Round 22 saw a plethora of dominant games from the league's best, with six players earning a perfect 20 votes from our staff to bolster their hopes of claiming Zero Hanger's AFL MVP.
Lloyd Meek kicked off the weekend's action with a complete effort against the Pies, outduelling Darcy Cameron in the ruck with 32 hitouts. Meek also kicked three majors, two of which came in the Hawks' exhilarating seven-goal second quarter. That earned him a perfect 20 votes, followed by Jai Newcombe's 14 votes, receiving love for his 28-disposal, seven-clearance outing, which also included a goal.
The next perfect performance came on Saturday afternoon, with Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera a class above the rest in St Kilda's scrappy four-point win over Richmond. Wanganeen-Milera damaged the game with nearly every one of his 33 possessions, 26 being effective, kicking a goal as well. The performance moves him inside the top 10 of the leaderboard, sitting in ninth with 150 votes total for the season.
Isaac Heeney followed suit a few hours later, breaking open the Lions-Swans contest in dramatic fashion with four first-half goals. He'd finish with five goals and 23 disposals, tallying the full 20 votes and praise from Brisbane senior coach Chris Fagan. The perfect effort pushes Heeney to 144 votes this season and the brink of the top 10, just five votes behind Giant Tom Green.
There was one last dominant effort that was rewarded with a perfect 20 votes on Saturday: Caleb Serong's 28-disposal, seven-clearance and one goal performance against Port Adelaide. Serong was instrumental in Fremantle's late fightback, putting the Dockers on his back to surge toward a top-four spot, with seven of those 28 disposals coming in the thrilling fourth quarter.
Ed Richards (20 votes) was clinical on Sunday afternoon as the Bulldogs kept their finals hopes alive with a scintillating six-point win over the Melbourne Demons. Richards kicked two massive final quarter goals to provide the Bulldogs some much-needed breathing room, but that has meant his dominance in the middle of the ground, where he recorded 14 clearances and 17 contested possessions, has become overlooked.
Jordan Dawson (20 votes) has climbed into third after polling strongly against the Eagles, thanks to defensive intensity that saw him lay 14 tackles to go along with 26 disposals and a goal.
Other notable performances from this weekend's action include Bailey Smith's 31-disposal, nine-clearance effort at GMHBA Stadium, seeing him tally 19 votes and remain inside the leaderboard's top five.
Matthew Rowell has also closed the gap on votes-leader Nick Daicos, after notching 17 votes against the Blues for his 30 disposals, eight tackles and nine clearances. Daicos failed to receive a vote against Hawthorn, meaning just nine votes now separate the pair.
Hawthorn vs Collingwood
| Mitch Keating | Aidan Cellini | Hayden Farquhar | Nick Splitter | |
| 5 | Lloyd Meek | Lloyd Meek | Lloyd Meek | Lloyd Meek |
| 4 | Jai Newcombe | Jarman Impey | Jai Newcombe | Jai Newcombe |
| 3 | Jarman Impey | Jack Gunston | Jack Gunston | Jarman Impey |
| 2 | Jack Gunston | Jai Newcombe | Mabior Chol | Scott Pendlebury |
| 1 | Dylan Moore | Josh Ward | Josh Ward | Nick Watson |
Geelong vs Essendon
| Mitch Keating | Aidan Cellini | Hayden Farquhar | Nick Splitter | |
| 5 | Bailey Smith | Bailey Smith | Jeremy Cameron | Bailey Smith |
| 4 | Jeremy Cameron | Jeremy Cameron | Bailey Smith | Jeremy Cameron |
| 3 | Liam McMahon | Zach Merrett | Liam McMahon | Zach Merrett |
| 2 | Shaun Mannagh | Shaun Mannagh | Zach Merrett | Shaun Mannagh |
| 1 | Zach Merrett | Liam McMahon | Archie Roberts | Max Holmes |
Richmond vs St Kilda
| Mitch Keating | Aidan Cellini | Hayden Farquhar | Nick Splitter | |
| 5 | Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera | Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera | Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera | Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera |
| 4 | Callum Wilkie | Jack Sinclair | Callum Wilkie | Jack Sinclair |
| 3 | Jack Sinclair | Callum Wilkie | Marcus Windhager | Callum Wilkie |
| 2 | Marcus Windhager | Marcus Windhager | Jack Steele | Rhyan Mansell |
| 1 | Hugo Garcia | Jack Ross | Jack Sinclair | Jack Steele |
Brisbane vs Sydney
| Mitch Keating | Aidan Cellini | Hayden Farquhar | Nick Splitter | |
| 5 | Isaac Heeney | Isaac Heeney | Isaac Heeney | Isaac Heeney |
| 4 | Chad Warner | Chad Warner | Chad Warner | Josh Dunkley |
| 3 | Darcy Wilmot | Darcy Wilmot | Levi Ashcroft | Hugh McCluggage |
| 2 | Angus Sheldrick | Levi Ashcroft | Hugh McCluggage | Chad Warner |
| 1 | Levi Ashcroft | Angus Sheldrick | Angus Sheldrick | Angus Sheldrick |
Carlton vs Gold Coast
| Mitch Keating | Aidan Cellini | Hayden Farquhar | Nick Splitter | |
| 5 | Ben King | Ben King | Matthew Rowell | Ben King |
| 4 | Matthew Rowell | Matthew Rowell | Cooper Lord | Matthew Rowell |
| 3 | Cooper Lord | Touk Miller | Touk Miller | Cooper Lord |
| 2 | Touk Miller | Francis Evans | John Noble | Francis Evans |
| 1 | Francis Evans | Touk Miller | Oliver Hollands | Jarrod Witts |
Port Adelaide vs Fremantle
| Mitch Keating | Aidan Cellini | Hayden Farquhar | Nick Splitter | |
| 5 | Caleb Serong | Caleb Serong | Caleb Serong | Caleb Serong |
| 4 | Aliir Aliir | Zak Butters | Patrick Voss | Zak Butters |
| 3 | Zak Butters | Aliir Aliir | Zak Butters | Aliir Aliir |
| 2 | Patrick Voss | Patrick Voss | Jaeger O'Meara | Connor Rozee |
| 1 | Neil Erasmus | Shai Bolton | Connor Rozee | Andrew Brayshaw |
GWS vs North Melbourne
| Mitch Keating | Aidan Cellini | Hayden Farquhar | Nick Splitter | |
| 5 | Toby Greene | Toby Greene | Finn Callaghan | Finn Callaghan |
| 4 | Finn Callaghan | Finn Callaghan | Jake Stringer | Toby Greene |
| 3 | Aaron Cadman | Callum M Brown | Tom Green | Callum M Brown |
| 2 | Tom Green | Aaron Cadman | Luke Parker | Harrison Himmelberg |
| 1 | Callum M Brown | Tom Green | Harry Sheezel | Aaron Cadman |
Melbourne vs Western Bulldogs
| Mitch Keating | Aidan Cellini | Hayden Farquhar | Nick Splitter | |
| 5 | Ed Richards | Ed Richards | Ed Richards | Ed Richards |
| 4 | Aaron Naughton | Aaron Naughton | Aaron Naughton | Aaron Naughton |
| 3 | Max Gawn | Max Gawn | Max Gawn | Max Gawn |
| 2 | Marcus Bontempelli | Marcus Bontempelli | Marcus Bontempelli | Tom Liberatore |
| 1 | Tom Liberatore | Tom Liberatore | Matthew Kennedy | Marcus Bontempelli |
West Coast vs Adelaide
| Mitch Keating | Aidan Cellini | Hayden Farquhar | Nick Splitter | |
| 5 | Jordan Dawson | Jordan Dawson | Jordan Dawson | Jordan Dawson |
| 4 | Tim Kelly | Tim Kelly | Tim Kelly | Izak Rankine |
| 3 | Izak Rankine | Reilly O'Brien | Tom McCarthy | Tom McCarthy |
| 2 | Riley Thilthorpe | Riley Thilthorpe | Riley Thilthorpe | Riley Thilthorpe |
| 1 | Tom McCarthy | Izak Rankine | Rory Laird | Tim Kelly |
LEADERBOARD
| RANK | PLAYER | LAST ROUND | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nick Daicos |
0 | 206 |
| 2 | Matthew Rowell |
17 | 197 |
| 3 | Jordan Dawson |
20 | 193 |
| 4 | Andrew Brayshaw |
1 | 183 |
| 5 | Bailey Smith |
19 | 179 |
| 6 | Caleb Serong |
20 | 171 |
| 7 | Jeremy Cameron |
17 | 162 |
| 8 | Max Holmes |
1 | 157 |
| 9 | Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera |
20 | 150 |
| 10 | Tom Green |
6 | 149 |
To view the full leaderboard, click here.
