FIVE Blues have earned votes in the AFLCA Champion Player of the Year race for impressive performances in Carlton’s Round 4 victory over Gold Coast.

Co-captain Sam Docherty has topped the table for Round 4, notching six votes for his efforts across the Blues’ backline in difficult conditions at Metricon Stadium.

Docherty clocked up nine rebound 50s over the course of the game as well as eight intercepts, quelling the Suns’ attack at every turn.

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AFL R4 | Docherty on grind-it-out win

Co-captain Sam Docherty spoke to Channel 7 following the Round 4 win over Gold Coast.

Unsurprisingly, the skipper wasn’t the only defender to feature in the Round 4 count: duo Jacob Weitering and Liam Jones featured with five and four votes respectively.

The Club’s reigning best and fairest was uncompromising on Saturday, with Weitering’s 14 spoils testament to his defensive performance.

Jones’s four votes came as no surprise given his stat line of 13 intercept possessions and 11 marks at Metricon Stadium, continuing what has been a consistent year for the backman.

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AFL R4 | Weitering and Jones' defensive masterclass

Watch the defensive duo of Jacob Weitering and Liam Jones put on a brilliant display against Gold Coast.

Veteran Blue Ed Curnow earned five coaches’ votes for his physical performance through the midfield, finishing the afternoon with 32 possessions (12 contested), eight clearances and a goal.

Rounding out the count with one vote was third-year Blue Sam Walsh: after four rounds, Walsh sits at No.17 on the AFLCA leader board with 13 votes. The youngster has polled in three of four games so far this season.

View the full count and leaderboard here.