His performance was also seen favourably by Nathan Buckley and Scott Watters who awarded him his first AFL Coaches Association votes for the season. The 30-year-old’s 21 possessions was his highest disposal count since arriving at Collingwood in 2010. Saturday was the first time Jolly has registered 20 or more disposals since round 21, 2010.
The dual premiership player has developed a liking for St Kilda in his three seasons at the Westpac Centre. After a modest start (registering 18 hitouts in round three, 2010), he has not dipped below 29 hitouts in his five games since, highlighted by his near best afield display in the 2010 Grand Final replay.
Three other Magpies featured prominently in the coaches’ votes, and it doesn’t take much guesswork to figure out who they might be.
Dayne Beams (32 possessions), Scott Pendlebury (30 possessions) and Dale Thomas (26 possessions) have regularly featured among Collingwood’s best players all season and continued to deliver their finest on Saturday night.
Beams’ six votes see him ranked equal fourth on the league leaderboard, level with Western Bulldogs skipper Matthew Boyd on 73 votes.
His vice-captain Pendlebury is only two votes behind in seventh place.
Four St Kilda players - Brendon Goddard (three votes), Sam Fisher (two), Nick Dal Santo (one) and Jarryn Geary (one) - rounded out the voting, reflecting the evenness of the two sides on the night.
Richmond skipper Trent Cotchin leads the competition on 83 votes, only one ahead of Essendon leader Jobe Watson.
Collingwood v St Kilda Voting - Round 19
| Votes | Player | Club |
|---|---|---|
| 8 | Darren Jolly | Coll |
| 6 | Dayne Beams | Coll |
| 5 | Scott Pendlebury | Coll |
| 4 | Dale Thomas | Coll |
| 3 | Brendon Goddard | StK |
| 2 | Sam Fisher | StK |
| 1 | Nick Dal Santo | StK |
| 1 | Jarryn Geary | StK |
Collingwood leader board for the AFLCA Champion Player of the Year (number of matches the player polled)
| Votes | Player |
|---|---|
| 73 | Dayne Beams (9) |
| 71 | Scott Pendlebury (8) |
| 58 | Dane Swan (9) |
| 32 | Steele Sidebottom (5) |
| 24 | Ben Reid (3) |
| 20 | Dale Thomas (6) |
| 14 | Travis Cloke (4) |
| 12 | Jarryd Blair (4) |
| 11 | Harry O'Brien (3) |
| 8 | Darren Jolly (1) |
| 7 | Sharrod Wellingham (4) |
| 4 | Nick Maxwell (2) |
| 3 | Nathan Brown (1) |
| 3 | Ben Johnson (1) |
| 3 | Heath Shaw (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 |
|---|---|---|
| 83 | Trent Cotchin | Richmond |
| 82 | Jobe Watson | Essendon |
| 74 | Scott Thompson | Adelaide |
| 73 | Dayne Beams | Collingwod |
| 73 | Matthew Boyd | Western Bulldogs |
| 72 | Gary Ablett | Gold Coast |
| 71 | Scott Pendlebury | Collingwood |
| 64 | Patrick Dangerfield | Adelaide |
| 61 | Andrew Swallow | North Melbourne |
| 60 | Kieren Jack | Sydney |
