Two from two, not bad at all. Breanna Koenen has taken out her second consecutive UQ QWAFL Best and Fairest award after a stellar season for the Red Lionesses in 2015.
Koenen, who originally hailed from Magnetic Island in Townsville, took her game to a new level this year. Whether it’s for UQ in the QWAFL or the Queensland women’s team, she was a magnet for the ball, and used it superbly.
With the first 15 rounds of votes made public before the UQ presentation night Koenen went in with a comfortable lead, but wasn’t getting up for a winners speech just yet.
“We had already had the first 15 rounds, and I was ahead by a bit, but with the last three rounds, you can never be too sure. There were a few contenders so it was always going to be close,” she said.
It was her ability to play well week in, week out that was the key.
“I thought I was pretty consistent this year, I was happy with my performances. I went through the whole year relatively injury free which definitely helped as well,” she said.
Koenen prides herself on the way she uses the footy. She is the director of traffic with ball in hand.
“The disposal is such an important part of women’s footy, and as a whole it’s only getting better, so doing it well is really important to me,” she said.
On the team front, while UQ may have only got the four wins this year, Koenen believes the signs are good for the future.
“We probably wanted a few more wins on the board, but we are still relatively new, and we definitely improving every game. All the other teams say we are getting better every time they play us, so we are getting there,” she said.
Koenen believes that the improvement will come as the team continues to gel.
“We have got the fitness base, we know where we want to be, so now it’s just about working on our skills, improving how we work together, and knowing our roles in the team.
As for the future, Koenen will continue in the red and blue, pushing for Queensland and even maybe AFL selection.
“I would love to see UQ continue to improve, and for me personally, I also want to keep making all the representative sides, and hopefully get drafted for the AFL Women’s Exhibition Game, which would be so exciting,” she said.
One thing is for certain though, UQ just isn’t a footy club to her, it’s more of a home.
“I love UQ. I would not even consider playing for another club at the moment. The culture around the club is great, everyone is always friendly, it’s just an awesome place to be,” Koenen said.
Whether it’s playing, being the sports trainer for the QWAFL or QAFA (B) teams, or supporting the QAFL, there’s not much Bre didn’t do this year around St Lucia.
TOTAL VOTES
133 – Bre Koenen
96 – Marley Beaven
76 – Annie Shewring
52 – Jess Wiggan
50 – Daryl Jensen
47 – Belle Baldock
30 – Sharni Webb
25 – Naomi Fitzpatrick
23 – Alex Moran
19 – Jordy Smyth
By Andrew Wiles – Follow @andrewjwiles
