Following the release of Round 3 Smithy’s VFL Coaches MVP votes Werribee has again featured prominently, with Charlie Lazzaro moving into outright first on the leaderboard after a dominant start to his career in the black and gold.

Lazzaro added a further six votes in Werribee’s Round 3 clash with Geelong, taking his season tally to 25 votes and putting him clear at the top of the leaderboard.

Lazzaro, who earned Werribee’s Totally Workwear Player of the Match in his club debut also picked up the ten coaches after 30 disposals and seven clearances in Werribee’s strong sway win over the Suns.

He followed it up with Player of the Match honours again in Round 2, and despite the loss to Sandringham, collected nine coaches votes after 27 disposals, seven clearances and his first two goals in the black and gold.

Despite another loss in Round 3, his six votes saw him be one of two Werribee players to poll against the Cats after 32 disposals and seven clearances. Captain Jesse Clark also polled in the defeat, finishing with a career-high 27 disposals, with his performance earning him a late call-up to the VFL State Team for their victory over the SANFL on Saturday.

The in-form midfielder has made an immediate impact across his first three games at the club, with his consistency recognised by the coaches each week to see him take the lead in the prestigious award.

He has also set the tone statistically across the opening three rounds, averaging team-highs in disposals (29.7), contested possessions (14.3), inside 50s (5.7), clearances (7.0) and score involvements (6.0) to kick off his Werribee career.

Lazzaro now holds a six-vote buffer over GWS’ James Bell and Southport’s Jacob Dawson, who sit equal second on 19 votes, while a group of players round out a tightly contested top group behind them.

The Smithy’s VFL Coaches MVP Award is an award voted by the 22 coaching panels on a 5,4,3,2,1 basis after each home and away game, with senior coaches providing votes on the game their club competed.

LEADERBOARD:
25 Charlie Lazzaro (Werribee)
19 James Bell (GWS Giants)
19 Jacob Dawson (Southport Sharks)
17 Jack Bytel (Coburg)
17 Jye Menzie (Tasmania)
17 Josh Tovey (Port Melbourne)
15 Luke Parks (Williamstown)
14 Max Heath (Casey Demons)
13 Nathan Philactides (Sandringham)
13 George Stevens (Geelong Cats)