The AFL Players' Association has announced the most valuable player in the inaugural season of the AFL Women’s competition will be recognised with the AFLW Players' MVP award.

Consistent with the process to crown the Leigh Matthews Trophy winner, the winner of the 2017 AFLW Players' MVP award will be the player judged worthiest by the female members of the AFLPA.

AFLW players will also be eligible to win the AFLW Players' Most Courageous Award and an Education and Training Award for those pursuing study away from the field. Additionally, all AFLW team captains will be in the running to win the AFLW Players' Best Captain Award.

In line with the awards available to male players, it is anticipated that an AFLW Players' Best First Year Award will be included for the second season of the competition in 2018.

Award winners will be celebrated at a dedicated event immediately after the AFLW season and alongside their male counterparts at the AFL Players’ MVP Awards in September – an event all AFLW players will be invited to attend.

AFL Players' Association CEO Paul Marsh said the ‘PA is proud to provide its female members the opportunity to recognise the achievements of their peers in 2017.

“Over the years, we’ve seen winners of the Leigh Matthews Trophy and the other award categories express how much it means to them to have the respect of their colleagues,” he said.

“There was never any doubt that we would provide the same opportunity for our female members to be honoured with a set of player-voted awards.”

AFL Players' Association Women’s Football Advisory Committee member and Western Bulldogs recruit, Tiarna Ernst, is thrilled that all AFLW players will have the opportunity to receive one of football’s highest individual honours.

“To be voted by your peers as the Most Valuable Player or Most Courageous is what we all strive for – it’s a huge honour,” Ernst said.

“It’s exciting to know we’re going to have a few of our superstar players standing up there next to the male winners in September – how far things have come in one year.”

The voting process for the MVP will be conducted in two stages, with each player voting for three teammates she considers the most valuable over the course of the season. Each club’s votes are then tallied, forming a 24-player nominee list across the eight teams.

In stage two of the process, players cannot vote for their own teammates, but rather vote for their MVP on a 3, 2, 1 basis from the nominees of the seven other clubs. The votes are tallied and the player with the highest score is thus the MVP.

A similar process will decide the Most Courageous Award, and the Education and Training Award will see nominations made by club Players Development Managers and the winner decided by a specialist selection panel.