Swan received nine votes from Nathan Buckley and Ross Lyon to kick himself up to 47 votes for the season, while his tattooed teammate Beams was awarded six votes meaning he is now only three adrift of the injured Scott Pendlebury (55 votes) on 52.
The trio’s consistency means that they are now among the top 10 players in the game according to the coaches. Pendlebury, who led until he suffered a cracked tibia against Gold Coast in round 10, is in fifth place and remains only 12 votes adrift from the leader Jobe Watson. Beams is only three votes behind in sixth place while Swan is level in tenth place with stars Gary Ablett and Lance Franklin on 47.
In order to earn nine votes, Swan had to gather 43 disposals, lay seven tackles and kick two goals. Saturday’s match was the third time this season that Swan has ended the day with more than 40 possessions and continues a remarkable run of form since he missed two weeks with a hamstring strain suffered against Geelong in round eight.
Since returning against Melbourne on the Queen’s Birthday, Swan has had 123 disposals in three games at an average of 41 per match. In that time, he has had eight scoring shots, laid nine tackles and taken 27 marks (nine per game).
By way of comparison, Swan had more than 40 disposals in three games over the entire season last year.
Midfielder Jarryd Blair was also rewarded for his performance against Fremantle that saw him collect a career-high 32 disposals in the 29-point win.
Blair also notched a season-high eight tackles, meaning he is now the club’s season leader in that category.
Other Magpies to be recognised were Dale Thomas (two votes) and Sharrod Wellingham (one), with the latter polling in three of the club’s last four matches.
Essendon skipper Jobe Watson leads the award with 67 votes.
Collingwood v Fremantle Voting
| Votes | Player | Club |
|---|---|---|
| 9 | Dane Swan | Coll |
| 8 | Jarryd Blair | Coll |
| 6 | Dayne Beams | Coll |
| 4 | Matthew Pavlich | Frem |
| 2 | Dale Thomas | Coll |
| 1 | Sharrod Wellingham | Col |
Collingwood leader board for the AFLCA Champion Player of the Year (number of matches the player polled)
| Votes | Player |
|---|---|
| 55 | Scott Pendlebury (6) |
| 52 | Dayne Beams (6) |
| 47 | Dane Swan (7) |
| 32 | Steele Sidebottom (5) |
| 15 | Dale Thomas (4) |
| 13 | Ben Reid (2) |
| 11 | Jarryd Blair (3) |
| 11 | Travis Cloke (3) |
| 10 | Harry O'Brien (2) |
| 7 | Sharrod Wellingham (4) |
| 4 | Nick Maxwell (2) |
| 3 | Nathan Brown (1) |
| 3 | Ben Johnson (1) |
| 1 | Marty Clarke (1) |
| 1 | Alan Didak (1) |
| 1 | Tyson Goldsack (1) |
Leader board for the AFLCA Champion Player of the Year
| Votes | Player | Club |
|---|---|---|
| 67 | Jobe Watson | Essendon |
| 59 | Trent Cotchin | Richmond |
| 59 | Scott Thompson | Adelaide |
| 55 | Matthew Boyd | Western Bulldogs |
| 54 | Scott Pendlebury | Collingwood |
| 52 | Dayne Beams | Collingwood |
| 49 | Brent Stanton | Essendon |
| 47 | Gary Ablett | Gold Coast |
| 47 | Lance Franklin | Hawthorn |
| 47 | Dane Swan | Collingwood |
