WAFLW Team of the Year 2022Wednesday, June 29, 2022 - 11:09 PM - by Chris Pike

THE WAFLW Grand Final teams are set, the award winners have been announced, the AFLW Draft has been held and all there is left to be done is to announce the 2022 WAFLW Team of the Year ahead of Saturday's decider.

Following each round of the 2022 WAFLW season there was a Team of the Week announced, and from those sides the Team of the Year has been decided and announced in the lead up to Grand Final day on Saturday at Revo Fitness Stadium.

It has already been a massive week in the world of the WAFLW with Sunday's preliminary final seeing Claremont defeat Swan Districts to book a spot in this Saturday's Grand Final against East Fremantle.

Following that on Monday night the WAFLW Awards Night took place where East Fremantle midfielder Sharon Wong won the Dhara Kerr Medal as the league's fairest and best.

Other major award winners included Peel Thunder's Kate Bartlett (Leading Goalkicker), East Fremantle's Julia Teakle (Rookie of the Year) and Matthew Templeton from the Sharks as Coach of the Year.

The massive week continued on Wednesday night at the AFLW Draft which saw Ella Roberts (Peel), Lauren Wakfer (South Fremantle), Abby Bushby (Swan Districts), Madeleine Scanlon (Claremont), Zoe Wakfer (South Fremantle), Emily Elkington (Claremont), Jaide Britton (Peel), Mikayla Western (Claremont), Tara Stribley (Swan Districts) and Amy Mulholland (Subiaco) all selected from the WAFLW.

All that is now left to be done in the lead up to Saturday's Grand Final at Revo Fitness Stadium between East Fremantle and Claremont is the naming of the WAFL Team of the Year for 2022.

Throughout the season with a Team of the Week named after each round, a total of 119 players received selection on at least one occasion with all seven teams having players that were picked.

It would be no surprise that given East Fremantle went through the season undefeated that from the 336 total Team of the Week slots, 73 of them were taken up by players from the Sharks with 22 players all earning a spot on at least one occasion.

Reigning premiers Peel Thunder finished in third spot before losing to Swan Districts in the first semi-final, and they had 14 players named to the Team of the Week at least once for a total of 60 selections.

Claremont is into the Grand Final after ending up in second spot and the Tigers had 21 different players named to the Team of the Week for 59 spots.

Subiaco narrowly missed the finals but had 21 players earn a spot at least once for a total 53 selection while Swan Districts made the preliminary final and had the most players earn a spot at least once with 23 throughout the season for a total of 47 selection.

South Fremantle had a vastly improved season and as a result had 15 players earn a spot in the Team of the Week at least once for a total of 40 selections. West Perth found the going tough but had three players earn a position during the season.

By the end of the season, 47 players were named to a Team of the Week once, 21 on two occasions, 12 three times, 18 on four different rounds and then 10 on five occasions.

East Fremantle's Sharon Wong was the only player to earn six selections while her teammates Ashleigh Gomes and Larissa Versaci along with South Fremantle's Lauren Wakfer were picked seven times.

East Fremantle's Julia Teakle, Peel Thunder's Kate Bartlett and Claremont's Ella Smith were then the only players named to a Team of the Week eight times. Shark Alex Williams, Thunder star Chloe Wrigley and Lion Tarni Golisano were picked on nine occasions.

There was then just one player who received selection 11 times during the 2022 season and that was Peel Thunder defender Ebony Dowson.

Now that we've got all that out of the way, it's time for the announcement of the WAFLW Team of the Year for 2022:

WAFLW TEAM OF THE YEAR 2022
BACK: Alex Williams (EF), Paige Hamilton-Smith (C)
HALF-BACK: Ebony Dowson (PT), Madi Scanlon (C), Hayley O'Donnell (EF)
CENTRE: Kate Orme (C), Sharon Wong (EF), Jaide Britton (PT)
HALF-FORWARD: Larissa Versaci (EF), Ella Smith (C), Tessa Doumanis (C)
FORWARD: Kate Bartlett (PT), Julia Teakle (EF)
RUCK: Lauren Wakfer (SF), Chloe Wrigley (PT), Tarnica Golisano (S)
INTERCHANGE: Ashleigh Gomes (EF), Tess Lyons (S), Jess Cox (SD), Ashley Sharp (SD), Ashlee Atkins (EF)

BACK-LINE – ALEX WILLIAMS (East Fremantle)
If you look at her stats of 7.0 disposals a game and you might not understand her importance to the East Fremantle team, but ask any opposition forwards and she would be the first player mentioned they hope they don’t have to try and come up against. She had an outstanding season defensively for the Sharks and was named to the Team of the Week nine times from her 14 matches.

BACK-LINE – PAIGE HAMILTON-SMITH (Claremont)
She confirmed herself as one of the standout defenders in the competition across the season with Claremont and was a big reason why the Tigers became so difficult to score against. She might have only had double-figure disposals twice for the season with a high of 12 against West Perth in Round 4, but her impact was her defensive prowess while also laying 27 tackles. She was named to the Team of the Weeks four times.

HALF-BACK FLANK – EBONY DOWSON (Peel Thunder)
Was perhaps the most consistently strong performer right across the competition for her season across half-back with Peel Thunder. From her 15 matches in 2022, she was named to the Team of the Week 11 times to cement her spot in the Team of the Year having averaging 19.0 possessions a game including a best of 26 in Round 2 against South Fremantle. Showing her consistency, she had 20 touches or more seven times and never had fewer than 11 in a game.

CENTRE HALF-BACK – MADI SCANLON (Claremont)
Another part of the Claremont defensive set up and what a big week it's been for her now to be named in the WAFLW Team of the Year on the back of being drafted by the Fremantle Dockers. Was named to the Team of the Week five different times on the back of averaging 16.7 possessions across her 12 matches along with 3.4 marks a game.

HALF-BACK FLANK – HAYLEY O'DONNELL (East Fremantle)
Another member of the East Fremantle back-line who had a terrific season with five selections to the Team of the Week from 14 matches to lock in her position in the Team of the Year. She ended up averaging 10.6 possessions and 2.6 tackles a game including having 15 disposals on four separate occasions while getting forward to kick a couple of goals.

WING – KATE ORME (Claremont)
The former West Coast Eagles wing produced another tremendous season in that role for Claremont in 2022. She gave the Tigers outstanding run and drive off the wing during her 14 games this season averaging 16.2 possessions a game and being named to the Team of the Week five different times including a best of 26 disposals and a goal in Round 5 against South Fremantle.

CENTRE – SHARON WONG (East Fremantle)
What a season she had as one of the standouts in the East Fremantle midfield and the fact that she won the Dhara Kerr Medal as the WAFLW fairest and best winner says it all about what a year she put together. She proved herself not only one of the best ball winners but also a ferocious tackler to be a huge factor in the Sharks going undefeated. She ended up averaging 18.0 possessions and 6.8 tackles a game to be named to the Team of the Week on six separate occasions.

WING – JAIDE BRITTON (Peel Thunder)
Also a talented basketball player who was showing exciting signs with the Mandurah Magic in the NBL1 West competition, she focused on her football in the WAFLW in 2022 at Peel Thunder and it paid off. She gave great run off the wing for the Thunder to average 16.5 possessions a game to be named to the Team of the Week five times including a best of 25 touches and seven marks in Round 10 against West Perth.

HALF-FORWARD FLANK – LARISSA VERSACI (East Fremantle)
She cemented herself as one of the best ball winners and most damaging players in the competition by putting together a brilliant season for the Sharks in 2022. She was named to the Team of the Week on seven occasions on the back of that from her 15 matches where she ended up kicking 12 goals while averaging 17.4 possessions, 5.3 tackles and 4.4 marks. She had a best of three goals against West Perth in Round 13 while having a high of 27 touches also against the Falcons in Round 5.

CENTRE HALF-FORWARD – ELLA SMITH (Claremont)
The Claremont co-captain was so impressive throughout the 2022 season that she was taken early by the West Coast Eagles for the upcoming AFLW season as a draft concession selection. She played nine matches during the season for eight Team of the Week selections on the back of kicking 11 goals while averaging 14 possessions a game.

HALF-FORWARD FLANK – TESSA DOUMANIS (Claremont)
Another key member of the Claremont forward-line who had a standout 2022 season. She ended up kicking 16 goals from 11 matches along with averaging 9.1 disposals. That saw her named to the Team of the Week on four different times while she also kicking four goals twice, and three goals in Round 14 against South Fremantle.

FORWARD-LINE – KATE BARTLETT (Peel Thunder)
The competition's leading goalscorer set the WAFLW alight for Peel Thunder this season and rightfully was rewarded by signing with the West Coast Eagles for the upcoming AFLW season. Was simply unstoppable at times up forward for Peel this season kicking 39 goals from her 12 games including a best of eight in a phenomenal performance against West Perth in Round 7. She also kicked seven in Round 13 and five on another couple of occasions.

FORWARD-LINE – JULIA TEAKLE (East Fremantle)
Was a breakout star for East Fremantle in attack throughout the 2022 season and as a result she has joined Port Adelaide for their inaugural AFLW season. She proved herself one of the standout forwards in the competition kicking 26 goals from her 13 matches including a best of six in a derby against South Fremantle in Round 6. She kicked multiple goals on seven occasions to be named to the Team of the Week eight times.

RUCK – LAUREN WAKFER (South Fremantle)
Heartbreakingly her standout 2022 season with South Fremantle ended prematurely when she ruptured her ACL, but it didn’t stop her having booked in a spot as the standout ruck in the WAFLW competition having been named to the Team of the Week seven times. She was also taken in the AFLW Draft by the West Coast Eagles on the back of what she did in her eight matches, averaging 13.6 disposals and 16.8 hit outs a game.

RUCK ROVER – CHLOE WRIGLEY (Peel Thunder)
One of the very best prime midfield movers in the competition and the dual Peel Thunder WAFLW premiership player was another significant reason why her team reached the finals once again in 2022. She ended up averaging 19.2 possessions a game to be named to the Team of the Week nine times highlighting her consistency which including a best of 31 touches in Round 7 against West Perth.

ROVER – TARNI GOLISANO (Subiaco)
The former Fremantle AFLW player threw herself into leading Subiaco's charge in 2022 and did a tremendous job as part of the midfield brigade in a team that built momentum the longer the season went on before narrowly missing the finals. Finished fourth in Dhara Kerr Medal voting while being named to the Team of the Week nine times on the back of averaging 21.6 disposals and 6.0 tackles including a best of 29 touches on a couple of occasions, and more than 20 eight times.

INTERCHANGE – ASHLEIGH GOMES (East Fremantle)
One of the best ball winners in the competition and the 24-year-old East Fremantle captain was as big a reason as anybody for the Sharks going through the season undefeated. She was runner-up in voting for the Dhara Kerr Medal on the back of averaging 18.6 touches a game including a high of 32 to go with eight tackles against West Perth in Round 16. She was named to the Team of the Week as well on seven separate times.

INTERCHANGE – TESS LYONS (Subiaco)
By the end of the season she was vying with Lauren Wakfer as the best ruck in the WAFLW competition for 2022 and deserves her spot in the Team of the Year having been named to teams five times throughout the season. She ended up averaging 19.4 hit outs to go with 7.2 disposals a game to lead the charge for Subiaco from the centre of the ground.

INTERCHANGE – JESS COX (Swan Districts)
Had a standout first season as captain with Swan Districts in 2022 and led from the front in the midfield in a team that once again reached the preliminary final. She ended up averaging 20.2 touches a game to be named to the Teams of the Week four times to earn the spot in the Team of the Year including a best of 28 possessions a couple of separate times.

INTERCHANGE – ASHLEY SHARP (Swan Districts)
The Swan Districts excitement machine showed she still has plenty of outstanding football ahead of her after becoming a mother. She kicked 16 goals from her 16 appearances this season to be named to the Team of the Week four times including kicking three in Round 3 against West Perth and Round 5 against Peel Thunder and two on another three occasions.

INTERCHANGE – ASHLEE ATKINS (East Fremantle)
She only came into the East Fremantle team from Round 10 onwards but had such a significant impact over the final seven matches of the home and away season. She was named to the Team of the Week in five of those seven games and she's finished the season averaging 19.9 possessions a game including a best of 28 to go with nine tackles and a goal in Round 16 against West Perth.