Eddie Betts has kicked off his finals campaign with a perfect 10 votes from the coaches.
For the first time, the best player of this year’s finals series will win the Gary Ayres Award after the AFL Coaches Association struck a new medal in the Hawthorn great's honour.
Ayres was the first player to win the Norm Smith Medal twice and played in five Hawthorn premierships in his 269-game career from 1978-1993 as a revered back pocket star. He also coached Adelaide from 2000 to 2004.
Competing coaches will vote in the same 5-4-3-2-1 format as the home and away season to determine the winner, which will be announced on the Monday following the Grand Final.
Adelaide swept the votes in its 62-point Elimination Final win over North Melbourne.
Betts, who topped the AFL in goalkicking on the weekend, kicked six goals. It surpassed the forward’s previous best finals effort of five goals in last year’s knockout clash with the Western Bulldogs.
Don Pyke and Brad Scott agreed rebounding defender Brodie Smith was the next-best player at Adelaide Oval on Saturday night, awarding him eight votes.
In his return from injury, Smith amassed a season and equal-game high 29 possessions, eight inside 50ms and two goals. The All-Australian also gained an incredible 927 metres – 200 more than the next-best player in the first week of finals.
Forwards Taylor Walker and Tom Lynch each received five votes.
Lynch kicked a finals personal-best four goals from 21 touches, while Walker finished with two goals to go with a game-high 11 marks, 20 possessions and five inside 50ms.
The equal-leading possession-getter on the ground, midfielder Matt Crouch earned one vote. Crouch amassed 29 touches and a goal against the Roos.
Defender Daniel Talia, who teamed up with Kyle Hartigan and Jake Lever to restrict North Melbourne’s tall trio of Drew Petrie, Ben Brown and Majak Daw to four goals-combined, also received one vote.
Betts was one of three players to earn maximum votes in the first week of finals. Rising Star runner-up Caleb Daniel and Greater Western Sydney forward Jeremy Cameron also received top votes.
The trio sits atop the leaderboard in the Gary Ayres Award after one week of finals.
Adelaide v North Melbourne
10 – Eddie Betts (Adel)
8 – Brodie Smith (Adel)
5 – Tom Lynch (Adel)
5 – Taylor Walker (Adel)
1 – Matt Crouch (Adel)
1 – Daniel Talia (Adel)
Finals Series Week One Leaderboard
10 – Eddie Betts (Adel)
10 – Jeremy Cameron (GWS)
10 – Caleb Daniel (WB)
8 – Joel Selwood (Geel)
8 – Brodie Smith (Adel)
7 – Stephen Coniglio (GWS)
7 – Lachie Whitfield (GWS)
6 – Luke Dalhaus (WB)
6 – Jordan Lewis (Haw)
