| Dhara Kerr Award | |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | Thebest and fairest player in theWAFL Women's |
| Country | Australia |
| Presented by | WAFLW |
| First award | 2019 |
| Currently held by | Jayme Harken (Claremont) |
| Website | https://www.wafl.com.au  |
TheDhara Kerr Medal is awarded to thebest and fairest player in theWAFL Women's (WAFLW) during the home-and-away season, as determined by votes cast by the officiatingfield umpires after each game. The award was part of the originalWest Australian Women's Football League competition and was carried over to the WAFLW when it commenced in 2019. Kerr was born inWarrnambool, Victoria in 1971 and died in Perth in 1995, three years after she had relocated to Western Australia and begun playing football for Innaloo.[1]
To determine thebest player, the three field umpires (not the goal umpires or boundary umpires) confer after each home-and-away match and award three votes, two votes and one vote to the players they regard as the best, second-best and third-best in the match, respectively. On the awards night, the votes from each match are tallied, and the player or players with the highest number of votes is awarded the medal (subject to eligibility – see below).
The current voting system, which is the same as that of similar awards such as theAustralian Football League (AFL)'sBrownlow Medal or theAFL Women's best and fairest, has been used since the award's inception in the WAFLW. If two or more eligible players score the equal highest number of votes, each wins the medal.
Thefairest component of the trophy is achieved by making ineligible any player who is suspended by the WAFL Tribunal during the home-and-away season. An ineligible player cannot win the award, regardless of the number of votes she has received.
A player remains eligible for the award under the following circumstances:
Umpires cast their votes for each game independent of eligibility criteria of the players;i.e. umpires can cast votes for players who have already been suspended during that season if they perceive them to be amongst the best on the ground.
| Season | Player | Club | Votes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Hayley Miller | Subiaco | 13 | [2] |
| Danika Pisconeri | Subiaco | |||
| 2020 | Danika Pisconeri(2) | Subiaco | 9 | [3] |
| 2021 | Ella Smith | Claremont | 15 | [4] |
| 2022 | Sharon Wong | East Fremantle | 18 | [5] |
| 2023 | Jayme Harken | Claremont | 24 | [6][7] |
| 2024 | Jayme Harken(2) | Claremont | 27 | [8] |
Winners who also won a premiership in the same season
Winners who also led the league goalkicking in the same season
