The nominees are in for March’s Fan Player of the Month award in the Liberty A-League!
Throughout the 2023-24 Liberty A-League season, 10 players will be selected every month on a shortlist for you, the fans, to select from in voting for Player of the Month.
The season kicked off with a conjoined October/November voting process, with Wellington Phoenix goalkeeper Rylee Foster earning the honours. Foster continued her stellar start to the season by collecting consecutive Fan Player of the Month awards with the December nod.
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The goalkeeper dominance continued in January and February as Western United custodian Hillary Beall was named January Player of the Month before Newcastle Jets keeper Izzy Nino claimed February honours.
The 10 nominees are selected via the Opta Index each month, with the 10 highest-scoring players in the index nominated each month.
Will the goalkeeper streak end in March? You can have your say by casting your vote via the A-Leagues social media channels.
Here are the nominees for March…
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10th – Courtney Newbon (Melbourne Victory)
March form
- Opta index: 73.18
- Position: GKP
- Appearances: 5
- Saves: 27
- Clean sheets: 2
- Goals against: 7
9th – Michaela Robertson (Wellington Phoenix)
March form
- Opta index: 75.38
- Position: FWD
- Appearances: 5
- Goals: 3
- Assists: 1
8th – Mariana Speckmaier (Wellington Phoenix)
March form
- Opta index: 75.38
- Position: FWD
- Appearances: 6
- Goals: 3
7th – Sophie Harding (Western Sydney Wanderers)
March form
- Opta index: 75.89
- Position: FWD
- Appearances: 5
- Goals: 3
- Assists: 2
6th – Chloe Lincoln (Canberra United)
March form
- Opta index: 76.59
- Position: GKP
- Appearances: 3
- Saves: 19
- Clean sheets: 2
- Goals against: 1
5th – Michelle Heyman (Canberra United)
March form
- Opta index: 77.36
- Position: FWD
- Appearances: 7
- Goals: 5
- Assists: 1
4th – Casey Dumont (Central Coast Mariners)
March form
- Opta index: 78. 29
- Position: GKP
- Appearances: 2
- Saves: 17
- Clean sheets: 1
- Goals conceded: 1
3rd – Cortnee Vine (Sydney FC)
March form
- Opta index: 78.83
- Position: FWD
- Appearances: 6
- Goals: 5
- Assists: 3
2nd – Hannah Keane (Western United)
March form
- Opta index: 81.42
- Position: FWD
- Appearances: 4
- Goals: 4
1st – Melina Ayres (Newcastle Jets)
March form
- Opta index: 87.26
- Position: FWD
- Appearances: 3
- Goals: 4
What is the Opta Index?
The Opta Index is based on totals in a variety of statistics for each player. The index score uses subcomponents (such as shooting, passing, defending), corresponding to different qualitative aspects of a player’s performance.
These component scores are combined to create an overall rating for each player. The formula that works out the overall match rating have been developed by Opta’s own team of data scientists in conjunction with their award-winning Data Editorial team.
