Sydney University women’s Australian Football half forward Nicola Barr has won the 2015 Rising Star Award in the Sydney Division One competition.
Barr, the first and only female Aussie Rules scholar on Sydney University Sport and Fitness’s Elite Athlete Program, also finished equal fifth for the Mostyn Medal, which is presented to the Best and Fairest player in the Division One competition.
What made the Mostyn Medal nomination and the Rising Star award even more impressive was that injury caused Barr to miss some of the season.
“I’m really happy considering I missed quite a few games with my ankle so hopefully I can improve even more next year,” she said.
Macquarie University midfielder Amanda Farrugia claimed the inaugural Mostyn Medal. The Macquarie University captain had a standout year polling 27 votes to finish 11 votes clear of Western Wolves’ Lael Kassem at the top of the leaderboard. Barr polled 13 votes in her debut season in the top division.
Barr played her junior football for Queenwood in the Sydney Youth Girls League and captained NSW Under 18s before enrolling at Sydney University.
Earlier this year she played in the inaugural NSW-ACT versus Queensland match at Blacktown International Sportspark, her first senior representative outing. The visitors won the match 11.9.75 to 4.4.28. Despite the loss, Barr was one of the standout performers for NSW-ACT.
