By Oliver Lees
Sunbury product Georgie Prespakis has claimed the NAB League best and fairest for the second year running.
The 18-year-old had a dominant season in the midfield for the Calder Cannons, blitzing the competition with seven best-on-ground performances from just nine appearances.
She topped the tally with 21 votes, seven votes clear of Northern Knights player Ava Jordan in second.
The midfielder averaged 23 disposals and more than eight tackles for the season.
With Georgie’s sister Madison Prespakis having won the award in 2018, it makes it three years in a row that a member of the Prespakis family has received the coveted accolade.
Georgie Prespakis said the award has given her confidence as she prepares for her first season in the AFLW with Geelong.
“It was really nice to top off last year like that, and now I’m just really looking forward to moving on to see what I can do at the Cats,” she said.
“Being selected as captain [of the Calder Cannons] made me step up. I knew a lot of the girls would look up to me and I wanted to be able to give them extra support.
“I think probably the biggest challenge [this season] was going from Calder Cannons to playing VFL games [for Essendon]. I realised it’s a step above in terms of adjusting to body contact.
“I’ve also worked on my skills, not just getting the ball and putting it on the boot but actually hitting targets.”
In July, Prespakis was taken by the Cats with the second overall pick in the AFLW draft on the back of her stand-out form for the Cannons and in the VFLW at Essendon.
Across five matches for the Bombers Prespakis averaged 17 disposals and more than 10 tackles per game.
Her stint at Essendon included three finals matches, including a semi-final against Collingwood where she laid 13 tackles in a seven-point loss at Victoria Park.
With preseason underway for the 2022 AFLW season, Prespakis said she’s settling into the next phase of her life in Geelong and has enjoyed having Cats star Nina Morrison around at training.
“I moved down here around September, and it’s actually been a lot better than I thought, I’ve adapted really well,” she said.
“It’s such a big difference with age [in the AFLW], in the NAB league there’s maybe someone just two or three year older, but now it can be like 10 years.
“I’m hoping I can fit into the midfield, have a really good preseason and earn my spot.”
The AFLW season has been postponed and will now begin January next year.
Oliver Lees
