St Kilda trio Jack Steele, Dan Butler and Zak Jones have been nominated by their teammates for the 2020 AFL Players’ Association Most Valuable Player Award.
For Steele, the recent nomination adds to his potential string of accolades by season’s end, which could include a maiden Trevor Barker Award after podium finishes in 2018 and 2019.
The 24-year-old currently sits fourth in the AFL Coaches’ Association votes (61) and leads his side for disposals (358), contested possessions (175), tackles (87), clearances (80) and inside-50s (55).
He’s been joined in the middle by Jones’ physicality and cleanliness at the coalface, while Butler – received from Richmond in exchange for pick No. 56 – has elevated the forward line to another level to top the club’s goalkicking (26).
Steele has also been nominated for the Most Courageous Player Award, while Ryan Byrnes and Jarryn Geary have gotten the nod for the Best First Year Player and Best Captain Awards respectively.
The nomination for the Most Valuable Player Award is a two-stage process. The first involves players nominating three teammates for the award, before the three nominees from every club are presented to the wider playing group for a vote to decide the winner.
Players cannot vote for their own teammates in stage two of the process.
The Most Valuable Player Award will be announced on Thursday 24 October, while the remainder of honours will be confirmed on Tuesday 22 October.
Young trio Nick Coffield, Hunter Clark and Max King were also selected in the AFL Players’ Association 22Under 22 squad, with the final fan-voted side to be revealed this Tuesday.
