STAR Carlton midfielder and former Sunbury Lions junior Madison Prespakis has proven herself as the best footballer in the land, tonight claiming the 2020 AFLW Best & Fairest Award.
The 19-year-old, playing in only her second year in AFLW, polled three votes in five of her six games to claim a three-vote victory over Fremantle's Kiara Bowers during tonight's AFLW Awards.
"It's definitely going to take some time to sink in but as soon as I heard the news I cried and I was just very shocked," the 19-year-old told womens.afl.
"I'm not sure there's a word I can find to describe how it felt – it was just pure emotion.
"It's been the best two years of my life. I've grown up wanting to play AFL, and now that I'm here, I've put my best foot forward to work as hard as I can, play as well as I can, and I love the club I'm at."
In what was a strong vote count for former EDFL juniors, both Monique Conti (Essendon Doutta Stars, Melbourne Uni and Aberfeldie) and Georgia Patrikios (West Coburg and Pascoe Vale) finished equal seventh with seven votes apiece.
The Rising Star Award also had an EDFL tinge to it, with young Western Bulldog, Isabel Huntington, claiming the prize.
Huntington, a former number one pick who's had to overcome multiple knee injuries, played 14 EDFL junior games for Melbourne Uni.
