The two coaches each gave Swan five votes for his 42 disposals, six tackles and three goals that saw him receive the maximum three votes from the ANZAC Medal voting panel comprising Tony Shaw, Luke Darcy and Martin Blake. Swan is a previous winner of the award, having taken it home at the end of season 2010.
Vice-captain Scott Pendlebury was the unanimous choice as the second best player on the ground according to the coaches, receiving eight votes for the match.
Defenders Nathan Brown and Ben Johnson were rewarded for their recoveries from injury with three votes each. Dayne Beams earned two votes for his 32 possessions while Marty Clarke polled a vote for his work across half back and through the midfield.
After five rounds, Pendlebury sits safely in second place on 31 votes. He is eight votes behind Sydney Swan Josh Kennedy (39 votes) and two ahead of Gary Ablett (Gold Coast) and Lenny Hayes (St Kilda) who are both on 28 votes.
Collingwood v Essendon voting
| Votes | Player | Club |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | Dane Swan | Coll |
| 8 | Scott Pendlebury | Coll |
| 3 | Nathan Brown | Coll |
| 3 | Ben Johnson | Coll |
| 2 | Dayne Beams | Coll |
| 2 | Dyson Heppell | Ess |
| 1 | Martin Clarke | Coll |
| 1 | Angus Monfries | Ess |
Collingwood leader board for the AFLCA Champion Player of the Year (number of matches the player polled)
| Votes | Player |
|---|---|
| 31 | Scott Pendlebury (4) |
| 19 | Dane Swan (3) |
| 10 | Ben Reid (1) |
| 8 | Harry O'Brien (1) |
| 4 | Travis Cloke (1) |
| 3 | Nathan Brown (1) |
| 3 | Ben Johnson (1) |
| 2 | Dayne Beams (1) |
| 1 | Jarryd Blair (1) |
| 1 | Marty Clarke (1) |
Leader board for the AFLCA Champion Player of the Year
| Votes | Player | Club |
|---|---|---|
| 39 | Josh Kennedy | Sydney |
| 31 | Scott Pendlebury | Collingwood |
| 28 | Gary Ablett | Gold Coast |
| 28 | Lenny Hayes | St Kilda |
| 24 | Brent Stanton | Essendon |
| 24 | Scott Thompson | Adelaide |
| 23 | Marc Murphy | Carlton |
| 22 | Tom Hawkins | Geelong |
| 20 | Patrick Ryder | Essendon |
