West Coast captain Emma Swanson has capped a career-best season by claiming the Eagles’ 2022 Club Champion and taking out the Player Trademark Award on Friday night.

After a dominant campaign leading the Eagles’ engine room, Swanson joined inaugural Best and Fairest victor Dana Hooker (2020) and Bella Lewis (2021) as winners of the prestigious award.

Swanson’s impact on and off the field has been immense since the team’s inception, and she was inspirational in 2022 carrying a significant load across her nine games.

The tough midfielder – who played the last three games with a fractured finger – was a clear favourite going into the event, and emerged as the runaway winner, polling 50 votes from her nine games to claim the title.

Vice-captain Hooker (26) finished runner-up, with ruck-forward Parris Laurie (17), defender Evie Gooch (16) and midfielder Lewis (15) rounding out the top five.

The statistics don’t lie when explaining Swanson’s outstanding year, with the skipper racking up 16.4 disposals in 2021 to 22.2 disposals this year.

Runner-up Hooker was also exceptional in her nine matches before suffering a serious shoulder injury against the Western Bulldogs at Optus Stadium.

Laurie was again consistent in the polling, finishing three votes behind Hooker after being equal-third with Ashlee Atkins in 2020 and eighth last year.

Gooch was a new addition to the awards night after being recruited from Fremantle for the Eagles’ 2022 campaign, and was a standout in the club’s defensive system as an informal leader amongst the group.

Lewis finished fifth after a strong second season in the competition, contributing to all 10 matches across the season.

Swanson also claimed the Player Trademark Award after setting the standards and driving player accountability on and off the field, while also juggling firefighting duties with her football commitments.

Meanwhile 18-year-old Charlie Thomas took home the Eagles’ Best First Year Player Award after an impressive debut season at West Coast.

As the only 2021 draftee to play every match this year, Thomas’ football nous and composure under pressure were apparent as she spent time across all three lines this season, competing impressively in each and averaging 9.3 disposals.

After picking up the pace and tempo in her first few games at football’s highest level, it didn’t take long for Thomas to find her place in the West Coast side, as the first Eagles woman to play from Auskick to AFLW.

Now-retired Andrea Gilmore also earned the title of Best Club Person in her final year in the AFLW competition.

Gilmore has faced her fair share of adversity – suffering a long-term concussion injury in the 2021 season against Brisbane, as well as battling an ACL injury prior to this – but she continued to contribute wholeheartedly to off-field endeavours, such as educating through the development of West Coast’s inaugural Pride guernsey, to be released in 2023.

Top 10:

Club Champion

Emma Swanson

Player Trademark Award

Emma Swanson

Best First Year Player

Charlie Thomas

Best Club Person

Andrea Gilmore