The Leigh Matthews Trophy, proudly presented by Be the Influence, remains the only peer-voted award in the AFL industry and recognises qualities such as versatility, ability to perform under pressure, leadership and courage.
Griffen has been one of the Bulldogs’ shining lights this season, using his pace to full advantage through the midfield.
Tom Liberatore is one of the most exciting young midfielders in the competition. His work at the stoppages has been elite and he has the potential to be a future leader at the Bulldogs.
Minson remained loyal to the club that drafted him and he has been vital for the Bulldogs in the ruck, on many occasions rucking alone and is one of the leading tap ruckman in the competition.
Also in contention for individual recognition is Brett Goodes who has been nominated for Best First Year Player, presented by Be The Influence and Daniel Cross is in the running for the Robert Rose ‘Most Courageous Player’ Award, presented by Fire Ready Victoria.
Matt Boyd will compete with the other skippers across the competition for Best Captain, presented by L’Oreal Men Expert and is in the running for the Education and Training Excellence Award, presented by La Trobe Sport.
Goodes came to the Bulldogs as a mature-age recruit and has impressed with his composure and kicking skills.
The MVP voting is a two-stage process; beginning with each player voting for the three teammates he considers to have been the most valuable this season.
Each club’ votes are then tallied to form a nomination list comprising 54 players across the 18 teams.
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).
The 2013 Be The Influence AFL Players’ MVP Award Winners will be announced on Tuesday September,10 at the Peninsula, Docklands.
Coverage of the night will be live on Fox Footy from 9.30PM.
