Essendon captain Zach Merrett has cut the lead Swans star Isaac Heeney holds over the rest of the competition for the AFL Coaches' Association Champion Player of the Year Award.

Heeney carried a 20-vote gap into Round 7 and still managed to poll a game-high seven votes to add to his season tally, however a ten-vote performance from Merrett has seen the gap between first and second narrow to 17 votes.

Merrett was one of six players from the round to be unanimously viewed as the best player for their respective match, with Giant Tom Green, Port Adelaide's Jase Burgoyne, Gold Coast's Jarrod Witts, Adelaide's Rory Laird and Geelong's Jeremy Cameron following suit.

Demons duo Jake Lever and Max Gawn shared nine votes each, as did Fremantle midfield pairing Caleb Sering and Nat Fyfe.

Stunningly, Heeney was one of five Sydney players to poll five or more coaches votes from Sunday's win over Hawthorn.

Richmond vs Melbourne

9 - Jake Lever (MELB)
9 - Max Gawn (MELB)
4 - Daniel Turner (MELB)
4 - Trent Rivers (MELB)
2 - Ed Langdon (MELB)
2 - Steven May (MELB)

Essendon vs Collingwood 

10 - Zach Merrett (ESS)
7 - Brody Mihocek (COLL)
6 - Andrew McGrath (ESS)
4 - Kyle Langford (ESS)
3 - Darcy Moore (COLL)

GWS vs Brisbane

10 - Tom Green (GWS)
8 - Finn Callaghan (GWS)
5 - Harry Himmelberg (GWS)
3 - Harry Perryman (GWS)
3 - Jack Buckley (GWS)
1 - Kieren Briggs (GWS)

Port Adelaide vs St Kilda

10 - Jase Burgoyne (PORT)
5 - Willem Drew (PORT)
5 - Dan Houston (PORT)
4 - Charlie Dixon (PORT)
4 - Zak Butters (PORT)
1 - Jack Sinclair (STK)
1 - Callum Wilkie (STK)

North Melbourne vs Adelaide

10 - Rory Laird (ADEL)
8 - Jordan Dawson (ADEL)
3 - Taylor Walker (ADEL)
3 - Josh Worrell (ADEL)
3 - Izak Rankine (ADEL)
3 - Reilly O'Brien (ADEL)

Geelong vs Carlton

10 - Jeremy Cameron (GEEL)
7 - Gryan Miers (GEEL)
5 - Marc Pittonet (CARL)
4 - Patrick Cripps (CARL)
2 - Max Holmes (GEEL)
2 - Sam Walsh (CARL)

Fremantle vs Western Bulldogs

9 - Caleb Serong (FRE)
9 - Nat Fyfe (FRE)
5 - Bailey Dale (WB)
3 - Andrew Brayshaw (FRE)
3 - James Aish (FRE)
1 - Liam Jones (WB)

Gold Coast vs West Coast

10 - Jarrod Witts (GCFC)
8 - Noah Anderson (GCFC)
6 - Matt Rowell (GCFC)
2 - Jake Rogers (GCFC)
2 - Touk Miller (GCFC)
2 - Elliot Yeo (WCE)

Hawthorn vs Sydney

7 - Isaac Heeney (SYD)
5 - Errol Gulden (SYD)
5 - Oliver Florent (SYD)
5 - Nick Blakey (SYD)
5 - Chad Warner (SYD)
2 - Dylan Moore (HAW)
1 - Logan McDonald (SYD)

LEADERBOARD

54 Isaac Heeney SYD
37 Zach Merrett ESS
33 Max Gawn MELB
32 Jeremy Cameron GEEL
32 Caleb Serong FRE
31 Tom Green GWS
28 Matt Rowell GCFC
27 Noah Anderson GCFC
27 Patrick Cripps CARL
27 Errol Gulden SYD
27 Gryan Miers GEEL
27 Elliot Yeo WCE