2023 Awards Season

[liz]

And now Gowans has been recognised as AFLCA AFLW coach of the year, sharing the award with Starcevich.

This might be churlish, but I'm a little surprised he didn't win it outright. I know Brisbane lost a couple of players coming into this season but their list didn't take much of a hit the year before so they've not been too badly affected by the rapid expansion. And yes, they're into another grand final - an admirable achievement - but they didn't have the most consistent season, losing a couple of games they wouldn't have expected to lose given the depth and quality on their list.

So yes, another excellent season from Brisbane, but not unexpectedly so compared to the gains Gowans achieved with our women coming off their debut season and with a list still far inferior to the "Big Three" (now a "Big Five").

Gowans & Starcevich crowned AFL Coaches Association AFLW Senior Coach of the Year

[Ruck'n'Roll]

I was critical of his public pronouncements/trashtalk prior of the Giants prior to that GWS game, but if the coach cops the heat when a team underperforms then he should bask in the glory when they achieve a bucketload. Good on you Scotty.

[liz]

Unsurprisingly, Gardiner just won the Swans' 2023 B&F in a canter. Molloy was second, while Morphett managed third place despite only playing seven of twelve games (and one of those under duress).

For those who didn't watch the count, they used a very different voting system to that used for the men's team. Five coaches each vote 5-4-3-2-1 for each game, and then those votes are added together for the total votes for a player for that round. It meant that the aggregate votes awarded for each game were the same - whether we were smashed by Brisbane or Adelaide or we smashed the Western Bulldogs. It also meant that a lot of players didn't score a vote all season because none of the coaches deemed them in the best five for any particular game. But that doesn't mean they didn't make worthwhile contributions.

Gardiner also won the Players' Player award. Brenna Tarrant won the Best Player in the Finals, which probably reflects - in part - that against Adelaide the ball was pretty much parked in our defence. But she was certainly instrumental in stopping the scoreline get out to an even crueler margin.

Hurley was awarded the Rising Star award. The criteria required a player to have played 12 or fewer games before the season started, while ruled Morphett out of eligibility.

Best Clubperson was awarded to Maddy Collier.

[Ruck'n'Roll]

Full Top #10 for B&F
1 Laura Gardiner
2 Chloe Molloy
3 Ally Morphett
4 Sofia Hurley
5 Lucy McEvoy
6 Tanya Kennedy
7 Brenna Tarrant
8 Rebecca Privitelli
9 Ella Heads
10 Cynthia Hamilton
Only possible surpise there for me was the absence of Lisa Steane, who had a better season than last year (when she came 9th) - but of course the bar rose considerably.