This year’s Doig Medal is rapidly approaching and as the players, their partners and 1000 guests prepare to take to the purple carpet amid the glitz and the glamour of the Grand Ballroom at the Crown Perth on October 8, let’s take a look at this year’s form guide.

The Doig Medal is the most prestigious award up for grabs on Fremantle’s night of nights, as the club takes the opportunity to acknowledge the standout player of the season.

Watch the Doig Medal LIVE

Teammates will also be vying for Best Clubman, Players' Award and the Beacon Award for the best first or second year player.

Voting for the Doig Medal takes place throughout the season, with five coaches giving each player a vote of zero to five, meaning the maximum a player can receive each round is 25 votes.

Last year’s count was tight, with David Mundy leading by just five votes at the end of the home and away season, before big man Aaron Sandilands polled better in the two finals to win by the same margin.

This season’s ceremony promises to be just as fascinating, with several players compiling standout seasons.

DOIG MEDAL CANDIDATES

Lachie Neale
The prolific ball winner has improved his disposal output every season since debuting in 2012, and entered the record books this year with the highest tally of disposals in an AFL home and away season since Champion Data started recording the statistic. He finished with 737 possessions, beating the previous record of 721, set by Matthew Boyd in 2012. The 23-year-old is in line to win his first All-Australian selection after being named in the initial 40-man squad. Neale averaged 33.5 disposals, four marks and four tackles in 2016, and finished five games with more than 40 touches. The on-baller also led the league for contested possessions, was third for clearances and fourth for centre clearances, playing as Fremantle’s premier inside midfielder.

Michael Walters
The hard-working small forward finished the year as Fremantle’s leading goal-kicker for the third time in his career, with 36 majors for the season. But it wasn’t just his finishing which saw plaudits flow his way, as he collected more disposals and laid more tackles in 2016 than he has in any previous year. Walters kicked his first career five-goal haul in round 21 against Adelaide and was excellent three weeks prior when he kicked four majors and laid five tackles against the Gold Coast at Metricon Stadium. Walters drove Fremantle inside 50 on 86 occasions in 2016 at an average of 3.9 per game – the third most of any Freo player.

Stephen Hill
The midfielder was something of a quiet achiever through the centre of the ground for Fremantle, capping off a good year with a screamer over Western Bulldogs youngster Caleb Daniel at Domain Stadium in round 23. In the absence of clearance specialists Nat Fyfe and, at times, Michael Barlow and David Mundy, Hill moved from the wing to an inside-mid role and flourished at the contest. The 26-year-old finished the season with 522 disposals at a career best 24.9 per game, was second at the club for inside 50s (96 at 4.6 per game), second for running bounces (19 at 0.9), third for clearances (80 at 3.8) and fourth for tackles (81 at 3.9). Hill missed just one match in 2016 and was a central figure in a largely developing midfield cohort.

Lee Spurr
A member of Fremantle's leadership group for the third year running, Spurr was rock solid down back as the team’s most senior small defender. The 29-year-old spent most of the season manning up on the opposition’s best small forwards and performed admirably well. He was also typically courageous as the loose man in defence and finished the season with team highs for marks (147 at 6.7 per match) and rebound 50s (70 at 3.2 per match). To cap his season off, Spurr disposed of the ball with 81.9 per cent effectiveness – the highest efficiency of any year to date.

BEACON AWARD CANDIDATES

Sam Collins
Drafted with pick 55 in the 2015 national draft, Collins arrived at the club renowned for his aerobic capacity, competitiveness and ability to read the play. The first-year player was granted far more responsibility in 2016 than he may have anticipated, when a number of Fremantle’s more experienced key defenders, including Michael Johnson, Alex Pearce, Alex Silvagni and Zac Dawson, missed through injury and suspension. Collins manned up on the likes of Josh Jenkins, Josh Kennedy, Tom Lynch and Jon Patton, and looks set to become a familiar part of Fremantle’s defensive set up.

Lachie Weller
In his second season of AFL football, the classy midfielder grew in confidence as the year progressed. Weller consistently showed a quick turn of pace and was clean with his disposal, delivering the ball at 74.5 per cent efficiency. The 20-year-old proved his potency in round 13 against the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba with four goals and 22 possessions, and finished 2016 with 28 disposals against the Giants in round 22 and 26 touches opposed to the Bulldogs in round 23. Weller last year committed to Fremantle until the end of 2018, and should form a crucial part of Freo’s midfield moving forward.

Connor Blakely
In 15 matches for the senior side, Blakely averaged 20.3 possessions – 8.6 contested – 3.7 tackles and 3.5 clearances. The midfielder was widely lauded for his bull-at-a-gate approach to the contest and showed great evasiveness in delivering the ball to his outside-running teammates. The 20-year-old notched 20 or more disposals on nine occasions in 2016, including a career-best 29 touches against Brisbane, and laid eight tackles against a hard-edged Crows midfield at Domain Stadium in round 21. Alongside Weller, Blakely should prominently feature in Fremantle’s engine room for the foreseeable future.

Ed Langdon
The 20-year-old spent four stints in the senior side including a string of six matches to finish the season. Langdon has elite endurance and was able to showcase his running power in games between rounds 18 and 21, where he averaged 24.25 disposals and 4.25 marks. In 13 matches throughout 2016, the second-year player demonstrated his ability to run through the midfield and play forward, and will be only get better as he builds his body mass.