Phillips wins AFLW best and fairest award

Adelaide premiership co-captain Erin Phillips has taken out the AFL's best and fairest award in the inaugural season.

Adelaide Crows co-Captain Erin Phillips

Adelaide premiership co-captain Erin Phillips is the favourite for the AFL's best and fairest award. (AAP)

Erin Phillips started her AFLW pre-season with a torn quad and ended the inaugural competition in triumph.

The Adelaide premiership co-captain capped her outstanding season by winning the league's first best and fairest award - the women's equivalent of the Brownlow Medal.

It was the fifth major individual AFLW honour for the 31-year-old, who already has a stellar basketballer career that features an Olympic silver medal, a world championship and two WNBA titles.

"I'm just really grateful and in awe (of the talent in the league)," she said after Wednesday night's count in Melbourne.

"I never thought I'd be in this position.

"I'm incredibly humbled to win this."

She is the daughter of Port Adelaide and Collingwood AFL player Greg Phillips and the sister-in-law of four-time AFL premiership player Shaun Burgoyne.

Phillips will more than hold her own for bragging rights at future family functions.

She grew up living and breathing Australian Rules because of her Dad, but at 13 had to stop playing.

Then Adelaide recruited her and in November, at her second Crows training session, Phillips quickly learned the transition from basketball to AFLW would not be straightforward.

"I tore my quad - doing too many kicks," she said.

"I didn't know you could actually get those injuries, kicking a footy, I've never had it before.

"But I guess 31 years (old), you have to ease into things like that.

"Just the whole transition ...trying to become a professional footballer, it's such a different energy system, (and) AFL is the hardest game in the world to play."

But Phillips polled three votes in round one and dominated the inaugural AFLW.

She polled votes in six of the seven rounds and had three best afields.

Phillips had an unbeatable three-vote lead before the final round and finished on 14, four up on Melbourne's Karen Paxman and Ellie Blackburn from the Western Bulldogs.

The Crows star also was voted best afield in Saturday's grand final win over Brisbane.

Then on Tuesday she was named the AFL Players Association's most valuable player.

Earlier on Wednesday night, Phillips also won goal of the year and was named vice-captain in the All-Australian team, with Melbourne's Daisy Pearce the captain.

Phillips said the AFLW had been life-changing for her.

Early next month she will return to the United States with Tracy Gahan and their twin babies so Phillips can resume playing in the WNBA with the Dallas Wings.

In the next couple of weeks, Phillips will also speak to Basketball Australia and has a big decision to make - does she aim for the Tokyo Olympics?

Phillips was vice-captain of the Opals when they finished fifth in Rio and she said that was a bitter disappointment.

THE AFLW AWARDS

AFLW Best and Fairest: Phillips

Voting

14 - Phillips

10 - Karen Paxman (Melb) Ellie Blackburn (WB)

9 - Lara Filocamo (Fre)

8 - Kaitlyn Ashmore (Bris)

Rising Star: Ebony Marinoff (Adel)

Goal of the year: Phillips

Mark of the year: Darcy Vescio (Carl)

AFLW All-Australian team

B: Nicola Stevens (Coll) Courtney Cramey (Adel)

HB: Chelsea Randall (Adel) Brianna Davey (Carl) Karen Paxman (Melb)

C: Elise O'Dea (Melb) Daisy Pearce (Melb, capt) Emma Kearney (WB)

HF: Erin Phillips (Adel, v/capt) Sabrina Frederick-Traub (Bris) Ellie Blackburn (WB)

F: Darcy Vescio (Carl) Sarah Perkins (Adel)

R: Emma King (Coll) Karra Donnellan (Fre) Emily Bates (Bris)

I: Jess Dal Pos (GWS) Kate McCarthy (Bris) Ebony Marinoff (Adel) Tayla Harris (Bris) Mel Hickey (Melb) Sam Virgo (Brisbane)


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Source: AAP



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