TWO OF IRELAND’S top Aussie Rules stars have been nominated for the 2022 Australian Football League Women’s [AFLW] Most Valuable Player [MVP] award.
Mayo great Cora Staunton and Tipperary triple-threat Orla O’Dwyer have earned more recognition after their stellar individual seasons for Greater Western Syndey Giants and Brisbane Lions respectively.
Cork legend Bríd Stack is also in the running for an AFL Players’ Association gong; Staunton’s Giants team-mate nominated for Most Courageous Player after her impressive debut season.
A serious neck injury, sustained in pre-season, sidelined Stack for the 2021 campaign, and the 11-time All-Ireland winner certainly made her impact felt this season.
Just like Staunton and O’Dwyer, who were both electric throughout; the former recording a remarkable 18-goal haul and the latter the definition of consistency.
Three players from each team have been nominated for the AFLW MVP award (you can view all here) and one each for Most Courageous, Best First-Year Player and Best Captain, with voting a two-stage process. Players nominate their team-mates in stage one, before selecting from a competition-wide field in stage two.
Players cannot vote for a player from their own club during stage two of the voting process, with the winners announced on Channel 7′s Front Bar programme on Wednesday.
O’Dwyer and Staunton are also in line for top All-Australian honours, having been included in the initial 40-strong squad last week.
This will be whittled down to 21 players, forming the equivalent of the All-Stars team here, which will be announced at tomorrow’s W Awards in Melbourne.
Should the pair make the cut, they will etch their names into history as the first Irishwomen to make a final All-Australian team. Jim Stynes was included in the men’s equivalent in 1991 and 1993.
Both of their seasons have come to an end; O’Dwyer’s Lions dethroned by Melbourne in Saturday’s preliminary final, while Staunton’s Giants bowed out before the finals series.
Of the 14 Irish players involved in the 2022 season, three are left standing ahead of this weekend’s Grand Final. Dublin duo Sinéad Goldrick and Lauren Magee (Melbourne) and Clare’s Ailish Considine (Adelaide Crows) go head-to-head there.
Adelaide Oval hosts Saturday’s decider at 3.30am Irish time.
