FOLLOWING two impressive seasons since moving to Sydney, the Swans were hopeful Josh Kennedy would take another step forward and join the ranks of the elite midfielders in the competition this year.

After his performances in the opening three rounds of the season, those hopes are being realised.

Kennedy, who finished third and equal-second in the Swans' best and fairest respectively in his first two seasons since moving from Hawthorn, has taken his game to another level this year.

The 23-year-old is equal third in the League for clearances at 8.3 per game and is averaging 30 disposals per outing, helping the Swans to a 3-0 start to the season for the first time since 2001.

And his performances have been reflected in early voting for the AFL Coaches Association player of the year award, with the midfielder leading the way with a perfect 30 votes from the opening three rounds.

"He's hard and clean in the midfield," Swans coach John Longmire said.

"He's a big-bodied midfielder who's hard to shift and he's got real confidence in himself now.

"He's been putting together consistent football the last couple of years and is even lifting it again now. He's a hard match-up and he takes some beating when he's playing well.

"His consistency is remarkable, he's been able to string good games after good games regularly and he's even lifting his quality of what he classifies as a good game.

"He's been consistently in our best players the first three weeks and we're hoping obviously he continues the way he's been going."

While the Swans' winning start to the season would likely have aided Kennedy's cause when it comes to voting, wins and losses don't seem to enter the debate when it comes to Gary Ablett.

Ablett's Suns are without a win, but he still sits second in the AFLCA pecking order with 26 votes, picking up a perfect 10 for his mesmerising performance against Essendon on Saturday night.

Carlton duo Marc Murphy and Chris Judd, who finished first and second in the AFLCA award last year, are again well in contention this season.

Murphy is third with 20 votes, with his Blues skipper equal-sixth on 17.

Adelaide's Scott Thompson (19 votes) and West Coast's Scott Selwood (18) split the pair of Blues, while the likes of Ryan Bastinac, Patrick Ryder and Scott Pendlebury are level with Judd.

It remains to be seen who the coaches will ultimately vote in as the best player of the 2012 campaign, but Kennedy is the man they're all chasing.

AFLCA Votes

Leaderboard
30 Josh Kennedy (Syd)
26 Gary Ablett (GC)
20 Marc Murphy (Carl)
19 Scott Thompson (Adel)
18 Scott Selwood (WCE)
17 Ryan Bastinac (NM)
17 Chris Judd (Carl)
17 Scott Pendlebury (Coll)
17 Patrick Ryder (Ess)
17 Aaron Sandilands (Fre)
17 Brent Stanton (Ess)