2026 Sandringham FC VFLW Best and Fairest Preview

17/09/2026

With plenty of standout performances and showstopping moments throughout the season, the 2026 Sandringham FC VFLW Best and Fairest this Friday evening is set to be a thrilling vote count.

With plenty of contenders in the mix, we’ve taken a look at some of the key challengers for the top award.

Grace Hodder

The 2025 Sandringham VFLW Best and Fairest winner might have only played five games in an injury interrupted campaign, but it was a case of quality over quantity for the Zebras Captain.

Hodder started the season strongly with a 24 disposal, five tackle effort in a three-point Round One victory against Essendon, which she backed up with another brilliant 14 disposal, 13 tackle outing the following week against Collingwood.

Add to that her 26 disposals, 10 tackles and five clearances in a 22-point win against Geelong in Round Four, and her best game of the season in Round 5 against Williamstown, where she tallied 24 disposals, 18 tackles, three clearances and a goal, and there’s a case to be made for Hodder’s defence of the medal.

Widely expected to be out in front when her season wraps up in Round 5, whether or not our VFLW skipper polls enough votes to hold on to a second straight win remains to be seen.

Charlotte Taylor

Joining the Zebras in 2026 having played at the AFLW level with Collingwood, Taylor immediately showcased her elite skill and work rate in the midfield to establish herself as one of Sandringham’s best.

Tough and uncompromising, Taylor averaged 16.1 disposals, 7.6 tackles and 4.2 clearances in a superb 2026 campaign that saw her feature in the yellow, black and blue on 13 of a possible 14 occasions.

With standout showings against Footscray in Round 11, where she racked up 17 disposals, 15 tackles, three clearances and three inside 50s, and a season-high 20 disposals against Carlton in Round 3, as well as a well-rounded performance against Port Melbourne in Round 9 with 18 disposals, six tackles, five clearances and five inside-50s, Taylor should poll consistently throughout the season.

Zoe Barbakos

Barbakos provided genuine X-Factor on the field in 2026, lighting it up inside forward 50 with her brilliant ability to find the goals while also proving an unstoppable force when running through the midfield.

While restricted to just 10 matches for the year, Barbakos booted 12 goals as the Zebras’ leading goalkicker, with a four-goal haul against reigning Premiers North Melbourne Werribee in Round 13 the highlight of her campaign alongside a 24 disposal, two-goal effort against Box Hill in Round 7.

Named in the VFLW Team of the Year squad of 42 after averaging 13.4 disposals, 4.5 score involvements and 1.2 goals per game, Barbakos is a good chance to poll votes in every game she played.

Courtney Aughtie

Those at the top of the leaderboard come the second half of the season will be watching their backs, with Aughtie taking her performances to another level down the stretch, and will no doubt poll strongly towards the end of the count.

With 13 of a possible 14 games under her belt in 2026, Aughtie averaged 12.5 disposals, 4.7 tackles and two clearances across a strong campaign, but it was in the second half that her season really took off as she moved into the ruck.

14 disposals, 25 hitouts, 10 tackles and a goal in Round 9 against Port Melbourne saw Aughtie finish as the highest rated Zebra on the ground, a feat she repeated in Round 12 against Williamstown with 17 disposals, 14 hitouts and nine tackles.

Another strong performance against Footscray yielded 18 disposals, 24 hit outs and five tackles, as well as a game-high five clearances in Round 11, so expect Aughtie to close out the count with a full head of steam.

Ava Bibby

Another player who experienced injury struggles in 2026, Bibby managed only 10 games, but was extremely prominent when she did lace up the boots.

Joining Barbakos in the VFLW Team of the Year squad of 42, Bibby was immense in the ruck, averaging 17.6 hit outs and 9.1 disposals, while sneaking forward to kick three goals.

With 14 touches and 30 hitouts in Round 4 against Geelong, as well as an 11 disposal, 20 hitout and six tackle effort against Box Hill in Round 7, and a two goal showing in the final round of the season against Casey, Bibby could prove to be a bit of a wildcard by the end of the count.

The 2026 Sandringham FC VFLW Best and Fairest will take place at Sandy by the Bay this Friday evening. You can follow along to see who takes home each award via our socials. 

Written by Alexander Dabb - Sandringham FC Media