2007 John Nicholls Medallist Andrew Carrazzo and Kade Simpson, who was Carlton’s acting captain for six games during the season, have been nominated for the AFL Players’ Association Most Valuable Player for 2007.
In all 32 players have been nominated for the Award in recognition of their outstanding performances this season. The nominated players, two from each club, have been nominated by their team mates as worthy to be considered to receive the Leigh Matthews Trophy for Most Valuable Player.
The last Carlton player to win the Leigh Matthews Trophy for the AFLPA MVP was Anthony Koutoufides in 2000. The other Carlton winner of this prestigious award, introduced in 1982, was Greg Williams in 1994. Greg also won the award in 1985 while playing with Geelong and other multiple winners are: Wayne Carey (1995 & 1998) and Michael Voss (2002 & 2003). Last year’s winner was Chris Judd.
Kade Simpson has also been nominated for the Most Courageous Award, while Bryce Gibbs has been nominated for the Best First Year Player Award.
The AFL Players’ Association Most Valuable Player awards remain the only AFL playing awards determined by AFL footballers. This year, 600 AFL players nominated and selected those amongst their peers worthy of special recognition across a number of categories including:
• The Leigh Matthews Trophy for Most Valuable Player
• Best Captain
• Robert Rose award for Most Courageous Player
• Best First Year Player
Introduced in 1982, the AFL players decided to name the AFLPA Most Valuable Player Trophy after the player they considered the most valuable of all time, playing and coaching great Leigh Matthews. It is awarded to the player acknowledged by AFL players to have displayed leadership, versatility, ability to play under pressure, skill and courage, respect for all players and overall value to a team.
How the Voting Works
Towards the end of each season players are supplied with nomination forms through their club delegates. Each player must nominate the players from their own club they believe are the Best First Year, Most Courageous and Most Valuable Player. These votes are then collated and the players with the most number of votes become the club’s nominee in the overall awards.
After round 21, all players are sent the final voting form which comprises 16 nominees for Best First Year, Most Courageous and Best Captain and 32 nominations fro Most Valuable Player (2 per club). Players cannot vote for their team mates at this stage of voting – these names are removed from each club’s voting forms.
Players most vote for one player in each category. The votes are then returned to the AFLPA and counted. The player with the most votes in each category is then declared the winner.
The winners will be announced at the 2007 AFLPA Most Valuable Player Awards Dinner on Grand Final Eve, Friday September 28th and will be broadcast live and exclusive on Fox Sports.
