DYNAMIC duo Tim Taranto and Zak Butters are in seventh heaven.
Over the last seven matches, the Richmond and Port Adelaide guns have emerged as two of the competition's most dominant players and have also established themselves as the League's premier Brownlow Medal contenders.
BROWNLOW HUB Check out everything here
According to AFL.com.au's Brownlow Predictor, Taranto and Butters are each tipped to grab 17 of a possible 21 votes across the last seven games – being ranked among the top two players on the ground in each match – to surge clear at the top.
Taranto was tipped to poll five votes in the season's first seven weeks before his burst, seeing him take the outright lead in the Brownlow Predictor on 22 votes. Butters, predicted to notch three votes before his recent form spell, is behind him on 20 votes.
Together, the pair have overtaken Collingwood young gun Nick Daicos on a predicted 19 votes. It comes after the Magpies father-son jet had been tipped to collect 14 votes from his first six matches, taking an early lead in the process.
Adelaide captain Jordan Dawson and Melbourne spearhead Christian Petracca are both among the chasing pack on 18 predicted votes each, while Brisbane skipper Lachie Neale and St Kilda jet Jack Sinclair are each tipped to be on 16 votes.
Taranto has inspired Richmond's recent turnaround in form under interim coach Andrew McQualter to average 33.3 disposals, 14.6 contested possessions, 7.7 clearances and seven tackles – as well as kicking 11 goals – from his last seven games.
Butters has also been at the heart of Port Adelaide's 11-match winning run and has averaged 30.4 disposals, 12.6 contested possessions, 5.9 clearances and nine score involvements across his last seven appearances.
However, according to Champion Data, Butters is clear of Taranto for AFL Player Ratings Points (20 to 14.7) over the last seven games and in terms of average ranking points (124.9 to 121.4) across the same period.
LAST SEVEN WEEKS:
|
TIM TARANTO |
ZAK BUTTERS |
DISPOSALS |
33.3 |
30.4 |
GOALS |
11 |
6 |
TACKLES |
7 |
3.7 |
CLEARANCES |
7.7 |
5.9 |
CONTESTED POSS. |
14.6 |
12.6 |
SCORE INVOLVEMENTS |
6 |
9 |
INSIDE 50s |
3.4 |
5.7 |
INTERCEPTS |
2.4 |
4.3 |
METRES GAINED |
386.4m |
518.4m |
AFL PLAYER RATING PTS |
14.7 |
20 |
RANKING PTS |
121.4 |
124.9 |
BROWNLOW PREDICTOR |
17/21 |
17/21 |
AFL.COM.AU BROWNLOW PREDICTOR
22 Tim Taranto (Richmond)
20 Zak Butters (Port Adelaide)
19 Nick Daicos (Collingwood)
18 Jordan Dawson (Adelaide)
18 Christian Petracca (Melbourne)
16 Lachie Neale (Brisbane)
16 Jack Sinclair (St Kilda)
15 Zach Merrett (Essendon)
SPORTSBET BROWNLOW ODDS
$3.25 Nick Daicos (Collingwood)
$4 Zak Butters (Port Adelaide)
$6 Christian Petracca (Melbourne)
$7 Marcus Bontempelli (Western Bulldogs)
$7 Tim Taranto (Richmond)
$12 Jordan Dawson (Adelaide)
$15 Clayton Oliver (Melbourne)
$15 Lachie Neale (Brisbane)