Marcus Bontempelli status as the game’s best player has been further enhanced after claiming a second Leigh Matthews Trophy as the AFL Players’ Association’s Most Valuable Player for 2023.

The Bulldogs skipper claimed the award ahead of Collingwood jet Nick Daicos and Port Adelaide youngster Zak Butters, with Toby Greene and Christian Petracca rounding out the top five.

Bontempelli now sits among some of the competition’s greats, joining Greg Williams, Wayne Carey, Michael Voss, Chris Judd, Gary Ablett and Nathan Fyfe as a multiple winner of the coveted trophy.

The MVP Award is voted on by the players themselves and is held in extremely high esteem as an individual award each year. 

The 27-year-old completed a rare double on the night, also claiming the Best Captain award in similar circumstances to his incredible 2021 season, sitting alongside inspirational Brisbane Lion as the only player to record the feat.

Bontempelli’s elite season centered around taking his inside game to a new level, averaging 28 touches, eight tackles and eight clearances per game.

The superstar also chipped in with 19 goals across 23 games. 

Bontempelli said he was humbled to be recognised by his peers.

"You don't set yourself at the start of the year for these sort of things," he said.

"It recognises the importance of the hard work you put in, it is a proud achievement to be in the position I'm in.

"It's nice to know that people appreciate your game from the outside."

Best Captain

1 – Marcus Bontempelli
2 – Toby Greene
3 – Darcy Moore
4 – Jordan Dawson
5 – Patrick Cripps

Leigh Matthews Trophy (MVP)

1 – Marcus Bontempelli
2 – Nick Daicos
3 – Zak Butters
4 – Toby Greene
5 – Christian Petracca

MVP Voting Process

MVP voting is a two-stage process, beginning with each player voting for the three team-mates they consider to have been the most valuable this season. Each club’s votes are then tallied to form a nomination list comprising 54 players across the 18 teams.

In the second round of voting, all players vote for their MVP on a 3, 2, 1 basis from the nominees of the 17 other clubs. The votes are tallied and the player with the highest score wins the honour of MVP. Players cannot vote for their own teammates in stage two of the process.

A similar process is followed for Best First Year Player and Most Courageous Player, but every captain is automatically nominated for the Best Captain Award.