Source : the age
The Collingwood champ has opened up a six-game buffer after 16 rounds and his win now seems inevitable.
Believe it or not, Zak Butters polled a vote in the game that landed him in trouble for having words with central umpire Nick Foot.
It seems like a lifetime ago, but the news cycle went into overdrive when it was revealed that Butters would front the AFL tribunal for an on-field exchange he had with Foot.
Butters was originally fined $1500 for alleged abusive or insulting language in the round five clash between Port Adelaide and St Kilda. The fine and the charge were later dropped on appeal.
None of it has affected Butters ability to score votes throughout the year.
If he didn’t suffer a nasty ankle injury in the middle of the season, Zak Butters could be seriously pushing Nick Daicos for the win tonight.
The Port Adelaide superstar — who is aiming to move to the Western Bulldogs during the trade period — is polling well and is currently high on the leaderboard.
But the 26-year-old suffered a high-grade syndesmosis injury in July and missed the rest of the season.
But cameras tonight seem more focused on Butters’ date — his long-time friend Andrew Azzopardi.
Nick Daicos holds the lead but, gee, this count is a lot tighter than many (most?) expected.
The Collingwood champ has a number of players in hot pursuit, and is not home yet. We expected Marcus Bontempelli and Bailey Smith to poll well, but Zak Butters has been the surprise packet. It’s just a shame for him that he’ll drop out of contention soon because of a late-season injury.
Daicos has polled in 11 of the 15 games he has played, including six three-voters, while Bontempelli has polled in 10 of 16 games, including five best-ons.
The top five after 15 rounds: Nick Daicos 26, Bailey Smith 23, Marcus Bontemeplli 23, Zak Butters 22 and Isaac Heeney 20.
If there’s a surprise high-polling player tonight, it’s Clayton Oliver.
Zak Butters is ahead of his projected tally, but we shouldn’t be that surprised there.
The umpires often reward the inside midfielders – as Matt Rowell underscored last year and various surprise others have shown in past Brownlow counts.
Isaac Heeney is making an impression in more ways than one during this Brownlow count.
After a slow start, he has jumped up the leaderboard with 17 votes, but equally intriguing has been his absence from the big screen.
We all know Heeney was told not to turn up to the count, following his club ban over the Pullman saga, but he has not featured as yet in the round-by-round highlights. We suspect this might be deliberate.
The top six after 13 rounds: Nick Daicos 23, Marcus Bontempelli 20, Zak Butters 20, Bailey Smith 20, Clayton Oliver 18 and Isaac Heeney 17.
Zak Butters (17 votes) and Marcus Bontempelli (18) in the same midfield next year, assuming the free agency move or trade is consummated, is seriously mouth-watering.
That’s not to ignore Ed Richards, either.
The Dogs will be ballistic in that part of the ground.
Phew. Nick Daicos is back in front, and balance is restored to the universe!
But we are having an entertaining count. Departing Port Adelaide star Zak Butters temporarily grabbed the lead by one vote, before Daicos landed a maximum return for his round 11 efforts against West Coast Eagles, sending him back to the top.
Sadly, Butters cops a bad injury before the end of the season, so he will drop out of contention.
The top five after 11 rounds: Nick Daicos 19 votes, Marcus Bontempelli 18, Zak Butters 17, Bailey Smith 16 and Clayton Oliver 16.
Expected new Bulldog Zak Butters has turned the Brownlow count into a three-way lead. The departing Port Adelaide star has joined Nick Daicos and Marcus Bontempelli on 16 votes after 10 rounds.
