Carlton AFLW defender Brianna Davey has been crowned the Herald Sun’s AFLW Player of the Year.

Selected by Carlton as a marquee player in 2016, Davey lived up to expectations throughout the Club’s 2017 campaign.

As a dominant contributor for the Blues in the inaugural AFLW season, the 22-year-old caught the eye of journalists who have rated her number one.

Across the seven-round competition, Davey featured in six of Carlton’s matches to tally 13 votes across the season.

Despite sustaining a back injury against Adelaide in Round 3, the former Matildas goalkeeper managed to top the ranks to edge one vote ahead of Melbourne star Daisy Pearce.
 

Fellow AFLW competitors Kern Paxman (Melbourne), Erin Phillips (Adelaide) and Sabrina Frederick-Traub (Brisbane) were each voted in the top five of the competition, after they finished the season with 11, 10 and nine votes, respectively.

As the very first recipient of the award, Davey was privileged to be the Herald Sun’s 2017 AFLW Player of the Year.

“It’s a pretty big honour and I thank the Herald Sun for their support and coverage of the inaugural AFLW season,” Davey said.

“It’s been a crazy journey and the support throughout the season from the public and supporters has been fantastic.

“Women’s football will only continue to grow and I can’t wait for next season already.”