PORT ADELAIDE midfielder Travis Boak has jumped into a podium position in the Gary Ayres Award for the best finals player after the first week of the finals.
With a similar voting system to the AFL Coaches’ Association’s Champion Player of the Year Award, the Gary Ayres Award is awarded by the AFLCA and voted on by the coaches after every game of the AFL Finals series.
Each coach provides votes to five players (5,4,3,2 and 1 vote).
The award is named in honour of Gary Ayres, who won five premierships with Hawthorn (1983, 1986, 1988, 1989, and 1991) and was twice named Norm Smith Medallist, adjudged best on ground in the Grand Finals in 1986 and 1988.
Boak was at his industrious best in the Qualifying Final win over Geelong, winning 32 disposals and recording 588 metres gained.
He also had seven tackles and seven clearances on a night where they were at a premium for the side from Alberton.
Boak got nine votes from the coaches, while his teammates dominated the rest of the votes with only Jack Henry (two votes) polling for the Cats.
Ollie Wines (seven votes) and Aliir Aliir (six votes) were not far behind Boak as Port Adelaide’s best in the 43-point win, while captain Tom Jonas and Orazio Fantasia (three votes each) were key contributors at either end of the ground.
Sydney’s Isaac Heeney and Melbourne’s Clayton Oliver each polled the perfect 10 votes from the coaches in their respective finals.
With Heeney’s side out of premiership contention, he would do well to hang on to a share of the outright lead.
AFL Second Qualifying Final
Port Adelaide v Geelong
9 votes – Travis Boak (Port Adelaide)
7 votes – Ollie Wines (Port Adelaide)
6 votes – Aliir Aliir (Port Adelaide)
3 votes – Tom Jonas, Orazio Fantasia (Port Adelaide)
2 votes – Jack Henry (Geelong)
Gary Ayres Medal Leader board
10 votes – Isaac Heeney (Sydney), Clayton Oliver (Melbourne)
9 votes – Travis Boak (Port Adelaide)
7 votes – Tom Liberatore (Western Bulldogs), Christian Petracca (Melbourne), Ollie Wines (Port Adelaide)
6 votes – Aliir Aliir (Port Adelaide), Josh Kelly (GWS), Jack Macrae (Western Bulldogs), Luke Parker (Sydney)
5 votes – Marcus Bontempelli (Western Bulldogs), Cody Weightman (Western Bulldogs)
