Member Federation Category

Female Player of the Year: Liana Cook (Women's U-19 NTC team, Football West)

Cook's journey began at Esperance Soccer Association at the age of six and regularly competed in the Football West run Country Week.

Country Week is a regional championship held in Perth aimed at celebrating regional football and identifying talented players from rural areas.  

She was 11 when she was identified and asked to attend country camp, she was then selected to travel to Singapore as a part of the state regional team in both 2011 and 2013. 

Cook joined the National Training Centre (NTC) Program when she was 14 and has played as a part of representative teams ever since.

She was selected in the All-Stars team at the 2018 NTC Challenge. 

Female Coach of the Year: Emma Zaymund (Casuarina Football Club, Football Federation NT)

Zaymund started playing football when she was nine with the Casuarina FC and has played in numerous senior teams, international tournaments, and world games.

Last year she first began coaching her son's under-6 MiniRoos team and with her background in early childhood, it was something she truly enjoyed. 

Zaymund is currently a member of FFNT WAGAC and she is also employed as a MiniRoos coach delivering programs at schools and is the program coordinator for the FFNT MiniRoos Full All Girls Program. 

Female Administrator of the Year: Linda Cerone (Football NSW)

Cerone started as the secretary of her local club, Bligh Park SC, in 1993, before becoming the General Manager of the Nepean Football Association in 1998 and has held that position to this day. 

In 2017, she participated in the Chief Executive Women's program and was on the panel for the Women in Football Forum.

Cerone is the Deputy Chair of the Football NSW Association Standing Committee and sits on the Steering Committee for the development of the new entity - Nepean Referees Group and has a special interest in developing Female Referees within the Nepean area.

Amongst all her roles, Cerone's strong relationship with Local Councils has led to safe and sustainable facilities in different areas of western Sydney and also provides support to local club volunteers by conducting road shows and information nights. 

Female Referee of the Year: Georgia Ghirarello (Captial Football)

Ghirardello was a linesman for the 2017/18 W-League season.

She started her refereeing at Woden Valley Football Club on Saturdays for the juniors. 

She has her sights set on becoming a middle referee in the W-League, and is well on her way after passing her A-panel fitness test, and continuing her level one referee course and NPL experience.

The Male Champion of the Year: Leonard Allen (Garden Suburb FC, Northern NSW Football)

Allen’s fulfils the roles of President and Groundsman and somehow finds time to play in an Over 35s team and coach the MiniRoos Girls Under 11 team. 

He works tirelessly to increase the number of teams from All Age to MiniRoos and promoting the club’s female-only program and was instrumental in the establishment of a Women’s Coordinator/Vice President at the clubs committee.

Allen also implemented research among female teams to find out how the club could improve their experience and it highlighted that the club needed to address the match day experience and provide females with better access to facilities and equipment.

A-League/W-League Category

The Female Coach of the Year: Kat Smith (Melbourne Victory)

Smith worked alongside W-League coach Jeff Hopkins during the 2017/18 season, helping the team to improve on recent campaigns with three wins and two draws.

She has been with the club since the 2013/14 season, the season which saw Victory crowned W-League Champions.

She juggles her assistant coach role at Victory with the head coach role at NPL side Galaxy United and an analyst/assistant coach role with the Mini Matildas.

The Female Administrator of the Year: Lucy Kennedy (Melbourne City)

Kennedy joined City in 2016 and has become a valued member of the Club’s medical staff.

She has been recognised for her work at the Club following her second consecutive season of playing an integral role in helping City create history in Women’s football thorough her approach to injury prevention and match preparation.

Lucy’s role at the Club includes working with both the Women’s and Youth teams to develop individualised and tailored plans for injured players, addressing their physical needs and individual workloads.

The Female Fan of the Year: Lucy Topp (Canberra United)

Topp has been a Canberra United diehard since day one and was one of the first five people to sign up as a member.

She has not missed a season since, loving the close-knit community at home games. 

The Male Champion of the Year: Wally Van Gool (Western Sydney Wanderers)

Van Gool holds roles as a volunteer with both the W-League and A-League teams at the Wanderers.

He has encouraged the crew to make signs, take photos with players, ask for autographs and provides a warm and friendly environment for the teams – both home and away.

Von Wool also has a role as a female football coach and has encouraged girls and women of all ages to take up football.

rebel Role Model Award: Jada Whyman ( Western Sydney Wanderers)

The Role Model Award recognises excellence both on and off the pitch.

The winner is selected based on good sportsmanship and attitude, must have played for a W-League Club during the 2017/18 season and must be under 21 at the start of the season.

Whyman, who is the goalkeeper for the Wanderers, has played in 11 of her teams 14 matches in the W-League 2017/18 season.

She was also a member of the Young Matildas squad at the 2017 AFC U-19 Women’s Championship.

Off the field, Whyman has been an ambassador for the Wanderers conducting over thirty community and media appearances this season alone and is a role model and mentor for indigenous footballers in her local area and around the country.