The Sydney Swans champion was named Australian of the Year in 2014 for taking a stand against racism and for his work with Indigenous youth.

But the career of the two-time Brownlow medallist finished on a low note, after fans of other clubs booed Goodes at matches throughout 2015 - abuse that was widely condemned and considered motivated at least in part by racism.

Goodes chose not to take part in the lap of honour for retiring champions at Saturday's grand final and the AFL Players Association on Tuesday said he had also asked not to be considered for the Madden Medal.

The AFLPA lists criteria for the honour, which will be awarded in Melbourne on Friday, as football achievement, personal development and community spirit and off-field engagement.

This year's finalists are Carlton's Chris Judd, Dustin Fletcher and Paul Chapman from Essendon, Fremantle's Luke McPharlin, Daniel Cross from Melbourne, Kane Cornes from Port Adelaide and Chris Newman of Richmond.

Previous winners have included Glenn Archer, Cameron Ling and Lenny Hayes.

It was a far from ideal finish to a stellar career for Goodes and after being taunted in Perth during a game against West Coast in round 17 this season - the same one in which teammate Lewis Jetta performed an Indigenous war dance to support his teammate - Goodes made himself unavailable for the Swans' next clash with the Adelaide Crows.

Goodes claimed there was a racist undertone to the booing and his objection to it triggered nationwide debate and condemnation of the way crowds treated a legend of the game.

After a huge showing of public support, Goodes returned to Swans training and the following weekend played against Geelong, saying he felt loved by the AFL community.

"It was nice to have that time away. I definitely needed that break and get away from it all," Goodes said on his return to training. "It was a humbling experience to see the different things that our football club did and other football clubs in the AFL did and other players took on themselves to show their support. I felt very loved over the weekend."

Goodes played his last game of senior AFL football in the Swans' 77-51 semi-final loss to North Melbourne after notching up 372 games across 17 seasons for the red and whites.