Sydney Swans stars Josh Kennedy, Kieren Jack and Ted Richards are in the running to be the AFL Players' Association’s Most Valuable Player after receiving nominations for the prestigious award today.
The trio - who along with Lewis Jetta were yesterday named in the 40-man All Australian squad - have been nominated for the only AFL award determined by the players themselves, and will be vying to become the first Swan to be named the MVP since Gerard Healy in 1988.
The winner receives the Leigh Matthews Trophy which rewards the player who best embodies versatility, skill, leadership, respect for teammates and the opposition, and the ability to play under pressure.
As in previous years, the MVP voting process begins with each team voting for those three players which provide the best overall value to their own team.
Then, in the second round of voting, all AFL players choose from the list of 51 nominees to determine who will be the MVP (they cannot vote for players from their own team in second round).
Swans veteran Jude Bolton has again received the nod as the Swans player in contention for the Robert Rose Most Courageous Player award. The Swans have a long history in this category, with former Swans captains Paul Kelly (1994-1997, 2000) and Brett Kirk (2006) both previous winners of the award.
Co-captains Adam Goodes and Jarrad McVeigh are automatic nominations for the Best Captain Award, while first-year Swan Harry Cunningham is in the running for the Best First Year Player Award.
The 2012 AFL Players’ Association MVP Award Winners will be announced on Tuesday September 11 at Peninsula, Shed 14 Central Pier, Docklands and will be broadcast on Fox Footy at 9.30pm.
The full list of nominees are:
Most Valuable Player Award - Leigh Matthews Trophy
Patrick Dangerfield (Adelaide)
Sam Jacobs (Adelaide)
Scott Thompson (Adelaide)
Jed Adcock (Brisbane)
Joel Patfull (Brisbane)
Jack Redden (Brisbane)
Andrew Carrazzo (Carlton)
Chris Judd (Carlton)
Eddie Betts (Carlton)
Dayne Beams (Collingwood)
Scott Pendlebury (Collingwood)
Dane Swan (Collingwood)
Dustin Fletcher (Essendon)
Brent Stanton (Essendon)
Jobe Watson (Essendon)
Matthew Pavlich (Fremantle)
Luke McPharlin (Fremantle)
Michael Johnson (Fremantle)
Tom Hawkins (Geelong)
James Kelly (Geelong)
Joel Selwood (Geelong)
Gary Ablett (Gold Coast)
Harley Bennell (Gold Coast)
Matthew Warnock (Gold Coast)
Jeremy Cameron (Greater Western Sydney)
Toby Greene (Greater Western Sydney)
Callan Ward (Greater Western Sydney)
Sam Mitchell (Hawthorn)
Cyril Rioli (Hawthorn)
Brad Sewell (Hawthorn)
Mitch Clark (Melbourne)
Jack Grimes (Melbourne)
Nathan Jones (Melbourne)
Drew Petrie (North Melbourne)
Andrew Swallow (North Melbourne)
Daniel Wells (North Melbourne)
Matthew Broadbent (Port Adelaide)
Brad Ebert (Port Adelaide)
Jay Schulz (Port Adelaide)
Trent Cotchin (Richmond)
Brett Deledio (Richmond)
Ivan Maric (Richmond)
Sean Dempster (St Kilda)
Lenny Hayes (St Kilda)
Nick Riewoldt (St Kilda)
Kieren Jack (Sydney)
Josh Kennedy (Sydney)
Ted Richards (Sydney)
Dean Cox (West Coast)
Darren Glass (West Coast)
Scott Selwood (West Coast)
Matthew Boyd (Western Bulldogs)
Ryan Griffen (Western Bulldogs)
Robert Murphy (Western Bulldogs)
Most Courageous Award
Patrick Dangerfield (Adelaide)
Jonathan Brown (Brisbane)
Kade Simpson (Carlton)
Jarryd Blair (Collingwood)
Ben Howlett (Essendon)
Matt de Boer (Fremantle)
Joel Selwood (Geelong)
Campbell Brown (Gold Coast)
Jacob Townsend (Greater Western Sydney)
Ben Stratton (Hawthorn)
Jordan McKenzie (Melbourne)
Leigh Adams (North Melbourne)
Tom Logan (Port Adelaide)
Steven Morris (Richmond)
Lenny Hayes (St Kilda)
Jude Bolton (Sydney)
Beau Waters (West Coast)
Daniel Cross (Western Bulldogs)
Best First Year Player Award
Josh Jenkins (Adelaide)
Dayne Zorko (Brisbane)
Tom Bell (Carlton)
Jamie Elliot (Collingwood)
Mark Baguley (Essendon)
Lachie Neale (Fremantle)
Jackson Sheringham (Geelong)
Kyal Horsley (Gold Coast)
Jeremy Cameron (Greater Western Sydney)
Bradley Hill (Hawthorn)
James Magner (Melbourne)
Sam Gibson (North Melbourne)
Chad Wingard (Port Adelaide)
Steven Morris (Richmond)
Ahmed Saad (St Kilda)
Harry Cunningham (Sydney)
Murray Newman (West Coast)
Clay Smith (Western Bulldogs)
Best Captain Award
Nathan Van Berlo (Adelaide)
Jonathon Brown (Brisbane)
Chris Judd (Carlton)
Nick Maxwell (Collingwood)
Jobe Watson (Essendon)
Matthew Pavlich (Fremantle)
Joel Selwood (Geelong)
Gary Ablett (Gold Coast)
Luke Power (Greater Western Sydney)
Callan Ward (Greater Western Sydney)
Phil Davis (Greater Western Sydney)
Luke Hodge (Hawthorn)
Jack Grimes (Melbourne)
Jack Trengove (Melbourne)
Andrew Swallow (North Melbourne)
Dominic Cassisi (Port Adelaide)
Chris Newman (Richmond)
Nick Riewoldt (St Kilda)
Adam Goodes (Sydney)
Jarrad McVeigh (Sydney)
Darren Glass (West Coast)
Matthew Boyd (Western Bulldogs)
