AFL Coaches Association Excludes Wildcard Round from Gary Ayres Award

The AFL Coaches Association has announced that performances from the Wildcard Round will not be considered for the Gary Ayres Award, which honors the best player in the finals.

This decision follows the voting results from the qualifying and elimination finals, which were released without including the Wildcard Round matches. This stance contrasts with AFL CEO Andrew Dillon's earlier comments, where he stated that a Wildcard win should be regarded as a finals win.

The exclusion of the Wildcard Round from the award consideration highlights a significant shift in the AFLCA's position regarding the new finals format.