As we close in on the 2023 Most Glorious Player Awards which will be held on Saturday 20 May, here’s a look back at those who have sparkled and shone on the club’s night of night in previous years.
The Originals
1997 saw the inaugural MGP ceremony and the first Men’s Award went to an overseas player in the form of New Zealand international Gavin Wilkinson.
The gifted defender made 24 appearances that year as the men in purple narrowly missed out on marking their maiden NSL campaign by playing Finals football.
In 2009, meanwhile, another defender made history as Tanya Oxtoby became the first Women’s MGP winner.
The current Chelsea assistant coach would go on to become the first female multiple recipient of the award when she claimed it again in 2012.
Bobby and Sam
With four Awards apiece, Bobby Despotovski and Sam Kerr are nothing short of MGP royalty.
The fellow-strikers both went back-to-back, the former winning in 2001 and 2002, as well as 2004 and 2006 (there were no awards in 2005 due to the hiatus between the demise of the NSL and the creation of the A-League).
Kerr, meanwhile, secured a hat-trick of triumphs in 2017, 2018 and 2019, having first won in 2014.
Defenders Deliver
More than half of the Men’s MGP Awards have been claimed by defenders.
Notable among them were Scott Miller and Danny Hay, who both won twice and Darryl Lachman, who ended a three-year drought for the men at the back when he took the honours last year.
In contrast, Liz Anton, Alexandra Nilsson and Tanya Oxtoby are the only defenders to have secured the Women’s Award.
Locals Only
Ten WA players have won the club’s top honour across the Men’s and Women’s categories.
Aivi Luik, Sam Kerr and Tanya Oxtoby for the Women and Scott Miller, Bobby Despotovski, Josh Risdon, Dino Djulbic, David Tarka, Gareth Naven and Shane Lowry for the Men.
Foreign Legion
Of the foreign MGP winners, Diego Castro was the most prolific, claiming the Award on three occasions between 2015 and 2018.
Danny Hay (New Zealand) and Bruno Fornaroli (Uruguay) were next in line with two wins apiece, while for the Women, Alexandra Nilsson (Sweden) was the first overseas player to claim the MGP.
She was followed by Vanessa DiBernardo (USA) in 2016, Celia (Spain) in 2019, Liz Anton (New Zealand) in 2021 and Mie Leth Jans (Denmark) in 2022.
So who will be next to take their place among the pantheon of Glory greats?
Make sure you’re there at the Novotel Perth Langley on May 20th to find out!
#ONEGlory
