Tipperary star Orla O'Dwyer has been named on the AFLW All-Australian team for 2022. She is the first Irish woman to receive the accolade, which is the Aussie Rules equivalent to the GAA All-Star team.
The All-Australian team was selected by a panel of 10 members from across the Australian football industry, a mixture of media and AFL officials.
In her third season in the AFLW, O'Dwyer has excelled for the Brisbane Lions, averaging 325 metres, 14.4 disposals and 4.2 tackles on average per game. She has also kicked six goals and won a total of 4 MVP awards in 10 games.
Massive congratulations to Orla O’Dwyer on being named on the All-Australian team, the equivalent of our All-Stars. A superb achievement. https://t.co/X6aOZnxZa0
— GPA (@gaelicplayers) April 5, 2022
Last season, O’Dwyer became the second Irish woman to ever win the AFLW Championship. In front of a crowd of over 20,000 people, O’Dwyer played a starring role for the Brisbane Lions as they beat the defending champions Adelaide Crows in the Grand Final. In her 2021 season, the 22-year-old powerhouse finished with an average 13 disposals and 3 tackles.
O’Dwyer was so influential for the Brisbane Lions, she was voted Runner Up as the Player Of The Year for the Brisbane Lions – there were just ten votes in it; the tightest vote count in the club’s history. Not bad for someone who was just playing her second ever season in the AFLW and confessed she didn’t know the rules or had ever kicked a ball prior to that.
🏆 AFLW Champion
▪️AFL Ireland Women’s Irish Player Of The Year
🏆🏆 2017 & 2019 All-Ireland Intermediate Ladies Football Champion
▪️ Third sport at the highest level
Orla O'Dwyer is something else. pic.twitter.com/cWBVGd0dOO— Her Sport (@HerSportDotIE) April 17, 2021
Before making the move down under, O’Dwyer had firmly established herself as one of the most gifted dual players in the country. She has now excelled at THREE sports at the highest level. O’Dwyer was a key part of the Tipperary camogie squad which were defeated in the All-Ireland Senior semi-finals to the eventual winners, Galway. The Tipperary star has won multiple honours in camogie and football, including the 2017 and 2019 All Ireland Intermediate Ladies Football Finals.
This season has ended for O’Dwyer and her Brisbane Lion teammates however her Irish compatriots will take to the field this Saturday in the AFLW Grand Final.
Melbourne, who have Dublin duo Sinead Goldrick and Lauren Magee on their list, take on Ailish Considine’s Adelaide at 3.30am Irish time.
