Southern Saints' Hannah Stuart in action during the VFLW match against Casey Demons at Casey Fields on March 21, 2021. Picture: Jonathan DiMaggio/AFL Photos

THE rebel VFLW Coaches Player of the Year award is building towards a thrilling conclusion after last weekend’s games created a logjam at the top of the leaderboard.

With Darebin star Angelica Gogos being sidelined by a hand injury, the challengers are coming thick and fast, with no fewer than 11 players now sitting within six votes of the lead with five games remaining in the season.

Southern Saints star Hannah Stuart joined Gogos on 37 votes after picking up eight for her 20 disposals, eight tackles and a goal in her team’s big win over Darebin, which also has Nicole Callinan (32) chasing Gogos after polling five votes.

Reigning Lambert-Pearce medallist Georgia Nanscawen continues to bubble along beneath the surface, polling five votes to sit within one of the lead, while her Essendon teammate Amelia Radford and Geelong’s Paige Sheppard are another solitary vote further back.

Casey Demons forward Tahlia Fellows (14 disposals, four marks, five inside-50s, two goals) climbed to 34 with one of only two perfect 10s in Round 9, with her game judged to be more influential than Cat Laura Gardiner (39 disposals, 10 clearances), who polled five votes in the same game to also move to 34 and a share of sixth.

Casey Demon Tahlia Fellows polled a perfect 10 against Geelong on Saturday. Picture: Morgan Hancock/AFL Photos

Williamstown’s Aimee Whelan (33) and Hawthorn pair Tamara Luke (32) and Dom Carbone (31) are also within one stellar performance of taking the lead.

North Melbourne’s Tess Craven (23 disposals) was the other player to earn the full 10 votes in the Kangaroos’ victory over Port Melbourne on Saturday.

As with the AFL Coaches Association Player of the Year, the VFLW award is voted on by the coaches of each club after every game in both competitions.

The coaches are awarding 5-4-3-2-1 to their best players in the game from either team, with those votes collated and revealed each week on vfl.com.au.

Another 14 new players attracted the coaches’ attention for the first time in Round 9, making it 198 who have polled votes across the first nine rounds.

Twitter: @BRhodesVFL

North Melbourne's Tess Craven earned 10 votes in her team's victory over Port Melbourne. Picture: Jonathan DiMaggio/AFL Photos

ROUND 9 VOTES

Casey Demons 8.4 (52) def Geelong 1.3 (9)
10 Tahlia Fellows (Cas)
6 Lucy Wales (Cas)
5 Laura Gardiner (Gee)
4 Steph Wales (Cas)
2 Emma Horne (Cas)
2 Tamara Smith (Gee)
1 Paige Sheppard (Gee)

Port Melbourne 3.4 (22) lost to North Melbourne 4.11 (35)
10 Tess Craven (NM)
8 Olivia Barton (PM)
3 Reni Hicks (NM)
3 Emily Paterno (NM)
2 Molly Eastman (NM)
2 Ellie MacDonald (NM)
1 Kaitlyn O’Keefe (PM)
1 Brooke Slaney (NM)

Essendon 14.10 (94) def Collingwood 3.3 (21)
8 Federica Frew (Ess)
8 Renee Tierney (Ess)
5 Georgia Nanscawen (Ess)
4 Matilda Zander (Col)
2 Danielle Marshall (Ess)
2 Jordan Zanchetta (Ess)
1 Amelia Radford (Ess)

Williamstown 2.1 (13) lost to Hawthorn 9.8 (62)
9 Dom Carbone (Haw)
5 Tamara Luke (Haw)
5 Jessie Williams (Haw)
4 Ruby Tripodi (Wil)
3 Katelyn Cox (Haw)
2 Gabrielle Biedenweg-Webster (Wil)
2 Bridget Deed (Haw)

Western Bulldogs 1.5 (11) lost to Carlton 5.9 (39)
5 Mia Cowan (Car)
5 Thomay Nicolaou (Car)
4 Ally Bild (Car)
4 Lily Goss (Car)
3 Britney Gutknecht (WB)
3 Nikita Wright (WB)
2 Jennifer Lew (Car)
2 Vanessa Murphy (Car)
1 Tahlia Meier (WB)
1 Jemima Woods (WB)

Southern Saints 9.4 (52) def Darebin 1.3 (9)
8 Hannah Stuart (SS)
5 Alice Burke (SS)
5 Nicole Callinan (Dar)
5 Winnie Laing (SS)
3 Alana Woodward (SS)
2 Grace Buchan (SS)
1 Alexandra Hynes (SS)
1 Karly McNiece (Dar)

Hawthorn's Dom Carbone polled nine votes and sits just one vote outside the top 10, and Collingwood's Katie Lee played her 50th VFLW match on Saturday. Picture: Jonathan DiMaggio/AFL Photos

rebel VFLW COACHES PLAYER OF THE YEAR LEADERBOARD

37 Angelica Gogos (Dar) 0
37 Hannah Stuart (SS) 8
36 Georgia Nanscawen (Ess) 5
35 Amelia Radford (Ess) 1
35 Paige Shepherd (Gee) 1
34 Tahlia Fellows (Cas) 10
34 Laura Gardiner (Gee) 5
33 Aimee Whelan (Wil) 0
32 Nicole Callinan (Dar) 5
32 Tamara Luke (Haw) 5

ROHENNA YOUNG MEDAL LEADING GOALKICKER

25 Federica Frew (Ess) 4
15 Cecilia McIntosh (Ess) 2
14 Mia-Rae Clifford (Ess) 2
13 Renee Tierney (Ess) 3
13 Jessie Williams (Haw) 3
12 Mia Skinner (Gee) 0
11 Tahlia Fellows (Cas) 2
11 Kristy Stratton (Haw) 0
9 Grace Dicker (Ess) 2
9 Alison Dowler (Cas) 0

Southern Saint Grace Buchan played her 50th VFLW match on Sunday. Picture: Quinn Rooney/AFL Photos

REBEL VFLW CLUB MILESTONES

  • Carlton defeated Western Bulldogs at Whitten Oval for the first time (1-1)
  • Casey Demons defeated Geelong at Casey Fields for the first time (1-2)
  • Essendon defeated Collingwood at Windy Hill for the first time (1-1)
  • Hawthorn won its fifth consecutive match v Williamstown (5-0)
  • North Melbourne defeated Port Melbourne for the first time (1-2)
  • Port Melbourne squared its overall record (12-12) and its home record (5-5)

REBEL VFLW INDIVIDUAL MILESTONES

  • Grace Buchan (Southern Saints) 50 VFLW matches/2 goals
  • Katie Lee (Collingwood) 50 VFLW matches/6 goals
  • Simone Nalder (Essendon) 50 VFLW matches/2 goals
Essendon's Simone Nalder (with Southern Saint Alexandra Hynes) played her 50th VFLW game on Saturday. Picture: Quinn Rooney/AFL Photos

REBEL VFLW ROUND 9 RECORDS

(Figures in brackets are the previous record)

  • 5.9 39 Carlton's highest score v Western Bulldogs at Whitten Oval (3.6 24, 2021)
  • 8.4 52 Casey Demons' highest score v Geelong (5.15 45 all venues, 2022; 4.6 30 Casey, 2021)
  • 43 Casey Demons' biggest win v Geelong (11, 2022)
  • 3.3 21 Collingwood's lowest score v Essendon at The Hangar (5.8 38, 2021)
  • 14.10 94 Collingwood's highest VFLW score conceded (8.9 57, Kardinia, 2022)
  • 58 Collingwood's biggest VFLW loss (35, 2019 & 2022; 27 v Essendon, 2019)
  • 14.10 94 Essendon's highest score v Collingwood (7.7 49 all venues, 2019; 4.4 28 The Hangar, 2021)
  • 1.3 9 Geelong's lowest score v Casey Demons (5.2 32, 2021)
  • 9.8 62 Hawthorn's highest score v Williamstown (6.7 43, 2021)
  • 49 Hawthorn's biggest win v Williamstown (22, 2021)
  • 4.11 35 North Melbourne's highest score v Port Melbourne (3.4 22 all venues, 2021; 2.0 12 North Port, 2021)
  • 3.4 22 Port Melbourne's lowest score v North Melbourne (8.7 55 x2, 2021)
  • 1.5 11 Western Bulldogs' lowest score v Carlton at Whitten Oval (4.14 38, 2021)
  • 2.1 13 Williamstown's lowest score v Hawthorn (2.8 20 all venues, 2021; 2.9 21 WCG, 2021)

REBEL VFLW DEBUTS

  • Darebin: Mia Haas
  • Essendon: Scarlett Orritt
  • Geelong: Rosie Cox, Keeley Hardingham, Analea McKee, Kara Stacey, Mia Van Dyke
  • Hawthorn: Jade Hutchinson
  • Port Melbourne: Dom Carruthers, Olivia Cicolini, Jorja Livingstone
  • Southern Saints: Katie Prendergast
  • Western Bulldogs: Paige Ryan
  • Williamstown: Emily Eaves

REBEL VFLW FIRST GOALS

  • Carlton: Laura Robertson (5th match)
  • Casey Demons: Caitlin Conroy (12th), Jennifer Macdonald (2nd)
  • Essendon: Gloria Elarmaly (2nd)
Casey Demon Caitlin Conroy broke through for her first VFLW goal in her 12th match on Saturday. Picture: Kelly Defina/Getty Images via AFL Photos

In a first for the rebel VFLW, all matches in 2022 will be live streamed free. One VFLW feature match per week can be watched live via afl.com.au and the AFL Live Official App. All remaining games will be streamed live and available on demand via the VFL/W YouTube channel (youtube.com/AFLVictoria).
To access live scores, results, ladder, stats and to link to live streams/replays, download the VFL/W Official App from the Apple or Google Play app stores.