Nina Morrison has been rewarded for shouldering a more significant workload in the Geelong midfield by winning the Cats’ AFL best-and-fairest for the first time.
The 23-year-old, who finished runner-up in 2023 and third in Season 7, scored a comfortable victory, finishing on 138 votes, 40 clear of Irish star Aishling Moloney.
Morrison, who, along with Moloney, has been named in the All-Australian squad, averaged 20.8 disposals, 7.1 tackles and 3.9 clearances.
She stepped up in the absence of previous winners Georgie Prespakis and Amy McDonald, who finished third and seventh, respectively.
A runner-up finish came off the back of a breakout season by Moloney, who kicked 21 goals to share the AFLW goal-kicking award.
Becky Webster and Rachel Kearns rounded out the top five.
Earlier in the night, small forward Mikayla Bowen received the player-voted Hoops Award, while ruck Kate Darby was recognised as Community Champion for the fourth time.
Geelong AFLW Best & Fairest 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 by his estimation. The three AFLW line coaches were also required to award a 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 rating each to the best five players by their estimation. These ratings are then combined, with 20 votes being the maximum number any player can receive for an AFLW Round.
X: @krockfootball
