Ahead of Thursday night's Bob Skilton Medal at the Star Events Centre we take a look at the history behind the award and how votes are awarded throughout the season.

The voting system
At the conclusion of each game, votes for the 2016 Bob Skilton Medal were awarded to the players by the Swans coaching staff including coach John Longmire and his assistants.

A maximum of ten votes could be allocated to as many or as few players after each match, with the maximum a player could receive was 50 votes.

About the Bob Skilton Medal
The club’s best and fairest award is named in honour of three-time Brownlow Medallist Bob Skilton, who played 237 games for South Melbourne between 1956 and 1971.

Skilton won the South Melbourne best and fairest award nine times in his career, ahead of J. Herbie Matthews and Peter Bedford, who won four each.

The award was named the Bob Skilton Medal in 1995.

Of the current Swans playing group, Josh Kennedy (2012, 2015) and Jarrad McVeigh (2008, 2013)are the only current players to have won the award on multiple occasions.

Additional awards
In addition to the Bob Skilton Medal, five other awards on the night will be presented including:

Rising Star Award
Dennis Carroll Award for Most Improved
Barry Round Shield for Best Clubman
Paul Kelly Players’ Player Award
Paul Roos Award for Best Player in a Finals Series

Coverage
The 2016 Bob Skilton Medal will be streamed live on sydneyswans.com.au from 7:00pm or you can keep up-to-date via the club’s Official social media channels including Twitter and Facebook.

The official hashtag for the 2016 Sydney Swans Club Champion Event is #SkiltonMedal