WESTERN Bulldogs star Jack Macrae has won the AFL coaches' award as the player of the finals series despite failing to poll a vote in the Grand Final.

The prolific ball-winner polled 25 votes in the Gary Ayres Award in three finals outings before the Bulldogs' loss to Melbourne.

Macrae finished two votes clear of second-placed Demons superstar Christian Petracca, having played one extra match.

>>FULL VOTES AND FINAL LEADERBOARD BELOW

Rival coaches Simon Goodwin and Luke Beveridge agreed with the Norm Smith Medal voting panel, awarding Petracca the maximum 10 votes for his Grand Final performance.

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Melbourne forward Bayley Fritsch received eight votes after a six-goal haul in the season decider, while teammate Clayton Oliver got five votes.

Oliver finished third overall on 19 votes, having also finished third in the Brownlow Medal count.

Macrae's finals nod came at the end of a superb individual season in which he was named in the Therabody AFL All-Australian team for the third straight year.

The 27-year-old also broke Hawthorn star Tom Mitchell's record for most disposals in a single season, finishing with 880 from 26 games.

"Well done to Jack," Ayres said.

"It's a testament to how well he has played in this finals series but also his consistency all year in a very good midfield group."

It was the sixth year of the Gary Ayres Award, named in honour of the former Hawthorn champion, who won two Norm Smith Medals in Hawks premiership sides.

For every final, the AFL coaches vote for the best players from their game. The coaches vote for five players, giving them a mark from 1-5. The maximum a player can score is 10 (with five votes from both coaches).

Melbourne v Western Bulldogs

10 Christian Petracca (MELB)
8 Bayley Fritsch (MELB)
5 Clayton Oliver (MELB)
3 Caleb Daniel (WB)
2 Christian Salem (MELB)
1 Marcus Bontempelli (WB)
1 Angus Brayshaw (MELB)

FINAL LEADERBOARD

25 Jack Macrae WB
23 Christian Petracca MELB
19 Clayton Oliver MELB
17 Bailey Smith WB
11 Marcus Bontempelli WB
11 Max Gawn MELB
10 Tom Hawkins GEEL
10 Isaac Heeney SYD
9 Travis Boak PORT
8 Bayley Fritsch MELB
8 Tom Liberatore WB
8 Christian Salem MELB
8 Zach Tuohy GEEL
7 Ollie Wines PORT
6 Aliir Aliir PORT
6 Caleb Daniel WB
6 Josh Kelly GWS
6 Luke Parker SYD
5 Charlie Cameron BL
5 Mitch Hannan WB
5 Jack Henry GEEL
5 Hugh McCluggage BL
5 Cody Weightman WB

PREVIOUS WINNERS

2016: Josh Kennedy (Sydney)
2017: Dustin Martin (Richmond)
2018: Steele Sidebottom (Collingwood)
2019: Dustin Martin (Richmond)
2020: Dustin Martin (Richmond)