We've reached the midway point of the 2023 AFL season, which means it's time to dish out awards for the best-performing players to date.
The opening half of the year has offered plenty of thrills and spills, with each club forging an identity as we begin to work through the final stretch of this season's premiership race.
Individuals have stuck their necks out in contention for particular awards, and here we detail who may be leading the honours as we turn to the second half of the season.
Without further ado, we name our Brownlow Medal winner, Rising Star winner, Most Improved Player, Recruit of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, and Coach of the Year from the first half of the 2023 season.
Most Improved Player
Essendon's Nic Martin burst onto the AFL scene at the commencement of last season after he was snapped up by the Bombers as a pre-season supplemental signing, however, the secondary leap he has made in his sophomore season this year has been a sight to behold.
Martin has flourished in Brad Scott's system, adapting with ease to a rewarding wing role in an Essendon side evidently pushing for a 2023 finals berth. Martin's match influence has been extensive enough that Champion Data has taken fond notice, rating the second-year gem as the ninth-best player in the AFL this year based on their unique algorithm, with the company's guru, Daniel Hoyne, recently claiming: โ[Martin's] having one of the best seasons we've seen by a wingman for years.โ
While Martin's brilliance has been indubitable, Geelong's Gryan Miers, Port Adelaide's Zak Butters, and Hawthorn's Conor Nash should all at least be included in this conversation as honourable mentions.
Miers has been nothing short of an inside 50 specialist for the Cats in 2023, exploiting his diminutive stature and unorthodox ball drop to fool opposition defenders and find a Geelong forward's chest with most of his kicks.
Butters, meanwhile, has experienced a similar career arc in 2023 to that of teammate Connor Rozee last year, in that the goal-sneak-turned-midfielder has undergone a significant positional change and made the very most of it, morphing into one of Ken Hinkley's most impactful contributors.
At Hawthorn, Irishman Conor Nash has provided a unique element to Sam Mitchell's midfield mix. Nash's fearsome combination of height and size complements the profiles of engine room teammates Jai Newcombe, James Worpel and Cameron Mackenzie, while his tagging capabilities have added to his overall versatility.
