Emily Bates has taken home more than just the top prize at the Brisbane Lions Best & Fairest on Wednesday night, with the experienced midfielder reaffirming her long-term commitment to remain at the Club.
Bates confirmed her intentions to stay at the Club in her acceptance speech on Wednesday night, which will see her remain a Lion for many seasons to come.
Her reaffirmed commitment to the Club, along with the 2022 Brisbane Lions AFLW Best & Fairest Award, sees Bates put an emphatic exclamation mark on her superb 2022 season.
It’s the third time Bates has won the Club vote, having taken home the honours in the Lions’ inaugural 2017 AFLW season and again in 2020.
It rounds out an outstanding season for Bates which saw her recognised with the three major AFLW Awards; the AFLW Best & Fairest, the AFL Coaches Association Champion Player Award, and the AFL Players’ Association MVP Award.
The trifecta puts the Lions’ Vice Captain in rare air with Adelaide’s Erin Phillips the only other AFLW player to have achieved the same feat.
Averaging 21.3 disposals, 11.2 contested possessions, 7.1 tackles, and 5.6 clearances, Bates was a reliable contributor in the Lions’ engine room throughout their 2022 campaign.
The experienced midfielder played a key role in the Lions’ historic 74-point win over the West Coast Eagles in Round 8, gathering a career-high 31 disposals alongside six tackles, seven clearances, nine score involvements and 406 metres gained.
While in the Lions’ Preliminary Final against Melbourne, Bates was one of the Lions’ best with 20 possessions (13 contested), 14 tackles, five inside 50s, and 383 metres gained.
Clever forward Greta Bodey claimed the Best & Fairest Runner-Up Award off the back of a breakout 2022 season.
Kicking a career-high 13 goals across the season, including a Goal of the Year nomination in Round 3 for an agile and creative goal against Carlton, Bodey put plenty of damage on the scoreboard for the Lions this season.
The former soccer player averaged 11.5 disposals, 2.6 marks, 3.3 tackles and 1.1 goals per game throughout the season, asserting her position as a consistent and crucial member of the Lions’ forward line.
Brisbane Lions Head of Women’s Football Bree Brock also announced on Wednesday night that AFLW Head Coach Craig Starcevich has recommitted to the Club for another two years.
More to come.
