Leigh Matthews Trophy: the respect or the disrespect of your peers?

[Simon_Nesbit]

Of course. They still vote though. Same with Hawthorn and Franklin, or Kangaroos and Harvey.

 

[BillBailey]

Since it was first awarded to Leigh Matthews in 1982, the MVP has been won by true champions of the competition. Versatility, ability to play under pressure, skill, leadership, courage, respect for all players, and overall value to a team, are all qualities found in the MVP

Do all players take all these qualities into consideration when voting for the most valuable player in the competition? Who the hell knows and who the hell cares? Name one AFL award that isn't flawed in some way or isn't subject to opinion or criticism? Hell, you could argue all day as to why Andrea Slattery was awarded the AFLPA Mother of the Year.

Stop your whinging.

 

[eddiesmith]

Of course all these theories are based on everyone at every team actually voting

It is possible that all clubs had a few players absent when they did the voting, the Kangaroos didnt appear to have 40 players in the room when they took footage of it

 

[Rockford]

It is a laugh reading all the people try to explain this away.


"Oh but maybe they voted according to who would be more valuable to their team if they were playing away against Fremantle on a wet track, did you think of that?"


"Exactly, Mr Lizard! You've hit the nail on the head there!"

It's a laugh seeing you lot try and develop some sort of conspiracy out of the votes the Cats players gave out. It eats you up that Buddy didn't win, didn't get votes from Cats players and that Ablett won it Can't wait to hear the excuses/conspiracy theories if the Cats beat your mob in the GF.

 

[mcglede]

Forgive me if I've missed the thread with the full results in it, but I'm yet to see a full list of the votes other than a top six.

Is there a full list of which players got votes out there at all?

 

[al ain pie]

No it doesn't.
But I do believe it does recognize the "Go to the biggest chokers in the competition and win them a Premiership". There was only one nominee because the Collingwobbles have had it stitched up for 70 years.

thanks for clearing that up for me, l shall now bow to the superior knowledge of the hawthorn poster, but that was not my question, is he still the only player de-registered for wanton on field behind the play violence. just shows that everybody deserves to be forgiven.

 

[Mr Lizard]

It appears that there are others who agree with Chewy

From today’s Age: http://www.realfooty.com.au/news/news/players-not-taking-mvp-seriously/2008/09/10/1220857638827.html

The AFLPA admits its most valuable player award might need some rejigging after irregularities emerged in this year's voting.

The breakdown of votes has thrown up new questions with not all players bothering to take part and voting patterns varying significantly from club to club.

With 42 players on a senior list, each club should hand out a maximum of 252 votes.

Most clubs logged around 200 votes or more, but Collingwood submitted just 118.

Less than half the Magpie players bothered to vote.

Essendon players awarded the only six votes won by Swan Jarrad McVeigh, brother of Bomber Mark.

The Lions allocated far more votes to Geelong's Selwood (24) than any other club, a fact that raised eyebrows as Selwood's brother is a Lion.

Bartlett said the results showed that players were not necessarily best placed to judge the league's best performers.

And he was not convinced that all players took the voting seriously….



Bartlett favoured compulsory voting and not limiting team nominations to just three players.

"If this is going to become the most important award, it will get more scrutiny," he said.

"People will look at who is voting for who and in what numbers."

The article does not mention that Geelong players submitted the same number of votes as Collingwood. Less than half the Geelong players bothered to vote. Was it because those players couldn’t be bothered, or was it because they couldn’t bring themselves to vote for their rivals?

Either way it shows scant respect for the MVP award. It makes the results rather meaningless.


Who cares if Joel Selwood finished sixth? Geelong players gave no votes to his worthy rivals and Troy Selwood’s mates at Brisbane gave him 24 votes. By not bothering to cast votes for their own award, or joking around and voting for their family and mates, the players have shown disrespect to their peers.

I think I’ll save my applause for when Gary Ablett wins the Lou Richards Medal. At least those boofheads at Channel 9 take their voting seriously.

 

[BK Eaglesfan]

Without quoting the above, thank goodness someone else has seen it, and it has even been recognised by the AFLPA themselves. The fact two ex players were having a chuckle on the night about Troy Selwood's voting should have been the first 'clue' the system is not quite right.

Gary Ablett is easily in the best 3 players of the league this year, and probably number one. I have no issue with ihm winning the award. Bottom line is if there a small percentage of people no taking it seriously, you would expect the people doing the right thing will outweigh them and the right winner will still be crowned. But Chewy's points from the OP are very valid.

How do you take seriously an award where:

Aside from Troy Selwood, other players at Brisbane feel Adam Selwood is in the best 3 players in the comp (he got 7 votes).

Collingwood get torched twice by Franklin, yet his total from that club was the lowest of any.

Petrie is apparently in the best 3 in the league, according to a couple of Bulldogs players.

Not everyone voted anyway, the absence of Geelong players (amongst others) when they would only have been voting against their teammate and favourite is ordinary. Ignore Franklin for a second, they don't even rate Harvey amongst the best 5 in the league (funny he was the other threat to Ablett).

McVeigh's 6 votes from Essendon.

I repeat, somehow in amongst all this, the right man won, but the whole 'nothing more prestigious than being recognised by your peers' thing doesn't wash at all when half the peers treat voting as an early end of season gag.

 

[Rockford]

It appears that there are others who agree with Chewy

Ah, no. Chewy is suggesting that the Cats players colluded to intentionally spread their votes around. Only other dimwit conspiracy theorists are agreeing with Chewy.

The article does not mention that Geelong players submitted the same number of votes as Collingwood. Less than half the Geelong players bothered to vote. Was it because those players couldn’t be bothered, or was it because they couldn’t bring themselves to vote for their rivals?

Either way it shows scant respect for the MVP award. It makes the results rather meaningless.

12 Hawks players didn't vote. Why? Because they couldn't bring themselves to vote for Ablett (or Harvey)? Sounds stupid, doesn't it?

How does it make the results meaningless? You mean had the other half of the Cats and Collingwood players voted then maybe Harvey would've finished 2nd ahead of Franklin?! You might be onto something here. Roos supporters should be outraged!

Who cares if Joel Selwood finished sixth? Geelong players gave no votes to his worthy rivals and Troy Selwood’s mates at Brisbane gave him 24 votes. By not bothering to cast votes for their own award, or joking around and voting for their family and mates, the players have shown disrespect to their peers.

Look, its clear that you're cut up about the AFLPA playing group (that did actively vote) rating Selwood above both Hodge and Mitchell but it is time to let it go. Don't dwell on the voting, or that Selwood was voted 3rd most courageous (ahead of Hodge) or that he has a Premiership medal, it will just upset you further.

 

[JUBJUB]

I wonder if the Hawk supporters would be having this much of a sooky-sooky-la-la if Franklin had won.

Get over it.The correct player won and you Hawk drongos know it
Who gives a crap who came 2nd or 22nd ?

 

[BK Eaglesfan]

I wonder if the Hawk supporters would be having this much of a sooky-sooky-la-la if Franklin had won.

Get over it.The correct player won and you Hawk drongos know it
Who gives a crap who came 2nd or 22nd ?

8 pages in and you still think it's about Ablett winning?

Not sure anyone disagrees Ablett was the right winner, but there are some serious flaws being shown up in how the voting is done that unfortunately hold this award back from being as meaningful as recognition from your peers should be.

 

[rose jam]

Just another popularity contest award in footy. Meaningless.

 

[Mr Lizard]

8 pages in and you still think it's about Ablett winning?

That's what these Geelong supporters don't seem to understand. They think it is about club allegiances (on behalf of people posting in this thread) and not about the anomalies apparent in the votes for this award.

Oh well, whatever floats their boat I guess.

 

[eddiesmith]

Maybe not all the players were around when the voting slips were handed out rather than some huge conspiracy

 

[H2F]

I wonder if the Hawk supporters would be having this much of a sooky-sooky-la-la if Franklin had won.

Get over it.The correct player won and you Hawk drongos know it
Who gives a crap who came 2nd or 22nd ?

Ah no. Franklin is by far the most valuable player.

Did Franklin win?

No. So the award is a failure.

 

[Bakes]

Heres the thing ?

Never mind who voted for who.

Why do some teams have way more votes than others ?

Dont all teams have the same amount of players ?

Geelongs total votes added up to 88

while Hawthorns added up to 193



Also if players are giving 3,2,1 votes how can there be an odd number total that isnt a factor of 6 ?





Collingwoods 118
How does that work ??

Do you think they only showed the top 5/6 players selected by each club Eintein?

 

[Mr Lizard]

Do you think they only showed the top 5/6 players selected by each club Eintein?

So why is Geelong's votes for the top five or 6 only half that of other clubs?

Eintein?


Do you think there is another 80-odd votes to players outside the top 5 or 6 as selected by Geelong? That would be truly odd.

Or do you think that about half of the Geelong players didn't vote, perhaps?

 

[Lunchlady Doris]

Who cares if Joel Selwood finished sixth?

No one.

 

[jonesy86]

39 Collingwood players voted

The 118 votes were the votes distributed amongst the top 5 place getters overall.

 

[MacMum]

Buddy Franklin would have to be the most valued player...seriously....because without him, Hawks really don't have much of a team..

Whereas...Team Geelong can win with or without Gary Ablett jnr.......such is the strength of their team..

 

[Rockford]

Ah no. Franklin is by far the most valuable player.

Did Franklin win?

No. So the award is a failure.

True, Franklin is a more valuable player to his team, given the wealth of talent the Cats have in their midfield they could cover Ablett if he was out. They'd still miss him though. If we're looking at it in that way, that the MVP is the player that would be most missed by their side then you'd have to say Cox should've won the MVP.

They need to rename the award to the Best Player award.

 

[wce4premiership]

I've said before this award is stupid. It means you were a top 5 player but really everyone votes for what they hear in the media, they don't watch every game and see individual performances. Pure media award really.

 

[Big Nasty]

Buddy Franklin would have to be the most valued player...seriously....because without him, Hawks really don't have much of a team..
Whereas...Team Geelong can win with or without Gary Ablett jnr.......such is the strength of their team..

And If Franklin was playing for Geelong that argument would go for him also.

All it says is Hawthorn aren't as strong through their list as the cats.

 

[catempire]

If it's true that a large number of players didn't vote at all, then that's a farce. If voting is not compulsory, the easiest way to favour your teammate is by note voting at all.

However, if you want to retain this as an award voted by the players, I'm not sure that there's any way of preventing, as an example, Geelong players from avoiding voting for Franklin.

What actually looks to have taken place though is that Geelong players simply didn't vote (not necessarily that they systematically voted for players other than Franklin) for whatever reason. That is a flaw in the system and is easily fixed by making voting compulsory.

 

[H2F]

True, Franklin is a more valuable player to his team, given the wealth of talent the Cats have in their midfield they could cover Ablett if he was out. They'd still miss him though. If we're looking at it in that way, that the MVP is the player that would be most missed by their side then you'd have to say Cox should've won the MVP.

They need to rename the award to the Best Player award.

Franklin is 21 is he not?

At 21 Ablett was playing about the same level as Rioli is now in his first year at Hawthorn. I love Ablett for all sorts of reasons and am happy for him to win all personal awards that comes his way, but.......

.........the most valuable player in the competition by far is Franklin.