Woods worth in double delight as best player

LEOPOLD goal attack Zanna Woods (pictured) has defied her own expectations by winning a second-straight GFL best-and-fairest award.

The 20-year-old produced a best-on-ground effort against North Shore in the final game of the season to skip past Bell Park star Kaitlyn Sheringham and win by one vote, 24 to 23.

The pair kicked clear of third-placed Emily Post (St Jo- seph’s), who finished on 19 votes.

Sheringham skipped to 23 votes in Round 15 after jumping past Woods in the second half of the season.

Woods had started the season on fire, amassing 10 votes in the first five rounds.

But two votes in Round 16 and three in Round 18 saw Woods claim back-to-back medallions.

“It was a big surprise. I wasn’t expecting it last year and I definitely wasn’t expecting it this year, but I’m super happy with it,” she said.

“It’s incredible. It can be so hard to do and I felt like my season was similar to last year.

“I was happy with my performance but considering how strong the league is, there are so many good players and you have to play good every week.

“There’s no slacking and you can’t take it easy, because if you do they’ll just come up and bite you.”

Woods said Sheringham was her tip going into the night, but to beat a star-studded field was extra special.

“I’ve got the most respect for her. She’s a great player,” Woods said of Sheringham.

“It’s definitely a strong league and you can see why. When you look at some of the names that come down to play here, it is really good to have such a strong competition. You can see even in the Diamonds there are a couple of Geelong girls, so it does mean a lot.”

The Ocean Grove junior joined the GFL club following under-17s to better herself, and juggled Geelong Cougars duties this season.

“I had a fantastic year with them as well,” she said.

“I love playing at the Cougars and I love playing in the GFL. The two have a great relationship where they under- stand our workload between the two.”