St Kilda ruckman Billy Longer has been recognised by Alan Richardson and Simon Goodwin for his impressive performance against All-Australian ruckman Max Gawn in Sunday’s loss to Melbourne at the MCG.
Longer, 24, earned four votes from the coaches after he amassed 34 hitouts to Gawn’s 19, 15 disposals, 15 contested possessions, six clearances (four centre clearances) and three inside
After not playing a senior game in 2016, Longer has grasped the No. 1 ruck responsibility from Tom Hickey this season, playing 15 games where he has averaged 38.5 hitouts (No. 4 in the AFL), 9.4 disposals, 4.0 tackles and 2.6 clearances.
Melbourne co-captain Nathan Jones was awarded nine votes from Richardson and Goodwin for his 35-disposal effort, while Cameron Pederson received seven votes after he produced one of the best performances of his career on Sunday.
Demons forward James Harmes collected five votes for his three-goal performance, Clayton Oliver received four votes after finishing with 32 touches, while four-time premiership Hawk turned Melbourne midfielder Jordan Lewis also registered a vote.
With only two rounds left, reigning Brownlow medallist Patrick Dangerfield (99 votes) has clawed back some ground on AFLCA Champion Player of the Year leader Dustin Martin (104 votes) after he collected five votes in Geelong’s win over Richmond on Saturday.
Round 21 AFLCA Champion Player of the Year Votes
Melbourne v St Kilda
9 Nathan Jones
7 Cameron Pedersen
5 James Harmes
4 Billy Longer
4 Clayton Oliver
1 Jordan Lewis
