A FORWARD and midfield duo were among the votes in the AFLCA Champion Player of the Year award.

There were no surprises among those who did the damage on Sunday afternoon, when Carlton managed to hold on for victory after kicking out to a big early lead.

As voted on by the coaches, it was adjudged that Charlie Curnow was the standout player on the ground, accruing nine votes. 

Curnow’s five-goal performance was determined to be slightly more influential than that of Sam Walsh, whose 38 disposals - 16 of which came in the first half - received eight votes.

His midfield partner George Hewett (seven votes), playing arguably his best of a good bunch of Carlton games to start his Navy Blue career. He recorded a career-high tally with 13 clearances among his 32 disposals.

Rounding out the votes from a Carlton perspective was Harry McKay. The Coleman Medallist, who received two votes, kicked three first-half goals while his contested mark in the final 30 seconds ensured another close victory for his side.

After missing on the weekend, Patrick Cripps now finds himself in third place on the leaderboard with 25 votes, four behind leader Andrew Brayshaw and one behind Melbourne’s Christian Petracca.

Round 5 votes