Superstar midfielder Amy McDonald claimed her third consecutive Geelong AFLW Best and Fairest at a function at GMHBA Stadium on Friday night.
McDonald took out the award with 127 votes to finish ahead of star midfielders Georgie Prespakis (123) and Nina Morrison (67).
The midfielder took her game to another level in season seven, averaging 24.8 disposals a game, including 34 disposals in Round 5 and Round 10 – setting a new Club record.
The accolade comes as no surprise in a season where she averaged 7.4 tackles and 6.8 clearances a game, with her ability to dodge and weave through traffic and break tackles a standout.
McDonald’s finest season to date was also capped off with her first selection in the All Australian team and finishing in fifth-place in the AFLPA MVP Award.
The star Cat is only the second player in Geelong’s history across men’s and women’s programs to win three consecutive Club Best and Fairest awards, after Dick Grigg won four awards from 1910-1914 (no award was presented in 1913).
AFLW Senior Coach Dan Lowther congratulated McDonald on another outstanding season.
“For Amy to be awarded her third Best and Fairest is an incredible achievement and something she should be really proud of,” Lowther said.
“Amy looks at refining her game each week, so it’s no surprise that she has improved her output and ability to influence games across the season.
“In another consistent season, Amy was able to perform her role to an outstanding level while winning her own footy and driving her teammates to new levels.”
Other award winners on the night were Georgie Prespakis, taking home the AFLW Fan MVP Award, presented by Geelong Dairy, after fans cast their votes for the player they deemed most valuable after each game during the home and away season.
In just her second season of AFLW, Prespakis has quickly established herself as one of the elite midfielders in the competition and a fan favourite amongst the Geelong faithful.
Prespakis was also announced as the winner of the Grit Award, as voted by her teammates. Throughout the season, Cats players voted each week on who they believed showed the most ‘grit’ during games, throughout acts such as tackles, smothers, intercepts, gut running and pressure acts, with Prespakis receiving the most votes over the course of the season.
Mikayla Bowen won the Hoops award, which is awarded to the player making the best values-based contribution to the Club, and voted on by players, AFLW staff and coaches.
Recipient of the award and in her first season at Geelong, Bowen was awarded for her commitment and dedication to the Club and her teammates.
Kate Darby and Georgie Rankin were announced as joint winners of the Carter Family Community Champion award.
The Carter Family Community Champion Award is presented to the players that have provided outstanding commitment to community, both for the Geelong Cats and via their relationships and engagement with community-based organisations, programs, campaigns and initiatives.
Darby, who won the inaugural Cats AFLW Community Champion Award in 2019, and Rankin, who also won the award in Season 6, have continued to show outstanding commitment across a range of Cats Community programs, including helping deliver the GMHBA Healthy Heroes program into schools across Geelong and Colac, assisting at footy clinics, and taking on ambassadorial roles for Pride (Darby) and the Sensory Zone (Rankin).
AFLW Best and Fairest Top 10
1. Amy McDonald – 127
2. Georgie Prespakis – 123
3. Nina Morrison – 67
4. Chantel Emonson – 46
5. Rebecca Webster – 46
6. Shelley Scott – 39
7. Chloe Scheer – 37
8. Claudia Gunjaca – 30
8. Mikayla Bowen – 30
10. Meghan McDonald – 25
Voting system
At the completion of each AFLW match, the senior coach awarded a 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 rating for the five best players. The three AFLW line coaches are also required to award a 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 to the five best players for each match. These two ratings are combined to give each player an aggregate score out of 20 for that AFLW round.
