Jasmine Garner has etched her name in AFLW history, being voted by her peers as the Most Valuable Player for the third time.
Adding the 2025 MVP Award, presented by KPMG, alongside her 2020 and 2023 gongs, Garner now surpasses Adelaide and Port Adelaide great, Erin Phillips (2017, 2019), with more MVP Awards than any other AFLW player.
The 31-year-old equals Marcus Bontempelli (2021, 2023, 2024), with only Gary Ablett Jnr having won the honour more times (2007, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013) across both competitions.
Garner was presented with the trophy in front of her peers at Butler Lane in Richmond, taking out the coveted award ahead of teammate and AFLW Best and Fairest winner Ash Riddell, as well as West Coast young gun Ella Roberts, who finished second and third, respectively.
The North Melbourne skipper was also voted by the players as Best Captain, presented by Chartered Accountants, ahead of Kate Hore and Abbie McKay, who both captained their sides to Preliminary Finals this year.
Garner has had a standout year. She was one of only eight players to hit the 100-game milestone in 2025 and is currently two goals shy of 100 career goals. The star midfielder heads into this weekend’s Grand Final averaging 27 disposals, six tackles, five clearances, and has kicked 20 goals this season.
Garner spoke to the significance of being voted by her peers.
“It is a huge honour to receive the MVP. It’s a really special award.
“This feels as special as the previous years, and I’m really proud to be recognised by the people I play against and with each week as their Most Valuable Player.”
Earlier in the evening, tough Fremantle Docker Kiara Bowers was voted the Most Courageous Player, presented by Tackle Your Feelings, for the second time. Bowers, who received the award ahead of Brisbane’s Isabel Dawes and West Coast’s Jessica Rentsch, becomes just the second AFLW player to win multiple Most Courageous awards behind Chelsea Randall.
The 34-year-old has led the competition in tackles at the end of every one of the seven seasons she has featured in, a feat she again achieved after averaging 12 tackles per game in 2025.
Following an impressive debut season where she averaged 21 disposals and seven rebounds, Sydney star Zippy Fish was voted by her peers as Best First-Year Player, presented by P3 Recovery, beating young Blue Poppy Scholz and Gold Coast Sun Havana Harris.
Popular with players and fans alike, Fish is fresh off selection in the AFLPA’s 22Under22 team, where she received 83 per cent of fans’ votes, the third-most of any player in 2025.
Fourth-year West Coast Eagle Jaide Britton was also awarded the Education and Training Excellence Award, presented by Torrens University Australia, for her commitment to studies, community involvement, mentorship roles and personal development away from the football field.
WINNERS AND TOP POLLING PLAYERS
AFLW Players’ Most Valuable Player, presented by KPMG
- Jasmine Garner
- Ashleigh Riddell
- Ella Roberts
- Kate Hore
- Georgie Prespakis
Most Courageous, presented by Tackle Your Feelings
- Kiara Bowers
- Isabel Dawes
- Jessica Rentsch
- Rylie Wilcox
- Eliza McNamara
Best Captain, presented by Chartered Accountants
- Jasmine Garner
- Kate Hore
- Abbie McKay
- Breanna Koenen
- Ebony Marinoff
Best First-Year Player, presented by P3 Recovery
- Zippy Fish
- Poppy Scholz
- Havana Harris
- Lucia Painter
- Ash Centra
MVP Voting Process
MVP voting is a two-stage process, beginning with each player voting for the three teammates they consider to have been the most valuable this season. Each club’s votes are then tallied to form a nomination list, with 54 players across the 18 teams nominated for the award.
In the second round of voting, all players vote for their MVP on a 3, 2, 1 basis from the nominees of the 17 other clubs. The votes are tallied and the player with the highest score wins the honour of MVP. Players cannot vote for their own teammates in stage two of the process.
A similar process is followed for Best First-Year Player and Most Courageous, with every captain automatically nominated for the Best Captain Award.
The AFLPA is proud to partner with KPMG for the AFLW MVP Awards. KPMG is a professional services firm with strong expertise in tax, advisory, audit and assurance. Since the inception of AFLW, KPMG has been a true believer in its growth, and has partnered with the AFLPA to create meaningful opportunities for our AFLW members.