North Melbourne midfielder Ash Riddell has shrugged off a perceived voting snub, finishing equal fifth in the AFLW best and fairest count just days before the Kangaroos‘ grand final clash with Brisbane.Despite a stellar season, Riddell’s teammates and coach expressed surprise at the voting results, believing she deserved greater recognition.
“I think she’s an absolute superstar, the best player in the comp,” teammate Jenna Riddell said of Ash. “I know I’m biased, running alongside her every week, but hopefully she’ll get a chance to hold one of these up at some stage because she’s had a stellar career.”
North coach darren Crocker echoed this sentiment during Monday night’s count, telling Fox Footy, “It’s very close, there’s probably been a couple left out, which I thought we may have got, but we didn’t quite get the votes we thought we were going to, but anyway, that’s vote count.”
Kangaroos star Emma Kearney playfully suggested Riddell needed to be more demonstrative to attract umpires’ attention. “I’ll teach her my ways,” Kearney joked. “I’ll teach you [Riddell] how to run and carry with the ball,and maybe you’ll get noticed a little bit more from the umpires.”
The Kangaroos will face the Brisbane Lions in the AFLW grand final at Ikon Park on Saturday night, aiming to secure their second consecutive premiership and extend their unbeaten streak to 27 games.
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