How to Run Player of the Match Voting for Your Team
August 2026 | 8 min read
Player of the match voting is one of the simplest ways to recognise effort and keep a team motivated week to week. Whether your club calls it player of the match, man of the match, best on ground, or players' player, the goal is the same: pick the standout performer fairly, and do it without turning game day into a paperwork exercise. This guide covers who should vote, the main voting systems, and how to run it in seconds with an app.
1. What "Player of the Match" Means (and What Clubs Call It)
It's the same idea under many names. Knowing the terms helps you set up the award your players already recognise:
- Player of the match / man of the match (MOTM) — the standout individual in a single game
- Best on ground (BOG) — the AFL term for the same thing
- Players' player — the version voted by teammates rather than the coach
- Player of the game — common in junior and school sport
Weekly player of the match votes usually feed into a season-long tally — the running total is what decides your best and fairest at the awards night.
2. Who Should Vote?
There's no single right answer — the best voter depends on the team's age and what you want the award to reward.
| Voter | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Coach | Most teams — sees the full game and understands roles | Single perspective; unconscious bias |
| Players (players' player) | Older teams, building culture | Can become a popularity contest |
| Opposition coach | Senior/competitive grades — removes home bias | Less familiar with your players |
| Parents | Junior teams, effort and sportsmanship awards | Favouritism; not everyone sees every game |
Many clubs combine voter types with a weighting — for example 70% coach, 30% players. For a deeper breakdown, see our guide on coach votes vs player votes vs parent votes.
3. The Main Voting Systems
3-2-1 Voting
The Brownlow-style standard. Each voter awards 3 points to the best player, 2 to the second, and 1 to the third. Spreads recognition and produces a meaningful season leaderboard.
Single Vote (one player per game)
The simplest option — one player of the match per game. Fast and clear, ideal for junior teams, though it separates players less over a season.
5-4-3-2-1 Voting
Recognises five players each game. Useful for larger squads where you want more players to feature on the leaderboard.
Weighted / Combined
Blend voter types (coach, players, captain) with custom weightings for a fairer, multi-perspective result. Best for competitive grades.
4. How to Vote for Player of the Match — Step by Step
- Decide the voter and system before round one so it's consistent all season
- Vote straight after the game, while performances are fresh — recency at the right moment beats end-of-season memory
- Record the votes the same way every week (an app avoids lost paper slips)
- Update the season tally automatically so the leaderboard is always current
- Keep an audit trail so results are verifiable if anyone questions them
5. Using a Player of the Match Voting App
GameVote is a purpose-built player of the match voting app for Australian teams and clubs:
- Coaches or players vote from their phone in under a minute after each game
- Choose 3-2-1, single vote, or any custom point system
- Season leaderboards update automatically — no spreadsheets
- Run it across every team in the club from one dashboard
- Auto-generate presentation slides for the awards night
- Full audit trail keeps results transparent and disputes-free
6. Player of the Match Voting by Sport
The mechanics are the same, but the conventions differ by code — best on ground in AFL, player of the match in cricket and netball, man of the match in rugby league and football. We've covered each:
- Player of the match voting for cricket clubs
- AFL best and fairest (best on ground) voting
- Netball best and fairest voting
- Rugby league awards voting
- Soccer & football club awards and voting
Round-by-round match votes usually roll up into a season award — see how to count the votes when the season ends.
Run Player of the Match Voting in Seconds
Ditch the paper slips and end-of-season tallying. Set up player of the match voting for your team with GameVote — free for 14 days, no credit card required.