Adelaide superstar Ebony Marinoff has capped off a stellar season by winning her first AFLW Best and Fairest.
Just an hour after claiming her seventh All-Australian blazer, Marinoff, a three-time premiership player and the AFLW’s all-time games record holder, added to her glittering resume with the competition’s top individual honour.
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In a tight count, Marinoff (23 votes), the hot favourite going in, narrowly beat out North Melbourne’s Ash Riddell (20), who was seen as the Crows star’s biggest threat.
With it, Marinoff became the first Crow since dual winner Erin Phillips (2017 and 2019) to take out the major award.
Marinoff had gone so close in the past, having finished top 10 five times in the past, including polling third in both season 6 and 7, both of which were held in 2022.
But she finally took out the top gong after a career-best season where the 27-year-old averaged personal best numbers across the board in disposals (30.5), 추천 contested possessions (16.5), tackles (12.4), clearances (6.5) and pressure acts (26.7) and polling votes in 11 home and away games.
As expected, the star Kangaroos double-act of Riddell and Jasmine Garner were again their own worst enemies on the league’s night of nights, with Garner – despite managing only 10 votes – outpolling Riddell in the final rounds to ensure victory for Marinoff.
AFL boss Andrew Dillon had to pause the count during Round 5 when the perpetually overlooked Garner finally polled her first votes, prompting a wave of prolonged cheers from across the room at Crown Palladium.
Marinoff acknowledged both Garner and Riddell for their fantastic seasons, but pointed out she had a similar vote-pinching arrangement with teammate Anne Hatchard.
“One day Jassy (Garner) will be up here, and Ash (Riddell) you had an amazing year,” Marinoff said after accepting the medal.
“To go into battle with the best, that’s what I love doing.”
The Adelaide product from the inner-west suburb of Lockleys, who joined the Crows as a foundation player, thanked her family and friends – particularly her mum for allowing her to switch from netball to football as a kid.
“I played netball how I played footy … too many contacts,” she said.
“I’m a proud South Australian, to be able to play for the club I support and be there for the success … for the crew watching back home, I wish you could be here, because I’m sure we’ll party hard with Hannah (Mungard) winning goal of the year as well.”
Marinoff was open in her disappointment at the Crows losing to Brisbane in their preliminary final 48 hours earlier.
“To be standing up here is not where I want to be, I want to be back in Adelaide preparing for a grand final, so I’m envious of Brisbane and North Melbourne for sure,” she said.
“You’re proud, but you’re disappointed. Make sure that we grind away in the off-season, because you don’t play to be up here, you play to win premierships.
“I think (the medal) just goes to hard work. I’m a really competitive person and I have incredible drive to get the best out of myself, both on and off the field. Head down, bump up, get to work.”
Essendon’s Madi Prespakis finished third with 18 votes followed by Hawthorn’s Emily Bates, Richmond’s reigning winner Monique Conti and Bomber Georgia Nanscawen in equal fourth with 17 votes.
Prespakis and Nanscawen were the big surprises of the count as they consistently stood out for the 2024 finalists.