THERE'S a large group of elite midfielders in the NAB AFLW competition, but one stands above them all.
Womens.afl conducted an exclusive survey among 14 players – one from every club – to find out who they regard as the best of the best, and to no surprise, Adelaide superstar Erin Phillips got the nod as the premier onballer of the competition.
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The 34-year-old is currently rehabbing a torn ACL suffered in the third quarter of March's AFLW Grand Final, where she regardless won the best-on-ground medal.
She is hopeful to return in round one of the 2020 season.
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A highly talented athlete, having also had a distinguished basketball career both in Australia and the US, Phillips is incredibly powerful both in the air and on the ground.
Phillips is a natural and polished ball-winner, has a career average of 19 disposals, and has booted 28 goals from her 22 AFLW matches.
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Her power, athleticism and versatility (being able to play inside, outside and push forward) were some of the reasons given by players as to why they hold the Crow in high regard.
In an interesting spread of votes, the two-time AFLW best and fairest received four votes, while a group of 10 players had one nomination each.
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Melbourne was well represented with its elite trio of Daisy Pearce, Karen Paxman and Elise O'Dea all picking up a vote, while North Melbourne pair Emma Kearney (herself a league best and fairest) and Jenna Bruton were also named.
Voting results
4 – Erin Phillips (Adelaide)
1 – Ellie Blackburn (Western Bulldogs), Kiara Bowers (Fremantle), Jenna Bruton (North Melbourne), Brianna Davey (Collingwood), Dana Hooker (West Coast), Emma Kearney (North Melbourne), Elise O'Dea (Melbourne), Alyce Parker (GWS), Karen Paxman (Melbourne), Daisy Pearce (Melbourne)
This is part of a series which saw 14 players – one from every club – surveyed anonymously about who they regard as the best in the competition. Check back to womens.afl as more answers are revealed over the coming days.
