Fremantle star Nat Fyfe has rocketed ahead of dual Brownlow medallist Gary Ablett as the best player in the game, according to the fans.
Fyfe, this year's Brownlow Medal favourite, was voted the AFL's best player by a majority of supporters (55.7 per cent) in an extensive survey conducted for AFL.com.au and the AFL Record.
Fans haven't forgotten Ablett, who has played just two games this season, with 19.31 per cent still viewing him as the game's best, ahead of Pie Scott Pendlebury and Cat Joel Selwood.
Ablett's handover to Fyfe has happened rapidly, with just 3.3 per cent of fans ranking Fyfe as the “most exciting player” in the game in last year’s survey.
Fyfe also ranked behind Port Adelaide's Chad Wingard last year as the best young player to watch.
Talking points against Gold Coast
Fyfe's incredible start to this season, however, which has seen him take a 19-vote lead in the AFLCA Player of the Year award, has seen him shoot to the top.
Fyfe was also the player fans would most like at their club (44.81 per cent), ahead of Lance Franklin (9.98 per cent) and Patrick Dangerfield (8.4 per cent).
Brownlow medallist Matt Priddis attracted 0.65 per cent of the vote.
A 9-1 start to the season was not enough to give the Freo Dockers' a one-two punch, with coach Ross Lyon still ranked behind Hawthorn's triple premiership coach Alastair Clarkson as the game's best tactician.
Clarkson (37.94 per cent) was rated ahead of Lyon (28.95 per cent) and premiership coaches Paul Roos (9.51 per cent) and John Longmire (4.2 per cent).
Former Carlton coach Mick Malthouse – sacked several weeks ago while the survey was being conducted – still gathered 2.75 per cent of the vote, while third-year Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley (3.38 per cent) remained a popular choice.
More than 23,000 supporters took part in the survey, providing insights on how they view the state of the game, the supporter experience and the AFL's players, coaches and clubs.
