Zarlie Goldsworthy’s star has officially risen as the 18-year-old was crowned the GIANTS’ Gabrielle Trainor Medallist on Monday evening.
The NSW local was the undisputed star of the night as she took home her first Club Champion award along with a host of other honours including the Rising Star Award, Members Choice Award, Leading Goal Kicker and the Jacinda Barclay Fearless Award.
With four-time Club Champion Alyce Parker leading for the first six rounds, Goldsworthy stormed home to cap off a stellar second season in the competition.
A raging favourite for the League’s Rising Star Award, Goldsworthy polled votes in every round, including a club-high maximum 24 votes for her five-goal, 24-disposal, 12-tackle performance to lead the GIANTS to victory in round eight.
Parker – who missed the final three games of the season with injury – came runner up while emerging star Tarni Evans and inaugural GIANT Rebecca Beeson tied for third place.
GIANTS Head Coach Cam Bernasconi congratulated the young star.
“This is such a well-deserved honour for Zarlie after a stunning season, it’s incredible to think she’s still only 18 years old and in just her second season of AFLW,” he said.
“She’s a competitive and ambitious individual and she came into this season wanting to improve her game, play more midfield time and impact the team’s performances.
“She did all of that and more and I loved her want to compete at every single moment and with every challenge the coaching staff threw at her.
“Zarlie is a home-grown talent who will be a GIANT for years to come and I can’t wait to see her career continue to flourish in the orange and charcoal.
“I also want to recognise Alyce’s second-place finish and another fantastic season that was only cut short through injury.
“Congratulations also to Tarni for another top-three finish and a special mention to Bec Beeson, who had an inspirational return from concussion issues and not only returned to the field but starred on it.
“Thank you to all our players, staff, partners and members for their continued support of our program as we look to come back bigger and better in 2024.”
200 people attended the GIANTS’ Club Champion event at the Establishment Ballroom on Monday evening, where a host of other names were also recognised throughout the night.
Ulladulla local Mel Staunton won the club’s Academy Player of the Year while the Community Award went to Chloe Dalton for her tireless efforts to champion women’s sport and achieve equity for female athletes.
The Mark of the Year went to Brodee Mowbray for her mark against the Tigers at Blacktown in round three while the Goal of the Year was Jessica Doyle’s incredible snap from the boundary line against St Kilda in round seven.
Nicola Barr was awarded the Defensive Moment of the Year for her chase-down tackle in the GIANTS’ win over the Eagles while Haneen Zreika won the Coaches Award for another strong season where she played a host of roles for the team.
The Gabrielle Trainor Medallist is voted on by Head Coach Cam Bernasconi and his five assistant coaches, who can award votes to as many players as they see fit on a scale of 1-4 with a maximum of 24 votes available per player per round.
The votes from across the season are then tallied up, with the player with the most votes being crowned the Gabrielle Trainor Medallist.
2023 Gabrielle Trainor Medal Top 10:
1 Zarlie Goldsworthy (119 votes)
2 Alyce Parker (77)
=3 Rebecca Beeson and Tarni Evans (68)
5 Nicola Barr (66)
6 Haneen Zreika (48)
7 Chloe Dalton (47)
=8 Alicia Eva and Katherine Smith (34)
10 Georgia Garnett (29)
Other Awards:
Academy Player of the Year
Mel Staunton
Rising Star Award, presented by Bingo Industries:
Zarlie Goldsworthy
GIANTS Community Award, presented by TAL:
Chloe Dalton
Members Choice Award, presented by Western Sydney University:
Zarlie Goldsworthy
Mark of the Year, presented by Brydens Lawyers:
Brodee Mowbray – Round 3 v Richmond
Goal of the Year, presented by Crypto.com:
Jessica Doyle – Round 7 v St Kilda
Defensive Moment of the Year
Nicola Barr – Round 6 v West Coast
Leading Goal Kicker, presented by Harvey Norman:
Zarlie Goldsworthy – 13 goals
Jacinda Barclay Fearless Award:
Zarlie Goldsworthy
Coaches Award:
Haneen Zreika
