Bye sees Sharks pair slip in voting

SOUTHPORT midfielders Josh Clayton (pictured) and Andrew Boston have slipped to third and fourth respectively on the NEAFL Most Valuable Player Award leaderboard.

The pair, who put their feet up as the Sharks enjoyed a bye over the weekend, have collected 50 and 46 votes after 12 rounds to trail Canberra’s Mitch Maguire (58) and Aspley’s Matthew Payne (54).

Maguire (seven votes) and Payne (none votes) polled strongly in Canberra’s 33-point win over the Hornets on Saturday, while Gold Coast ruckman Brayden Crossley picked up eight votes in the Suns’ six-point loss to Sydney University.

The award is adjudged by a combination of umpire and coaches’ votes, which are submitted post-game on a 5-43-2-1 basis.

The winner will be announced on August 26.

Southport’s Mitch Johnson (31) is second to Redland’s Matt Hammelmann (38) on the NEAFL goalkicking leaderboard, with Sharks teammate Wade Hancock (20) seventh.

Southport play Northern Territory Thunder in Darwin on Saturday night.