The women’s league was a hotly contested battle for top four spots, with only a couple of wins separating Echuca from fourth-placed Nathalia.
This season the likes of Nathalia’s Abby Favaro, Mansfield’s Asha Foubister and Echuca’s Paige Baksh dominated as women’s football continues to evolve across the region.
The year had the return of Rumbalara and the introduction of Mansfield and Barooga into the women’s league, with the Hawks also joining the youth girls’ league.
A young gun that stood out during the awards night was Echuca United’s Harper Delamare, who, in the youth girls’ competition, claimed the leading goal-kicker award (50 goals for the season).
The star Eagle also won the youth girls’ top award when she claimed the Brit Tancred Medal as the league’s best-and-fairest with 24 votes.
Echuca United continued to rake in the awards, with young gun Lily Dunham winning the Rising Star for best player 21-and-under.
Meanwhile, Moama’s Natalie Peacock won the Administrator of the Year and Echuca’s Holly Hughes was crowned Volunteer of the Year for her work at the Murray Bombers.
Nathalia’s Kiara Cooper, with 53 goals, won the leading goal-kicker award in the women’s competition, two ahead of last year’s winner, Echuca’s Baksh.
Tatura may have only claimed two victories during the home and away season, but on Monday night one of its stars took home the league’s top gong.
Tatura’s Sarah Lange-Richards took home the Chris Thomas Medal as the best-and-fairest in the league.
The talented ruck-rover won the count with 22 votes, including a run of three consecutive best-on-ground efforts to start the season.
Heading into Monday night, Lange-Richards said she had no idea she would be crowned the best player in the league by the end of the count.
“It’s unbelievable,” Lange-Richards said.
“I’m really happy.
“Last year I had just given birth to my one-year-old, so this year, I wanted it to be my year to really go hard.
“I look up to the girls like Paige and Abby; all of them drive me to play as well as I can.”
Lange-Richards has been playing football since 2018, with the gun midfielder sharing that she tries to learn as much as she can from other stars of the league.
“Watching (Baksh) play in the midfield and how she can dominate in the goal-kicking as well, that is how I want to style myself one day,” she said.
“I think it’s good to have people in your own league that you admire; it shows how big our league is growing.
“Watching how other teams and how they play, as Tatura, we weren’t a winning side, so we had to learn how to adapt and play from other teams.”
While Lange-Richards may have watched other players in her league for inspiration, next year, the league’s young guns will look up to her in a full circle moment.
But what does she think makes her stand out from the pack?
“I can take a good mark,” she said.
“I’m a pretty strong player, not afraid to use my body.
“I think that’s about it; that sums me up.”
That succinct self-description only gives a small snippet of Lange-Richards’ dominance throughout the 2024 season, as Tatura’s bullocking midfielder featured in its best in 12 out of 14 games.
Lange-Richards’ love for the game and the competition stood out clearly after she accepted her award.
The newly-crowned best-and-fairest credited the competition’s culture for the sport’s continued growth in the region.
“When we play, we play at our hardest; it’s good footy,” she said.
“The league has such a good culture.
“After every game, everyone will go upstairs, have afternoon tea together and get along great.”
Nathalia player-coach Alyx Jorgensen won the Coach of the Year award for her efforts with the Purples.
