The AFLW Players Awards are upon us as nominees have been announced for the MVP, Best First-Year Player, Most Courageous Player and Best Captain nominations confirmed.
Stage one of voting for the MVP is conducted by having all players in the league nominate three teammates they deem deserving of the award, with stage two consisting of voting on a single player from the nominated list with players not allowed to vote for a teammate in this stage.
Players are also to nominate one teammate for both the Best First-Year Player and Most Courageous Player awards.
Unlike the Brownlow Medal, suspension won't impact the eligibility of an individual to receive any AFLW Players awards.
Since the league's inception in 2017, Adelaide's Erin Phillips has won the AFLW MVP twice, Melbourne's Daisy Pearce has won Best Captain three times and Adelaide's Chelsea Randall has won Most Courageous four times, while the latest recipient of Best First-Year Player was Richmond's Ellie McKenzie for her 2021 campaign.
Without further adieu, here are the nominees for the 2022 AFLW Players Awards.
Adelaide
MVP: Anne Hatchard, Sarah Allan, Ebony Marinoff
Best First-Year Player: Abbie Ballard
Most Courageous: Rachelle Martin
Best Captain: Chelsea Randall
Brisbane
MVP: Emily Bates, Natalie Grider, Orla O’Dwyer
Best First-Year Player: Lucinda Pullar
Most Courageous: Shannon Campbell
Best Captain: Breanna Koenen
Carlton
MVP: Mimi Hill, Breann Moody, Vaomua Laloifi
Best First-Year Player: Keeley Sherar
Most Courageous: Vaomua Laloifi
Best Captain: Kerryn Harrington
Collingwood
MVP: Brittany Bonnici, Ruby Schleicher, Jaimee Lambert
Best First-Year Player: Eliza James
Most Courageous: Jaimee Lambert
Best Captain: Brianna Davey, Stephanie Chiocci
Fremantle
MVP: Kiara Bowers, Ebony Antonio, Hayley Miller
Best First-Year Player: Dana East
Most Courageous: Angelique Stannett
Best Captain: Hayley Miller
Geelong
MVP: Becky Webster, Maddy McMahon, Amy McDonald
Best First-Year Player: Georgie Prespakis
Most Courageous: Maddy McMahon
Best Captain: Meg McDonald
Gold Coast
MVP: Tara Bohanna, Charlie Rowbottom, Alison Drennan
Best First-Year Player: Charlie Rowbottom
Most Courageous: Daisy D’Arcy
Best Captain: Hannah Dunn
GWS
MVP: Alicia Eva, Cora Staunton, Alyce Parker
Best First-Year Player: Ally Dallaway
Most Courageous: Brid Stack
Best Captain: Alicia Eva
Melbourne
MVP: Tayla Harris, Lauren Pearce, Tyla Hanks
Best First-Year Player: Eliza West
Most Courageous: Shelley Heath
Best Captain: Daisy Pearce
North Melbourne
MVP: Jasmine Garner, Emma Kearney, Ashleigh Riddell
Best First-Year Player: Jasmine Ferguson
Most Courageous: Tahlia Randall
Best Captain: Emma Kearney
Richmond
MVP: Katie Brennan, Monique Conti, Rebecca Miller
Best First-Year Player: Meagan Kiely
Most Courageous: Sarah Hosking
Best Captain: Katie Brennan
StKilda
MVP: Bianca Jakobsson, Tilly Lucas-Rodd, Hannah Priest
Best First-Year Player: Ash Richards
Most Courageous: Bianca Jakobsson
Best Captain: Hannah Priest
West Coast
MVP: Dana Hooker, Aimee Schmidt, Emma Swanson
Best First-Year Player: Charlotte Thomas
Most Courageous: Emma Swanson
Best Captain: Emma Swanson
Western Bulldogs
MVP: Ellie Blackburn, Kirsty Lamb, Bonnie Toogood
Best First-Year Player: Elizabeth Snell
Most Courageous: Kirsty Lamb
Best Captain: Ellie Blackburn
