Crunching the numbers. How the Dolan Warren Awards are decided

There’s a good reason that the Julie Dolan and Johnny Warren Medals are so highly prized by those who win them – simply because the acclaim comes only from right across the football spectrum.

Votes are cast to judge the best player in the Westfield W-League or A-League over a season by a variety of experts, to ensure that decision reflects the broadest range of views.

Both are special honours as a result, with a rollcall of some of the finest footballers to play here having won them. In the Johnny Warren Medal, votes are cast after each game (on a 3-2-1 basis) by four experts: a former professional player, a technical expert (including Socceroos coaches), the match officials from that game, and finally a senior member of the Australian football media.

The Julie Dolan Medal process is similar, but based on votes from a panel of technical football experts and media representatives appointed by the APL, as well as the match officials (as a collective), all on a 3-2-1 basis.

The sheer number of votes involved is why auditors from Ernst & Young go through the whole process to count the votes independently and ensure the awards’ integrity – and it’s also why the winners can genuinely claim to have garnered popular support.

Since last year, the top three players for each medal by votes cast have been announced a day in advance – with the actual winner revealed at the Awards Night itself.

Most of the other awards are based on votes from appointed experts, though coach of the year in both leagues is voted on at the end of the regular season by all the coaches in the competition (you can’t, obviously, vote for yourself).

Young Footballer of the Year in both leagues is drawn from the monthly nominees voted on by technical experts and the media, with the overall winner selected by them and a fan vote, while goalkeeper of the year is a mix of votes from a panel of experts and the Johnny Warren or Julie Dolan votes won by the highest ranked goalkeepers.

Goal of the Year is chosen by a panel of appointed football experts voting on a shortlist of contenders, while the Fair Play award is simply to the team with the fewest yellow and red cards.

The simplest award is the Golden Boot, where the only currency is goals and the player who has scored the most at the end of the regular season is the winner. Simple, really.