The voting system has changed a number of times. For the 2017 AFL season, the voting panel consisted of the senior coach, director of coaching and the assistant coaches rating each player out of 15 after every game. The combined votes are averaged to give a final score for that game. To ensure players are not disadvantaged by injury, only a player's highest-scoring 21 games counted.[1]
For the 2022 AFL season, after each game, the senior and assistant coaches reviewed and rated each players performance out of 10. Votes were polled in games where a players performance had been deemed of a high quality by the coaching group, and unlike previous seasons all matches counted towards their final total.[2]
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Murray, John, ed. (2009). We are Geelong : the story of the Geelong Football Club since 1859. Docklands, Victoria: The Slattery Media Group. ISBN9780980597301.
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^de Lacy, H. A. (3 February 1945). "Football Moves: Barker for Coburg?". The Sporting Globe. Melbourne. p. 1. Archived from the original on 21 October 2019. Retrieved 21 October 2019 – via Trove.
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^"Lindsay White Best and Fairest". The Argus. Melbourne. 1 September 1947. p. 18. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 7 June 2018 – via Trove.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^"Two clubs name Best and Fairest". The Age. Melbourne: Fairfax Media. 29 August 1949. p. 6. Archived from the original on 7 June 2018. Retrieved 7 June 2018 – via Trove.
^"Williams wins Geelong award". The Age. Melbourne: Fairfax Media. 29 September 1952. p. 12. Archived from the original on 3 June 2018. Retrieved 3 June 2018 – via Trove.
^"Peter Pianto Geelong's Best". The Age. Melbourne: Fairfax Media. 30 September 1953. p. 11. Archived from the original on 3 June 2018. Retrieved 3 June 2018 – via Trove.
^"Sharp voted best player". The Argus. Melbourne. 20 September 1954. p. 17. Archived from the original on 3 June 2018. Retrieved 3 June 2018 – via Trove.
^"Williams wins two awards". The Argus. Melbourne. 19 September 1955. p. 18. Archived from the original on 3 June 2018. Retrieved 3 June 2018 – via Trove.
^ abcdefghijkLovett, Michael, ed. (1997). "Geelong". AFL '97 The Official Guide to Australia's Greatest Game. Mandarin, Reeds Books Australia. pp. 74–79. ISBN1-86330-629-3.
^Lovett, Michael, ed. (1997). "Geelong". AFL '98 The Official Statistical History of the AFL. Australian Football League. p. 80. ISBN1-86330-629-3.
^ abLovett, Michael, ed. (1997). "Geelong". AFL 2000 The Official Statistical History of the AFL. Australian Football League. pp. 113, 119–120. ISBN0-95852-864-0.
^ ab"How the best was won". The Age. Fairfax Media. 7 October 2002. Archived from the original on 4 October 2017. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
^Ahmed, Nabila; Ryan, Melissa (4 October 2003). "Buckley is Magpies best, again". The Age. Fairfax Media. Archived from the original on 1 November 2016. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
^Lovett, Michael, ed. (2006). "Geelong". AFL Record Guide to Season 2006. AFL Publishing. p. 139. ISBN0-9757964-0-2.
^"Chapman wins Geelong gong". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. 5 October 2006. Archived from the original on 4 June 2018. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
^"Corey named Cats' best". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 3 October 2008. Archived from the original on 29 October 2016. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
^"Ablett made wrong call: Bomber". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 1 October 2010. Archived from the original on 30 October 2016. Retrieved 5 June 2018.