AFL Barwon Women’s Grand Final: Best players from each team revealed
From dominant goal-scoring performances and match-winning behinds to best on ground honours in a devastating loss, the women’s grand finals had plenty of individual performances for the ages.
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From dominant goal-scoring performances and match-winning behinds to best on ground honours in a devastating loss, the women’s grand finals had plenty of individual performances for the ages.
Find out which players etched themselves into history and covered themselves in glory on the biggest stage of the year.
Division 1
Danielle Sgarbi (#2 Geelong Amateur)
The league best and fairest winner was also named best on ground for her effort in the ruck.
Sgarbi went up against Grovedale’s Ruby Bowers and Janessa FitzGerald, and was strong in the aerial contest while also collecting plenty of the ball.
Poppy Schaap (#41 Geelong Amateur)
The small forward was a threat whenever the ball hit the deck in the attacking 50, with Schaap providing the crowd with dazzling displays of foot speed and silky skills.
Schaap kicked one goal and set up a couple of others, and her ability to provide Grovedale’s defenders with pressure in their disposal led to the ball living in the Ammos’ forward 50.
Aliesha McLean (#10 Grovedale)
As Geelong Amateur began to seize control of the game, McLean began to come alive for Grovedale.
The forward took a big mark and kicked a goal, which swung the momentum in the third quarter and gave the Tigers a real boost of life.
McLean looked very dangerous in the second half and could have finished with a couple of goals if it weren’t for the Ammos defensive pressure.
Brooke Connolly (#14 Grovedale)
Connolly was the Tigers’ best player in a difficult loss to the Ammos, having offered plenty throughout the contest.
Her skills were evident, providing her teammates with great opportunities for clean possessions in a game that was packed with defensive pressure.
She was one of the Tigers’ prominent players in the third quarter as Grovedale tried to mount a comeback.
Division 2
Alexandra Trezise (#8 Geelong West)
Lightning quick in the forward line and a real sense where the goals are, Trezise provided Thomson’s defenders with a real headache all day.
The forward star booted the two opening goals of the game, both coming in the first quarter, and while she did not kick another she was dangerous for the entirety of the game.
Her ability to stop on a dime and change direction with ball in hand provided plenty of highlights for the travelling Giants fans to cheer on from the other side of the boundary.
Rhianan Woods (#33 Geelong West)
There wouldn’t be many key forwards who celebrate kicking a point, but when it’s to put your team up in extra time of a grand final, and it turns out to be the winning point, it’s probably going to be one of the more memorable behinds in a career.
Woods was a tough matchup in the forward line, with a vice-like grip pulling down contested marks all day.
Her accuracy was a cause for concern late, with a set shot out on the full at the start of extra time, but a repeat effort with a pack mark a few minutes later resulted in the match winning point.
She booted one goal in the third quarter to tie the game up after Thomson gained the lead.
Danielle Rhodes (#12 Geelong West)
Rhodes was probably one of the Giants’ best midfielders for the day, collecting plenty of the ball and using it relatively well, especially when moving it into attack.
There were multiple times where Rhodes and Woods connected in the forward 50, with one such connection leading to a shot at goal in extra time.
Her use in the forward half was exceptional, and her ability to extract the ball from the contest and then consistently find a target was a highlight.
Rorri Phibbs (#11 Geelong West)
The inspiring Giants co-skipper was arguably best afield for the winning side, winning plenty of the ball on the inside and outside of the contest.
Phibbs was not afraid to put her head of the ball and take contact in the contest, and laid multiple strong rundown tackles against a tough Thomson side.
Teagan Tatlock (#6 Thomson)
Tatlock, who actually played for Geelong West from 2018 to 2021, was pretty easily best on ground, winning the award despite being on the losing side.
Her performance through the midfield gave her side life in the battle for supremacy in a match where momentum swung hard.
Tatlock won plenty of the ball in the contest, used the ball well and provided plenty of pressure with hard tackles, big bumps and general defensive pressure.
She was a deserving winner of the best on ground award for almost dragging the Tigers to victory in their first year of existence.
Madeline Chandler (#20 Thomson)
Chandler was a big factor in Thomson’s comeback that started in the second quarter.
Her ability to take a contested mark was evident as she provided the Giants’ defenders trouble as she took control of the contest.
Chandler played in the forward line but was not only stationed there, moving further up the ground and providing a presence for her side.
Division 3
Monique Martin (#26 Modewarre)
A deserving best on ground winner in Modewarre’s win over North Geelong, Martin was everywhere in the contest.
She seemingly provided her forwards with countless looks at goal with clean ball use through the midfield, while also getting back to provide stiff defensive efforts as the Magpies tried to launch late in the game.
Martin’s ability to extract the ball from the contest and then use the ball cleanly under pressure was a highlight, including a pinpoint kick that led to a third quarter goal that sealed the game.
Jorja Kirsopp-Cole (#10 Modewarre)
Possibly a touch unlucky not to be awarded the best-on-ground medal, Kirsopp-Cole could not be stopped in the forward line.
She ended with three goals for the game, dominating early in the game and really taking the contest away from North Geelong.
Kirsopp-Cole’s work on the lead, but also once the ball hit the ground, gave her multiple avenues to potential score involvements in the win.
Faith Qoon (#18 North Geelong)
Qoon was the Magpies’ best in the loss, playing through the forward line and pushing further up the ground to provide a link to North Geelong’s attacking thrusts.
Inaccuracies plagued the Magpies’ efforts in the grand final, but Qoon’s ball use gave her side plenty of chances at goal.
Originally published as AFL Barwon Women’s Grand Final: Best players from each team revealed
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