By Hannah Kennelly and Roy Ward
As one of her teammates remarked, Jasmine Garner is probably used to it.
The North Melbourne superstar will once again start among the favourites at Monday night’s AFLW best-and-fairest count; one of the rare awards in the game she is yet to win.
Jasmine Garner gets a handball away against Adelaide’s Ebony Marinoff in October.Credit: Sarah Reed/AFL Photos via Getty Images
The dominance of Adelaide’s Ebony Marinoff in the middle of the ground means she is the leading contender to deny Garner the honour this year.
If she wins, Marinoff would be a worthy champion – just as Richmond’s Monique Conti was last year – but Garner’s teammates are still holding hope this will be the year she breaks through for the league’s showpiece award.
Last season Garner was crowned player of the year by AFLW coaches and was the AFL Players Association most valuable player, but she finished seventh in the league’s best and fairest.
While North players and fans will scream for justice, Garner herself doesn’t seem to care, especially with a grand final to prepare for on Saturday against the Brisbane Lions.
“I don’t take too much notice of it all,” Garner said.
“I will go, enjoy the night and be on the waters, which will be nice.
“We’ve got such a good team, midfielders, forwards, Ash Riddell – I think there will be a lot of votes shared, so we will see what happens, but I don’t expect anything.
“Our team goal was that grand final, and I’ll be looking forward to that.”
Jasmine Garner and Ash Riddell talk tactics.Credit: AFL Photos via Getty Images
Riddell is another star in the Roos side, and she is in awe at how her teammate handles missing out.
“I think she’s probably used to not getting the votes now because there has been three or four years in a row where, I know I’m biased, but I think she’s the best player in the comp,” Riddell said.
“But she stays pretty cool, calm and collected, just as she does on the football field – it really doesn’t faze her.
Added teammate Kate Shierlaw: “The best thing about Jas is she actually doesn’t care, we probably care more than she does.”
In the past three seasons, Garner has polled 11 votes in season six, 12 votes in season seven (both played in 2022) and last season when she finished seventh on 14 votes. She had averaged 29 disposals and seven tackles per game.
Riddell, who had an exceptional 2023 season, recorded 16 votes to finish second to Richmond’s Monique Conti (21 votes).
“I was spewing last year when I got a few votes over Jas,” Riddell said.
“I think you could see on camera that we all wanted her to win, but I snuck a few votes ahead. I guess that’s the byproduct of the team we play for.
“I think Jas and I both agree that we’d prefer to have an even spread of contributors than one person doing it all and winning the individual accolades.
“We are here for the team, and we want to win a flag.”
Garner is an unbackable favourite to claim her seventh-straight All-Australian spot and her statistics have again shown why Roos coach Darren Crocker describes her as a “generational talent”.
“I would have thought that Jasmine would have been rewarded with that already, but we know what an unbelievable player she is,” Crocker said after Saturday’s preliminary final win.
Jasmine Garner has been described by her coach, Darren Crocker, as a generational talent.Credit: Getty
“I’ve used the term before, she’s a generational player, and Ash is pushing up right behind her, they might take votes off each other.
“You would think that would hold them in good stead, having won all those games, but who knows?”
Garner is sixth in AFLW disposals averaging 26.1 per game, second in kicks with 17.2 per game, fifth in effective kicks with nine per game and ranks third in average AFLW fantasy points with 113.5 per game.
To top it off, she’s become the most dangerous type of midfielder – a goalkicker. She has contributed 13 majors this season – the 11th best haul in AFLW – alongside six goal assists and 59 score involvements, the fourth most in the league.
Marinoff has averaged 30.5 disposals, 5.7 inside-50s and 11.6 effective kicks per game in 2024 while being a clear match-winner for the Crows several times. Riddell’s 29.4 disposals shows she will likely again be among the votes as well.
“I think Eb Marinoff will probably win it this year – she’s had an outstanding year, so she probably gets the chocolates,” Riddell said.
The Roos players will gather in a group to enjoy the awards night, but all agree the only medal any of them has their hearts set on is the premiership kind up for grabs on Saturday.
“I think Ash and Jas both had superb seasons and ‘Noffy’ [Marinoff] has had a really good year, but I really don’t know,” Shierlaw said.
“It’s so unpredictable every year but, hopefully, Ash and Jas are right up there.
“We want to see our teammates get some recognition for the work they’ve put in, but we’ve got a lot bigger fish to fry than individual awards.”
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