Newcastle City players and former teammates Erin White and Ash Hayllar have shared the Black Diamond AFL Womens best and fairest award, with 24 points apiece on the voting leaderboard.
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White, who represents City’s Novas squad, and Hayllar, who represents the Stars, were presented the shared top gong at the Black Diamond AFL’s Elliott Davey Medal Presentation Night after they took control of the top of the leaderboard with Best on Field nominations in the final two rounds of the season.
Lake Macquarie’s Holly Kozlik was also honoured at the event night, when she was bestowed the title of Most Outstanding Young Women’s Footballer for the season, while Cardiff’s representative bolter Taylah Wilks was crowned the competition’s Rising Star.
Molly Simpson, who proved vital for Nelson Bay in their late-season quest to retain the throne heading into the league’s playoff rounds, was crowned the competitions Best First Year Player, and Gosford’s Angela Jones received her award for Leading Goalkicker after tallying 54 in fifteen appearances.
Representative players were also honoured, with Ashleigh Page (Killarney Vale), Kate Holland (Nelson Bay) and Tayla Braithwaite (Newcastle City Stars) claiming top plaudits for their efforts in the Central Coast, Hunter and Newcastle squads respectively.
Finally, Killarney Vale’s Theresa Haggerty was honoured with a non-playing achievement, the James J. Arnold Volunteer of the Year award.
The event evening also saw the 2018 Black Diamond AFL Womens Team of the Year announced:
- BDAFLW TOTY: Emily Bohan (Wyong Lakes); Sarah Ball (Wyong Lakes); Taylor Joyce (Newcastle City Stars); Kate Holland (Nelson Bay); Tori Cowburn (Singleton); Kanesha Murray (Wyong Lakes); Sophie Balcombe (Nelson Bay); Tayla Braithwaite (Newcastle City Stars); Ashleigh Page (Killarney Vale); Kaitlyn Douglass (Nelson Bay); Sarah Halvorsen (Newcastle City Stars); Amy Pittman (Warners Bay); Sarah Burns (Maitland); Meaghan MacDonald (Newcastle City Novas); Angela Jones (Gosford); Interchange: Caitlin Holcombe (Newcastle City Novas); Erin White (Newcastle City Novas); Ash Hayllar (Newcastle City Stars); Molly Simpson (Nelson Bay); Kate Handley (Newcastle City Novas); Coach: Josh Lawler (Wyong Lakes).
The Black Diamond AFL Womens finals continue this weekend, as the final four lock horns in a bid for one of two hallowed positions in the grand final.
The opening preliminary final will see Nelson Bay face off against a surging Wyong Lakes Magpies outfit at Newcastle No.1 Sportsground at midday on Saturday, with the Marlins looking to benefit from their week off in the semi-finals.
Despite their recuperation week, the Marlins have been staggered by season-ending injuries to a number of their key players, and the Magpies will be looking to pounce on the chance to earn their ticket to the big dance.
Also on the weekend, the Newcastle City Stars will travel to Adelaide Street Oval to take on Killarney Vale.
Despite the Stars being billed as the home side for the elimination clash, the match will be played in front of the Bombers’ home fans, a factor the team that ran third in the regular season will be eager to take full advantage of. Their clash will kick off at 2pm on Sunday.