COLLINGWOOD'S Dale Thomas was awarded maximum votes by both coaches in the Magpies' 117-point mauling of North Melbourne despite being on the field for just 56 per cent of the game.

Only Alex Fasolo. the player who replaced Thomas when he was subbed out of the game midway through the third quarter, spent less time on the ground for the Magpies.

Thomas finished with 26 possessions and three goals to snare the 10 votes and move to seventh in the AFL Coaches' Association player of the year award (still led by Carlton's Marc Murphy).

Teammates Dane Swan, Scott Pendlebury and Steele Sidebottom were listed ahead of Thomas in most ratings and match reports, but the coaches felt Thomas had the most influence on the contest.

Neither Collingwood's Mick Malthouse nor Kangaroos counterpart Brad Scott were asked directly about Thomas' performance after the game, but Hawthorn great Jason Dunstall agreed with the coaches.

 "He actually got subbed off in the third term, but such was his dominance early … it was impossible to keep him out," Dunstall said on Fox Sports' After the Bounce program.

"The game was over early and he set it up Thomas."

Not surprisingly, given Collingwood's total dominance, the Magpies monopolised the votes, with Pendlebury tallying seven and Swan, Sidebottom and Jarryd Blair earning four apiece.

Despite playing on a losing side in the Blues' 27-point defeat to the Western Bulldogs, Murphy still polled nine votes in round 16, equal with the Dogs' Adam Cooney.

Murphy moved to 73 votes overall, well clear of Western Bulldog Matthew Boyd and the Sydney Swans' Ryan O'Keefe, both on 58.

"I thought Murphy was the best player on the ground," Carlton coach Brett Ratten told the On the Couch program.

"His four quarters were outstanding. Cooney was a really good player for them, but he probably played three quarters where I felt Murphy played four quarters."

Ratten also gave an insight into the stock he places on the coaches votes in general when it was suggested to him many newspapers had included Boyd and Chris Judd in their best players.

Boyd earned six votes from the coaches, while Brownlow Medal favourite Judd failed to earn a vote and is fourth overall.

"I think take a look at the coaches votes. Murphy and Cooney had nine between them," he said.

"I thought Juddy had a great game, but I didn't have him in the coaches votes."

O'Keefe continued his strong year with nine votes in the Swans' 70-point win over Gold Coast, equal with teammate Jarrad McVeigh.

Promising Swans forward Sam Reid earned six votes and emergency Luke Parker took three after replacing Jude Bolton just prior to the opening bounce.

West Coast impressed in its eight-point win over previous ladder-leader Geelong and one of the Eagles' veterans led the way in the coaches' eyes, Andrew Embley.

The 2006 Norm Smith medallist earned the maximum 10 votes for his game-high 32 possessions and match-sealing goal deep in the fourth quarter.

Another veteran who is finding form at the business end of the season is Hawthorn's Luke Hodge.

Hodge, who missed the Hawks' round one loss to Adelaide, polled just one vote in the opening seven rounds of the season.

But between rounds eight and 16 he has tallied 34 votes, including a game-high nine from Hawthorn's comfortable 42-point victory over the Brisbane Lions.

Round 16 Votes
West Coast v Geelong
10 Andrew Embley (WC)
5 Matt Priddis (WC)
4 Shannon Hurn (WC)
4 Daniel Kerr (WC)
3 Cameron Ling (Geel)
3 Harry Taylor (Geel)
1 Joel Corey (Geel)

Hawthorn v Brisbane Lions
9 Luke Hodge (Haw)
7 Josh Gibson (Haw)
5 Sam Mitchell (Haw)
4 Lance Franklin (Haw)
2 Simon Black (BL)
2 Jack Redden (BL)
1 Jonathon Brown (BL)

Gold Coast v Sydney Swans
9 Jarrad McVeigh (Syd)
9 Ryan O'Keefe (Syd)
6 Sam Reid (Syd)
3 Luke Parker (Syd)
3 Ted Richards (Syd)

Essendon v Richmond
9 Michael Hurley (Ess)
8 David Zaharakis (Ess)
5 Brent Stanton (Ess)
4 Trent Cotchin (Rich)
3 Stewart Crameri (Ess)
1 Dyson Heppell (Ess)

Collingwood v North Melbourne
10 Dale Thomas (Coll)
7 Scott Pendlebury (Coll)
4 Jarryd Blair (Coll)
4 Steele Sidebottom (Coll)
4 Dane Swan (Coll)
1 Leon Davis (Coll)

Port Adelaide v St Kilda
10 Nick Dal Santo (StK)
7 Jack Steven (StK)
4 Brendon Goddard (StK)
3 Ben McEvoy (StK)
2 James Gwilt (StK)
2 Nick Riewoldt (StK)
1 Sam Gilbert (StK)
1 Hamish Hartlett (PA)

Western Bulldogs v Carlton
9 Adam Cooney (WB)
9 Marc Murphy (Carl)
6 Matthew Boyd (WB)
3 Ben Hudson (WB)
2 Robert Murphy (WB)
1 Bryce Gibbs (Carl)

Leaderboard
73 Marc Murphy (Carl)
58 Matthew Boyd (WB)
58 Ryan O'Keefe (Syd)
56 Chris Judd (Carl)
55 Sam Mitchell (Haw)
54 Daniel Wells (NM)
48 Dale Thomas (Coll)
47 Nathan Fyfe (Fre)
47 Scott Pendlebury (Coll)
46 Ryan Griffen (WB)

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily of the clubs or the AFL