There's some justice in footy after all with Courtney Hodder's fearless grab nominated for the AFLW Mark of the Year after missing out on Mark of the Week in round seven.
Hodder's effort running with the flight of the ball against Gold Coast during Indigenous Round sits against the West Bulldogs' Rylie Wilcox week three mark and Geelong's Chloe Sheer's in round nine for the nod of the season's best after garnering selection from the league's All Australian committee on Monday.
The snub caused a stir in October, after Adelaide's Eloise Jones won the fan-voted count for her contested grab against the Dogs.
Eloise Jones squeezes through the gap! #AFLWCrowsDogs pic.twitter.com/y3qLMLM5Ci
— 7AFL (@7AFL) October 13, 2023
Controversy even surrounded whether an earlier mark of Jones' had been wrongly overlooked.
What courage from Dom Carruthers...
An ENORMOUS collision with Eloise Jones 💥#AFLWCrowsDogs pic.twitter.com/YKH2z44kii
— 7AFL (@7AFL) October 13, 2023
A quick look at Hodder's draws clear comparison with other pieces of bravery from yesterday - none more so than Nick Riewoldt against the Swans at the SCG in 2004.
Lions' coach Craig Starcevich made his thoughts known, claiming Hodders' was amongst the competition's best-ever displays.
"That's almost the highlight of AFLW over eight years, and it's not mark of the week?" he said following the round's outcome.
Courtney Hodder's nominated for AFLW Mark of the c̶e̶n̶t̶u̶r̶y̶ Year 🤯 Vote for her here ➡️ https://t.co/vR5g4vuqGd pic.twitter.com/6yU5UJP7Jl
— Brisbane Lions AFLW (@lionsaflw) October 16, 2023
Only adding to its already impressive nature is it was done with seconds remaining in the contest and a sizeable margin on the scoreboard.
Hodder has some form in the area, taking a similarly brave pluck against Collingwood only weeks earlier.
Adelaide's Danielle Ponter has been nominated for goal of the year for her round two roost from the centre circle which dribbled in on the bounce.
Gold Coast's Ashanti Bush won last year's award.
Fan votes close on Tuesday, November 21.
The AFLW Goal and Mark of the Year will be announced at the league's W Awards ahead of the AFLW grand final.
