Three stars of Australian domestic football have been recognised for outstanding performances over the past season, as part of the annual celebration of the A-League and Westfield W-League’s finest moments.
Milos Ninkovic from Sydney FC and Ulises Davila from Wellington Phoenix were named joint winners of the Johnny Warren Medal for the A-League 2020/21 Season with Michelle Heyman from Canberra United named the Julie Dolan Medallist, the Westfield W-League’s highest honour.
Milos and Ulises both received 34 points from a panel that included former professional players, technical experts, match officials and media representatives. They were followed by Alessandro Diamanti (Western United FC – 31 points), Jamie Maclaren (Melbourne City FC – 29 points) and Oliver Bozanic (Central Coast Mariners – 27 points).
To claim the Julie Dolan medal, Michelle Heyman received 19 points and was followed by Emily Gielnik (Brisbane Roar FC) & Kyra Cooney-Cross (both 17 points) and Cortnee Vine (Sydney FC) & Emily Condon (Adelaide United (both 12 points)
Kyra Cooney-Cross (Melbourne Victory) was the winner of the Westfield W-League Young Footballer of the Year Award and Joel King ((Sydney FC) was named the A-League Young Footballer of the Year.
Patrick Kisnorbo (Melbourne City FC) received the A-League Coach of the Year Award after claiming the Premiers Plate in his first season, and Jeff Hopkins from Melbourne Victory named the Westfield W-League Coach of the Year also for the second time after winning the Westfield W-League 2021 Grand Final.
Melbourne City FC’s Jamie Maclaren was the Nike Golden Boot Award winner in the A-League with his record breaking 25 goals. Brisbane Roar FC’s Emily Gielnik claimed the Westfield W-League Golden Boot Awards courtesy of her 13 goals throughout the 2020/21 season.
Tegan Micah (Melbourne City FC) claimed the Westfield W-League Goalkeeper of the Year Award with Andrew Redmayne (Sydney FC) and Mark Birighitti (Central Coast Mariners) named joint recipients of the A-League Goalkeeper of the Year Award.
Lisa De Vanna from the Melbourne Victory scored the Westfield W-League 2020/21 Goal of the Year for her strike against Melbourne City in Round 3. Andy Keogh from Perth Glory scored the A-League the Goal of the Year Award for his long-range bomb against the Western Sydney Wanderers FC in the 24th minute of their Round 21 fixture.
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In a first for the Awards, Professional Footballers Australia’s annual player-voted A-League Team of the Season was revealed, while the already announced Westfield W-League Team of the Season was also acknowledged. Based on peer recognition, selection in the TOTS remains one of the highest accolades a professional footballer can receive in Australia. The A-League team included joint Johnny Warren Medalist Ulises Davila while Patrick Kisnorbo was named its Head Coach.
Elsewhere, Brisbane Roar FC won the A-League Fair Play & Westfield W-League Fair Play Awards after accruing the least number of yellow and red card points in each respective competition
In the referee awards, Chris Beath was awarded the A-League Referee of the Year with Rebecca Durcau claiming the Westfield W-League’s Referee of the Year Award.
