Football Royalty Shines at 2023 Dolan Warren Awards

Two of Australia’s finest football talents, Craig Goodwin and Alex Chidiac, took top honours at the A-Leagues’ annual Dolan Warren Awards. 

The prestigious event saw more than 20 awards handed out – headlined by the Julie Dolan Medal and Johnny Warren Medal for the best women’s and men’s players – for season 2022/23 of the Isuzu UTE A-League Men’s and Liberty A-League Women’s competitions.

Goodwin, who starred for the Socceroos at the FIFA World Cup in December, continued that fantastic form into the Isuzu UTE A-League Men with 15 goals and 11 assists over the season for Adelaide United to win the Johnny Warren Medal. Chidiac, meanwhile, incredibly took out the Julie Dolan Medal despite featuring on loan for Melbourne Victory in just 13 of the club’s 20 games this season and is poised to play a major role for the Matildas at the FIFA Women’s World Cup in July and August. Both players won their respective awards for the first time.

Two of the game’s brightest local stars were awarded Young Footballer of the Year as the A-Leagues continues to produce the next generation of Australian international talent. Sydney FC’s nineteen-year-old midfielder, Sarah Hunter, won the women’s award, while Melbourne City’s star defender, twenty-year-old Jordan Bos, won the men’s award – with the pair starring in their teams’ premiership-winning seasons.

Sydney FC’s Madison Haley won Goal of the Year for her second goal of the game against Brisbane Roar on December 10, while Giordano Colli of Perth Glory took out the honour for his shot against Adelaide on October 30.

Carl Veart of Adelaide United was named the Isuzu UTE A-League Men’s Coach of the Year and Mark Torcaso of Western United took out the Liberty A-League Women’s Coach of the Year following his team’s impressive season which saw them reach the Grand Final in their debut season. 

The respective Golden Boots, the awards for the top goal scorers of the season, were won by Hannah Keane from Western United who scored an outstanding 13 goals this regular season, along with Jamie Maclaren from Melbourne City (23 goals for the regular season) who also recently became the top goalscorer in A-Leagues history with 144 goals.

In the Golden Glove award for Goalkeeper of the Year, Western United’s Hillary Beall took out the women’s title while Western Sydney Wanderers’ Lawrence Thomas was named the best goalkeeper for the men’s competition.

In a first for the event, A-Leagues invited more than 150 fans to be present at the Awards, representing every team in the league. Throughout the season fans had also voted on their favourite players with Wellington’s Oskar Zawada and Melbourne City’s Maria Rojas taking their place as fan favourites.

Danny Townsend, CEO of Australian Professional Leagues, commented: “Tonight is the culmination of a great season of football and is a testament to the dedication of our A-Leagues’ players, coaching teams and clubs. Julie Dolan and Johnny Warren both represented a unique combination of skill and passion and were true leaders of our sport in Australia. We’re honoured to be able to continue their legacy through these awards for our deserving winners.”

The finals series concludes this weekend and will see Melbourne City and Central Coast Mariners battle it out at CommBank Stadium to be Champions of the 2022/23 Isuzu UTE A-League Grand Final. Sydney FC took the title of Liberty A-League Women Champions in April in front of a record crowd at CommBank Stadium.

Full List of Winners