Jon Anderson thinks AFLPA MVP could be turned into a more relevant recognition of AFL season

AFTER Gary Ablett won his fifth AFLPA MVP by more than 1000 votes on Tuesday night, Jon Anderson asks: does the award need upgrading?

NO sane person would argue the merit of Gary Ablett's fifth AFLPA MVP title on Tuesday night but there is an ever-growing query regarding the relevance of the award.

That Ablett with 1479 votes could be 1004 ahead of second-placed Joel Selwood makes a mockery of the award, one that was invented in good faith by the Players' Association but one that has sadly become a popularity contest as distinct from an accurate assessment of the season.

As such it rates well below the AFLCA Player of the Year, one where each match-day coach votes 5-4-3-2-1 and won this year by Scott Pendlebury with 96 votes, one ahead of Ablett with Joel Selwood a vote further back in third spot.

What do you think is the game's highest individual honour? Vote at the bottom of this story.

Yet the Coaches' award receives very little recognition when it just might be the most accurate assessment of players outside club best and fairests.

Take last season as an example, where Fremantle tagger Ryan Crowley won his club B&F, while key forward Tom Hawkins did the same at Geelong. Clearly highly valued by their teams for the roles they play and recognised as such by coaches in their award.

Scott Pendlebury

And voted on by persons closely watching every minute of every game, as distinct by players who play against each other once or twice a year and presumably don't sit glued to the television for every other match.

Then there is the Brownlow medal, a romantic award that rose to prominence 40-odd years ago when Channel Seven began to televise it. The Brownlow is always won by a good player, often a great one, but it is far from an exact science.

So how can the AFLPA MVP be upgraded and turned into a more relevant recognition of the season?

For a start, get the players to actually vote after each match, rather than quickly writing a name down at the end of the season.

Even do that on a 3-2-1 basis, by averaging out the votes, so it could go head to head with the Brownlow.

Not on the same night obviously, but surely that's more interesting by way of comparison. And a far more exciting concept rather than the boredom of announcing a winner by 1000 votes.