A new player ranking system called the 'Player Approximate Value' - or PAV for short (named after Fremantle great Matthew Pavlich), has been developed to reflect a player's important on their team for any given season.
The system was created by football analysts Cody Atkinson and Sean Lawson, and incorporates the player's contribution to the team in the three areas of the field; defence, midfield and attack.
The player then picks up three individual scores, which are added together to create their PAV rating for a single season.
Interestingly, after many experts branded Dustin Martin's Brownlow Medal, Norm Smith Medal and premiership medal 2017 season as the best year by a player in history, according to the PAV system, it wasn't even the best season that year.
Geelong's Patrick Dangerfield finished with a PAV of 27.6 (11.8 for attack, 2.6 for defence and 13.2 for midfield), which was marginally better than Martin's 26.8.
In fact, during Dangerfield's Brownlow season in 2016, he recorded a PAV of 32.0, the best rating over the past 30 years, with the PAV dating back to 1988.
Only Jim Stynes (31.4) in 1991 and Robert Harvey (30.1) in 1998 (both Brownlow winning seasons) can boast a PAV of over 30.0 like Dangerfield.
Along with Dangerfield and Martin, Joel Selwood's 2014 campaign (27.2) is the only other season in the last 10 years to sit inside the top 15.
PAV ratings can be found at www.hpnfooty.com.
Top 15 PAV seasons since 1988
| Player | Year | PAV |
| Patrick Dangerfield | 2016 | 32 |
| Jim Stynes | 1991 | 31.4 |
| Robert Harvey | 1998 | 30.1 |
| Wayne Carey | 1996 | 29.4 |
| Nathan Buckley | 2000 | 28.8 |
| Wayne Carey | 1993 | 28.3 |
| Wayne Carey | 1995 | 27.9 |
| Nathan Buckley | 2003 | 27.9 |
| Patrick Dangerfield | 2017 | 27.6 |
| Andrew McLeod | 2001 | 27.3 |
| Wayne Campbell | 1999 | 27.2 |
| Joel Selwood | 2014 | 27.2 |
| Simon Goodwin | 2006 | 27.2 |
| Stewart Loewe | 1990 | 27.1 |
| Dustin Martin | 2017 | 26.8 |