Westfield W-League’s Julie Dolan Medal: The nominees

It’s an honour roll boasting some of the biggest names in Westfield W-League history, from Sam Kerr and Kyah Simon, to Emily van Egmond and Clare Polkinghorne.

And the 2019/20 Season will see a new name added to the prestigious list of Julie Dolan Medal winners for the competition’s best player.

A few star American imports dominate the contenders for this year’s award, joining two Melbourne Victory players on the five-player shortlist.

Check out the five nominees below.

Morgan Andrews – Perth Glory

Glory may have dropped down the ladder in 2019/20 but in American import Andrews they have a player they can rebuild around in coming seasons.

The all-action midfielder combined her excellent passing game with a series of tigerish displays in the midfield as Bobby Despotovski’s side ended the campaign with a flurry.

And that coincided with Andrews finding her groove in front of goal, finishing with a tally of seven goals for a share of the Golden Boot.

Morgan Andrews

Natasha Dowie – Melbourne Victory

The skipper again led by example in a Victory side that showed why they are one of the competition’s big guns.

Dowie combined her knack of scoring important goals – getting seven for the season – with her ability to bring her teammates into the game with excellent hold-up play and unselfish running.

Natasha Dowie

Casey Dumont – Melbourne Victory

It’s not often a goalkeeper gets nominated for the biggest prize offer but Dumont’s outstanding season makes her a worthy nomination.

Not only did the 28-year-old save three penalties during the campaign, her composure and marshalling of the defence saw Victory end the regular season in second place.

Dumont conceded just 15 goals in her 13 appearances and made an impressive 52 saves.

Casey Dumont

Kristen Hamilton – Western Sydney Wanderers

Much of the Wanderers’ leap from cellar dwellers to contenders can be attributed to the contributions of their new recruits, including the classy Hamilton.

A serial winner with North Carolina Courage in the NWSL, Hamilton bought that winning mentality and quality Down Under to propel the club into the finals for the first time.

Hamilton finished with a share of the Golden Boot for her seven goals in 12 games, including a stunning hat-trick in the win over Brisbane Roar in Round 3.

Kristen Hamilton

Lynn Williams – Western Sydney Wanderers

What could have been for the Wanderers if USA international Williams had played the entire season for Dean Heffernan’s side.

Williams was a high-profile addition to the Wanderers squad in 2019/20 and made just five appearances before returning to the US, but they were all high quality.

Williams notched four goals and three assists in those appearances, including a player-of-the-match performance in the Wanderers’ 5-0 demolition of Sydney FC in one of the highlights of their season.

Lynn Williams