Grovedale ruck earns Best and Fairest honour

AFL BARWON’S Female Football Division 1 Best and Fairest Award has been awarded to a ruck for the second consecutive season.

Grovedale’s Janessa FitzGerald earned the competition’s top individual honour this evening (Wednesday, August 21) at the annual Female Football presentation night at Buckley’s Entertainment Centre.

FitzGerald accumulated 19 votes across 11 games during the home and away season, edging out Thomson’s Phoebe Monahan by a single vote, and team-mate Taylah Hassett and Barwon Heads’ Isabella Farchione who finished tied for third on 15 votes.

FitzGerald served as a pivotal cog in Grovedale’s side, assisting the Tigers in their 2024 campaign which will conclude this Sunday, August 25 in the Grand Final rematch against Geelong Amateur.

The Grovedale tall follows Geelong Amateur’s Danielle Sgarbi as the second ruck to win the award in as many years.

Sgarbi finished with eight total votes, putting her inside the top 15 division wide.

FitzGerald is also the third Tiger in four years to be awarded the Division 1 best and fairest, following Alana Tully earning the honour in 2022 and Isabella Hill doing the same in 2021.

Rounding out the other two divisions, South Barwon’s Elara Dillon was crowned best and fairest in Division 2 with 19 votes, closely followed by St Joseph’s co-captain Paris Stokes (18 votes) and previous two-time winner Tara Smith from Drysdale (16 votes).

Modewarre’s Monique Martin was named Division 3 highest vote-getter with 14 votes, finishing in ahead of teammate Clodagh Newton’s 13 votes, and St Albans’ Gracie Navarro’s 12 votes.

Newtown & Chilwell’s Jayde Morrissy was awarded the Under 19 Best and Fairest Award with 14 votes next to her name.

Thomson’s Emily Kenshole (27 goals), St Joseph’s Bella Gilham (32 goals) and St Albans’ Dakota Harrington (24 goals) received the Leading Goal Kicker Awards in their respective divisions.

Check out this year’s Senior Female Football Team of the Year as voted by the Division 1 coaches:

Top 10 vote-getters of each Division:

Division 1:

• Janessa FitzGerald (Grovedale) – 19 votes
• Phoebe Monahan (Thomson) – 18 votes
• Taylah Hassett (Grovedale) – 15 votes
• Isabella Farchione (Barwon Heads) – 15 votes
• Teagan Tatlock (Thomson) – 13 votes
• Grace O’Kane (Torquay) – 10 votes
• Danielle Stewart (St Mary’s) – 10 votes
• Kara Stacey (Lara) – 10 votes
• Mardi Dangerfield (Geelong Ammos) – 9 votes
• Ally Duff (Barwon Heads) – 8 votes
• Riley Shapter (Geelong Ammos) – 8 votes
• Aliesha McLean (Grovedale) – 8 votes
• Danielle Sgarbi (Geelong Ammos) – 8 votes

Division 2:

• Elara Dillon (South Barwon) – 19 votes
• Paris Stokes (St Joseph’s) – 18 votes
• Tara Smith (Drysdale) – 16 votes
• Ella Nickolaus (Anglesea) – 15 votes
• Maggie Caudullo (South Barwon) – 14 votes
• Kelsea Gray (Anglesea) – 14 votes
• Emily Dixon (Newtown & Chilwell) – 12 votes
• Jacinta Dimasi (Geelong West) – 11 votes
• Ciera Major (Geelong West) – 11 votes
• Mercy Eze (Newtown & Chilwell) – 7 votes
• Isabella Symes (Drysdale) – 7 votes

Division 3:

• Monique Martin (Modewarre) – 14 votes
• Clodagh Newton (Modewarre) – 13 votes
• Gracie Navarro (St Albans) – 12 votes
• Kim Neilson (Barwon Heads) – 11 votes
• Grace Wright-Janocha (Belmont) – 11 votes
• Ebony Lillico (Belmont) – 9 votes
• Sophie Dinneen (Geelong Ammos) – 8 votes
• Faith Qoon (North Geelong) – 7 votes
• Elsa Saultry (North Geelong) – 6 votes
• Jenna Le Deux (Belmont Lions) – 6 votes
• Teagan Fitzmaurice (Barwon Heads) – 6 votes
• Amber Kelly (St Albans) – 6 votes