THE AFLW leading goalkicker award will be split for the first time, after Melbourne teammates Eden Zanker and Kate Hore finished in first place.
Zanker was goalless against Brisbane in the final round of the season, with Hore's sole major enough for the skipper to draw level with her teammate.
The pair finished on a tally of 20 goals, beating the previous AFLW record of 19 in a home and away season set by Ash Saint (2022 season six, from 10 games) and Jesse Wardlaw (2022 season seven, from nine games).
The leading goalkicker award has also only been a tie twice in VFL/AFL history – in 1897 (22 goals) and 1900 (24 goals). A tie has never previously occurred between teammates in either the men's or women's competition.
Hore finished second last season with 16 goals, while Zanker was equal-third with 13.
Two goals from Caitlin Gould against West Coast was enough for the Adelaide spearhead to finish third with 18 majors. The Crow was the only player to kick a goal in all 10 rounds this year.
Geelong livewire Chloe Scheer kicked three goals against Hawthorn, tying for third with 18 from the season. Unlike Gould, Scheer's majors came in batches, with five against Sydney and four when facing Port Adelaide.
The ever-entertaining Dakota Davidson rounded out the top five with 17 majors in her first season without former Brisbane teammate Wardlaw, having kicked a cumulative 14 goals across her past two seasons.
Last season's top five kicked an average of 14.3 goals, with this year's top five average sitting at 18.6.
2023 AFLW goalkicking top 10
20 goals – Kate Hore, Eden Zanker
18 – Caitlin Gould, Chloe Scheer
17 – Dakota Davidson
16 – Gemma Houghton, Danielle Ponter, Tahlia Randall, Jamie Stanton
15 – Bonnie Toogood
Previous AFLW leading goalkickers
2017 – Darcy Vescio (14 goals from seven games)
2018 – Brooke Lochland (12 from eight)
2019 – Stevie-Lee Thompson (13 from nine)
2020 – Caitlin Greiser (10 from six)
2021 – Darcy Vescio (16 from nine)
2022 S6 – Ash Saint (19 from 10)
2022 S7 – Jesse Wardlaw (19 from nine)
