Sydney Swans midfielder Josh Kennedy continued his march towards the top of the AFL Coaches Association Champion Player of the Year Award after polling eight votes in last Thursday night’s win over Geelong.

With first-placed Gary Ablett failing to register a vote in the Gold Coast’s loss to Adelaide, Kennedy moved to within three votes of the Suns’ captain after being voted equal best on ground in the 110-point victory against the Cats.

Kennedy (32 disposals, 18 contested, nine clearances, seven marks and six tackles) finished alongside rebounding defender Nick Malceski (a career-high 37 disposals, eight marks, eight rebound 50s and six inside 50s) at the top of John Longmire and Chris Scott’s voting with eight votes apiece.

Power forwards Kurt Tippett (six votes, and his first votes for the year) and Lance Franklin (three votes) also caught the attention of the coaches with their nine goals combined, while midfielders Kieren Jack (four) and Craig Bird (one) rounded out a clean sweep of the votes to the Swans.

Ablett and Kennedy will go head-to-head this Sunday when the Sydney Swans travel to the Gold Coast to face the Suns at Metricon Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

Sydney vs Geelong
8 Kennedy (Syd)
8 Malceski (Syd)
6 Tippett (Syd)
4 Jack (Syd)
3 Franklin (Syd)
1 Bird (Syd)

Round 11 Leaderboard
55 Gary Ablett (Gold Coast)
52 Josh Kennedy (Sydney)
48 Scott Pendlebury (Collingwood)
43 Travis Boak (Port Adelaide)
41 Robbie Gray (Port Adelaide)
38 Joel Selwood (Geelong)
37 Matthew Priddis (West Coast)
35 Nathan Fyfe (Fremantle)
34 Nathan Jones (Melbourne)
33 Ben Cunnington (North Melbourne)

Swans Leaderboard
52 Josh Kennedy (polled in 8 games)
23 Lance Franklin (5)
22 Luke Parker (5)
21 Dan Hannebery (3)
21 Kieren Jack (5)
14 Nick Malceski (3)
12 Ben McGlynn (4)
12 Jarrad McVeigh (3)
7 Craig Bird (2)
6 Kurt Tippett (1)
5 Dane Rampe (2)
5 Rhyce Shaw (2)
3 Nick Smith (1)