Sydney Swans veteran Ted Richards capped off a memorable Saturday night at the SCG by picking up a ‘perfect 10’ votes from the coaches for his outstanding performance against West Coast. 

It was all Richards against the Eagles who not only impressed John Longmire and Adam Simpson but he also took home best on ground honours, a nomination for Mark of the Year and kicked a monster goal from outside 50 – his first in Australia since Round 17, 2010.

His night was even more heroic considering he played out the second half of the match with a fractured eye socket, which will sideline the Swans fullback for two to three weeks.

Richards wasn’t the only defender to excite with Dane Rampe (five votes) rewarded for his shutdown role on Jack Darling while midfielders Dan Hannebery (four votes), Josh Kennedy (three votes) and Luke Parker (two votes) continued their early season form.

It was also a dream night for livewire forward Tom Papley who picked up the Round 5 AFL Rising Star nomination as well as three votes from the coaches for his two goals from 20 possessions.  

Lance Franklin (one vote) and West Coast’s Jeremy McGovern (two votes) rounded out the AFL Coaches’ Association Champion Player of the Year votes for Round 5.

AFL Coaches Association Champion Player of the Year Award

Round 5 v West Coast
10 – Ted Richards
5 – Dane Rampe
4 – Dan Hannebery
3 – Josh Kennedy
3 – Tom Papley
2 – Jeremy McGovern
2 – Luke Parker
1 – Lance Franklin

Overall leaderboard – Top 10
34 – Tom Lynch (Gold Coast)
31 – Luke Parker (Sydney)
31 – Jack Viney (Melbourne)
30 – Todd Goldstein (North Melbourne)
27 – Patrick Dangerfield (Geelong)
26 – Sam Mitchell (Hawthorn)
23 – Jack Ziebell (North Melbourne)
21 – Robbie Gray (Port Adelaide)
20 – Aaron Hall (Gold Coast)
20 – Dan Hannebery (Sydney