Richmond champion Dustin Martin was rewarded following his dominant display against Greater Western Sydney at Marvel Stadium last Saturday night with the most votes for the match in the 2021 AFL Coaches’ Association’s Champion Player of the Year Round 9 voting.
Martin, who had 28 disposals, 15 contested possessions, six inside-50s, five clearances, 428 metres gained and kicked four goals in the Tigers’ thrilling four-point win, received nine votes from respective coaches Damien Hardwick (Richmond) and Leon Cameron (GWS).
He has now moved into 11th place, with 32 votes, in the prestigious coaches’ award that he won in 2017, which is 12 behind current leader, Brisbane’s Hugh McCluggage.
Valuable, versatile Tiger ‘small’ Liam Baker was given eight votes for the key midfield role he played across the four quarters.
Baker, thriving on his move into the midfield, finished with 33 disposals, 16 contested possessions, nine inside-50s, eight clearances, five intercepts, seven score involvements, six tackles and 529 metres gained.
Another midfielder, Jack Graham (23 disposals, eight score involvements, seven tackles), rounded out Richmond’s Round 9 vote-getters, polling one vote.
The full voting details for the Round 9 Richmond v Greater Western Sydney match are:
9 – Dustin Martin (Richmond)
8 – Liam Baker (Richmond)
7 – Jacob Hopper (GWS)
3 – Josh Kelly (GWS)
2 – Jesse Hogan (GWS)
1 – Jack Graham (Richmond)
