VIEW THE FULL 2023 MVP LEADERBOARD HERE