Tatura's Sarah Lange-Richards claimed her second league best-and-fairest. Photo: AFL Goulburn Murray
Sarah Lange-Richards has entered rare air.
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The Tatura midfielder has become only the second player in Goulburn Murray Women and Girls League history to claim two Chris Thomas Medals as the competition’s best-and-fairest, topping last Friday evening’s vote count at the GV Hotel with 23.
The Bulldogs stalwart has taken her game to new levels in recent years after eight seasons, claiming the award in 2024 before joining Nathalia’s Abby Favaro as a two-time winner on the back of this season’s triumph.
And it’s only spurring her on to bigger and better things.
“It definitely makes me feel pretty proud of myself, but it also makes me want to keep it up and go harder next year,” Lange-Richards said.
An ever-reliable presence in the Tatura engine-room, Lange-Richards was named in her side’s best players in nine out of the 13 games she played, garnering a quartet of three-vote games from the umpires.
She cites her endurance following a big pre-season as a key factor in her win.
“I worked hard over pre-season and during the season to get my fitness back,” she said.
“In the 2025 season as I was coming back, I was postpartum about that time, so I worked pretty hard over pre-season to get my fitness back.
“I was really happy with how I could run out a game and my endurance across the four quarters. I was really happy with how the year turned out for me.”
Tatura's Sarah Lange-Richards gets her kick away.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
The GMWGL also recognised it’s best players in a series of key categories.
Shepparton United’s Paige Baksh, one of the league’s great goalkickers, continued to dominate in front of the sticks and around the ground.
After booting her 300th goal earlier in the campaign, Baksh finished the season with 36, handing her a third league goalkicking title and a fifth finish inside the top two.
In the Youth Girls vote count, Moama gun Chloe Ryan earmarked herself as a star of the future and continued the club’s tradition of producing Brit Tancred Medallists.
She polled 23 votes to take out the league best-and-fairest gong, snagging 26 majors for the season, including two in a tight grand final bout against Shepparton United.
In the goal-kicking stakes, Shepparton Swans sharpshooter Phoebe Hawker led the way with 30 majors, while clubmate Amelia Hauser was judged the 2026 Rising Star.
GMWGL volunteers also saw their efforts recognised.
Rumbalara’s Bradley Boon and Tatura’s Sam Green were joint Coach of the Year recipients for their guiding hands at their respective clubs, while Cobram duo Sasha Parish (Women & Girls Ambassador Award) and Riyaad Henry’s (Volunteer of the Year Award) services off the field proved once again that there is no game without volunteers.
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