GIANTS gun midfielder Courtney Gum has taken out the AFLW Players’ MVP Award, as voted by her peers, at an event in Melbourne on Monday.
Gum polled 219 votes, 59 ahead of Melbourne’s Karen Paxman in second place with Adelaide’s Chelsea Randall in third with 128 votes.
Gum had an outstanding first season in the NAB AFL Women’s competition, playing the maximum seven games after debuting at the age of 36.
Overlooked in the 2016 NAB AFLW Draft, Gum left her partner, son and physiotherapy business behind in Adelaide to pursue a career with the GIANTS, being selected with pick 25 in the 2017 NAB AFLW Draft.
Gum finished seventeenth in the competition for average disposals, recording 14.7 possessions per game.
In the GIANTS’ round six win over the Western Bulldogs, the South Australian equalled the GIANTS’ record for most possessions in a game with 23 and broke the AFLW record for most contested possessions in a game with 20.
The MVP Award is consistent with the process to crown the male MVP - the Leigh Matthews Trophy - with the AFLPA’s female members voting to decide the player worthiest of the AFLW Players’ MVP Award.
MVP voting is a two-stage process, beginning with each player voting for the three teammates they consider to have been the most valuable this season. Each club’s votes are then tallied to form a nomination list comprising 54 players across the 18 teams.
In the second round of voting, all players vote for their MVP on a 3, 2, 1 basis from the nominees of the 17 other clubs. The votes are tallied and the player with the highest score wins the honour of MVP. Players cannot vote for their own teammates in stage two of the process.
Gum also came runner up in the Most Courageous Award and the Best First Year Player Award.
Inaugural GIANTS captain Amanda Farrugia came runner up in the Best Captain Award after leading her side to three wins and a draw in their second season.
The AFLW Players’ Awards kick off a big week of accolades with the AFLW Awards in Melbourne on Tuesday night and the club’s Gabrielle Trainor Medal in Sydney on Wednesday night where the 2018 Club Champion will be crowned.
WINNERS AND TOP POLLING PLAYERS
AFLW Players’ MVP, proudly presented by Gloria Jean’s
1) Courtney Gum, GIANTS – 219
2) Karen Paxman, Melbourne Demons – 150
3) Chelsea Randall, Adelaide Crows - 128
Most Courageous, proudly presented by Vifor Pharma
1) Chelsea Randall, Adelaide Crows – 90
2) Courtney Gum, GIANTS – 35
3) Katie Loynes, Carlton Blues – 33
AFLW Players’ Best First Year Player Award, proudly presented by The Line
1) Chloe Molloy, Collingwood Magpies – 84
2) Courtney Gum, GIANTS – 79
3) Sophie Conway, Brisbane Lions - 10
AFLW Players’ Best Captain, proudly presented by KPMG
1) Daisy Pearce, Melbourne Demons - 55
2) Amanda Farrugia, GIANTS - 47
3) Brianna Davey, Carlton - 42
