Jonathan Brown has enjoyed a stellar month of football and after another five-goal performance, this time in a losing cause against Collingwood, has moved to within striking distance of overall leader Gary Ablett.
Brown polled seven votes against the Pies after getting 10 the previous week against North Melbourne and eight a fortnight ago against Fremantle. He also polled seven in the Lions' win over Geelong in round 15.
Brown's 34-point run in the past four matches has catapulted him to 75 votes, just five behind Gazza.
Ablett failed to poll a votes in the Cats' two-point win over Adelaide and remains on 80 votes while second-place holder Chris Judd sits on 79 after also failing to trouble the scorers this week.
Paul Chapman moved into outright fourth spot after his sublime six-goal performance earned him nine votes but the top Cat faces at least a week on the sidelines with a hamstring injury.
Marc Murphy and Scott Pendlebury were the only players to earn the maximum 10 votes from the coaches at the weekend.
Those who got nine votes included Jason Akermanis, Brent Reilly and Ben Cousins.
Other eye-catching performances came from Saint Leigh Montagna, Eagle Matt Priddis, and Port Adelaide pair Robbie Gray and Shaun Burgoyne. All four of those players earned eight votes.
In the AFL Coaches Association Crown Champion Player of the Year, coaches vote each week on a 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 basis. Coaches vote only on their own matches, but may vote for players on the opposing team.
Past winners of the prestigious award include Ablett (2007-08), Simon Goodwin and Adam Goodes (joint winners in 2006), Barry Hall (2005) and Warren Tredrea (2004).
ROUND 18 VOTES
North Melbourne v Carlton
10 Marc Murphy (Carl)
4 Bryce Gibbs (Carl)
4 Hamish McIntosh (NM)
4 Liam Anthony (NM)
3 Brent Harvey (NM)
3 Nick Stevens (Carl)
1 Brady Rawlings (NM)
1 Lindsay Thomas (NM)
Western Bulldogs v Fremantle
9 Jason Akermanis (WB)
7 Matthew Pavlich (Frem)
5 Daniel Cross (WB)
3 Adam Cooney (WB)
2 Matthew Boyd (WB)
2 Callan Ward (WB)
1 Greg Broughton (Frem)
1 Chris Tarrant (Frem)
Geelong v Adelaide
9 Paul Chapman (Geel)
9 Brent Reilly (Adel)
5 Simon Goodwin (Adel)
5 Jimmy Bartel (Geel)
1 Corey Enright (Geel)
1 Robert Shirley (Adel)
Sydney v St Kilda
8 Leigh Montagna (St K)
7 Brendon Goddard (St K)
7 Nick Dal Santo (St K)
6 Jarrad McVeigh (Syd)
1 Adam Goodes (Syd)
1 Heath Grundy (Syd)
Collingwood v Brisbane
10 Scott Pendlebury (Coll)
7 Jonathan Brown (BL)
6 Dane Swan (Coll)
5 Dale Thomas (Coll)
1 Heath Shaw (Coll)
1 Nick Maxwell (Coll)
Melbourne v Richmond
9 Ben Cousins (Rich)
5 James McDonald (Melb)
4 Brett Deledio (Rich)
3 Richard Tambling (Rich)
3 Nathan Jones (Melb)
2 Ricky Petterd (Melb)
2 Jordan McMahon (Rich)
1 Matthew Bate (Melb)
1 Aaron Davey (Melb)
Port Adelaide v Hawthorn
8 Shaun Burgoyne (Port)
8 Robbie Gray (Port)
5 Travis Boak (Port)
4 Jacob Surjan (Port)
2 Danyle Pearce (Port)
2 David Rodan (Port)
1 Brent Guerra (Haw)
West Coast v Essendon
8 Matt Priddis (WCE)
6 Andrew Embley (WCE)
6 Darren Glass (WCE)
5 Mark Le Cras (WCE)
3 Brad Ebert (WCE)
1 Tom Swift (WCE)
1 Jobe Watson (Ess)
LEADERBOARD
80 Gary Ablett (Geel)
79 Chris Judd (Carl)
75 Jonathan Brown (BL)
72 Paul Chapman (Geel)
72 Nick Riewoldt (St K)
71 Nick Dal Santo (St K)
66 Dane Swan (Coll)
62 Lenny Hayes (St K)
61 Leigh Montagna (St K)
58 Sam Mitchell (Haw)
