We've reached the midway mark of the 2022 AFL season, and in this chapter we reveal our mid-season awards.
The opening half of year has offered plenty of thrills and spills, with each club forging an identity as we begin to work through the final stretch of this premiership race.
Individuals have stuck their neck out in contention for particular awards, and here we detail who may be leading the honours as we turn to the second half of the season.
Without further ado, we name our All-Australian side, Brownlow Medal winner, Rising Star winner, Most Improved Player of the Year, Recruit of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, and Coach of the Year from the first half of the 2022 season.
Coach of the Year
Justin Longmuir (Fremantle)Â
Credit where it is due to the Dockers coach, who has not only found the best out of his fringe players but has instilled a menacing game style that works efficiently both with and without the ball in hand.
The third-year coach has side his sitting pretty among the top four of the competition after claiming the scalps of Melbourne, Brisbane and Geelong across the opening half of the year.
Fremantle have continued to restrict sides moving forward, conceding just 749 points from 12 matches, seeing them ranked second in the league with a two-point deficit separating them from first overall.
Offensively, Fremantle have a forward line that has flipped the script on their goalkicking woes of yesteryear as the likes of Lachie Schultz, Sam Switkowski and Michael Frederick wreak havoc on opposition defences.
Even without superstar midfielder Nat Fyfe, Longmuir has his engine room purring thanks to the aforementioned rise of Will Brodie and the services of role players Blake Acres and James Aish.
Worthy of a mention: Stuart Dew, Craig McRae, Michael Voss, Simon Goodwin
