Orla O'Dwyer has become the first Irish woman to be named on the AFLW All-Australian team of the year.
The Tipperary star was a powerful presence in the Brisbane Lions team for a second year in a row and, on the back of her performances, was among the 21 players who were given the distinguished honour.
O'Dwyer was named in midfield on the team and, with her season coming to a disappointing end last weekend, when the Lions lost to North Melbourne in the preliminary final, this comes as a consolation, albeit a deserving one. That's because, as a key midfielder for her team, the Cashel woman kicked six goals and made a huge overall impact on the League.
O'Dwyer is the first Irish female to make the team but back in 1993, the great Jim Stynes earned the equivalent honour in the men's game for his displays with the Melbourne Demons.
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It was a great night for O'Dwyer but Cora Staunton, on the other hand, can feel aggrieved that she was named on the team. The 40-year-old Mayo woman kicked an incredible 18 goals for her Greater Western Sydney Giants side but, in a frustrating development that saw midfielders shoehorned into the team as forwards, Staunton missed out.
Former Dublin footballer and International Rules player Niamh McEvoy was among those who criticised the decsision, the St Sylvester's club-woman asking the if the Aussies only wanted one Irish player on the team. Because, having scored 18 goals in just ten games for one of the League's worst clubs, you'd have imagined that Staunton had done enough.
https://twitter.com/NiamhoMc/status/1511280644931915778
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