In three seasons, five individual Saints have been bestowed the club’s most distinguished individual honour. 

Now, another could join the esteemed list this Wednesday night as St Kilda prepares to crown its newest Best & Fairest.

Could it be the long-serving Kate Shierlaw to take out the award at 33 years of age, the up-and-coming Molly McDonald off the back of a starring campaign, first-year Saint Hannah Stuart who slotted seamlessly into the line-up or another leading Saint who stood tall?

Kate Shierlaw

Games (Season Seven): 10
Goals (Season Seven): 13
Averages (Season Seven): Eight disposals, four marks, three score invovlements, one goal
Best Game: Round 1 v Sydney, 11 disposals, seven score involvements, four goals

After selection into the All-Australian squad and receiving the most votes for St Kilda in Tuesday’s W Awards, could a maiden Best & Fairest be on the cards for Kate Shierlaw?

In short, there’s a reason why the key forward is a favourite for this season’s honour.

Shierlaw stood up to the task as St Kilda’s focal point heading into attack, slotting a career-best 13 goals to close out the season equal-third in the league-wide tally.

The No. 12 hit the scoreboard in eight of her 10 appearances – charting first for St Kilda’s total goals, marks, contested marks and score involvements – but proved just as valuable further up the field to lend a tall option for the Saints heading out of defence.

Winning a Best & Fairest is a terrific achievement in of itself, but to do so at 33 years of age would only sweeten what was a standout season.

Molly McDonald

Games (Season Seven): 8
Averages (Season Seven): 12 disposals, three inside-50s, two rebound-50s
Best Game: Round 10 v Adelaide; 20 disposals, five marks, 490 metres gained

Earmarked from the beginning of pre-season as one to watch in Season Seven, Molly McDonald proved those predictions right.

The 21-year-old hit career-best form after taking promising strides forward at the start of this year, proving vital to the Saints’ outside run and carry and opportunities going into attack.

McDonald’s elevation to the club’s Emerging Leaders Group at the start of Season Seven was the perfect reflection in her rise in form and impact, putting the No. 1 in prime position to take out the award despite missing two matches through concussion. 

Hannah Stuart

Games (Season Seven): 10
Goals (Season Seven): 4
Averages (Season Seven): 13 disposals, eight contested possessions, four tackles
Best Game: Round 6 v Collingwood; 25 disposals, five tackles, two goals 

It's hard to think that this is only Hannah Stuart's first year at senior level.

Slotting straight into both St Kilda’s Emerging Leaders Group and midfield mix, the Southern Saints recruit provided an immediate impact through her toughness at the coalface and timely touches around goal.

Stuart put her name on the map with a blistering 25-disposal, two-goal masterclass against Collingwood, which was arguably one of the best individual performances by a Saint this season.

It was a sublime debut season for Stuart, and a Best & Fairest to accompany it would be the perfect cherry on top. 

Bianca Jakobsson

Games (Season Seven): 10
Averages (Season Seven): 15 disposals, six intercepts, five rebound-50s
Best Game: Round 2 v Hawthorn; 21 disposals, eight rebound-50s, eight intercepts 

Clinching back-to-back Best & Fairests isn’t new – even from a St Kilda AFLW perspective – but Bianca Jakobsson is every chance to win the award twice in one calendar year.

Jakobsson backed up her title defence with a commendable Season Seven down back, earning All-Australian squad selection off the back of her assuredness and stability week after week.

The 29-year-old led St Kilda for total intercepts (55) and rebound-50s (56) from her 10 appearances, with 18 of the latter coming in matches against Hawthorn and Gold Coast in the first half of the season.

Olivia Vesely

Games (Season Seven): 8
Averages (Season Seven): 13 disposals, five tackles, three clearances
Best Game: Round 2 v Hawthorn; 21 disposals, eight intercepts, four inside-50s 

Don’t let the limited number of games rule Olivia Vesely out of the race for her second club Best & Fairest.

Two separate concussion concerns forced the young midfielder to the sidelines during the year, but despite having her season once again shortened, the votes are sure to still come in.

Vesely was exceptional throughout the Saints’ opening stretch of games against Hawthorn and Melbourne, with her following injury-free appearances a chance to edge her up the leaderboard deeper into the count. 

Tarni White 

Games (Season Seven): 10
Averages (Season Seven): 12 disposals, seven tackles, two rebound-50s
Best Game: Round 1 v Sydney; 17 disposals, 14 tackles, five clearances 

Tarni White has been a staple in St Kilda’s past Best & Fairest counts of previous years, and Season Seven’s is sure to be no different.

The defender-turned-midfielder exploded onto the scene with a powerful 14-tackle outing against Sydney in Round 1, before shifting back into the defensive half to provide both a steadying influence to that line.

White finished the season as St Kilda’s leading tackler (66) despite the temporary relocation, with her physicality and attack – much like her regular top-10 placings – a constant. 

Georgia Patrikios

Games (Season Seven): 10
Averages (Season Seven): 16 disposals, three clearances, 282 metres gained
Best Game: Round 10 v Adelaide; 17 disposals, seven inside-50s, one goal 

It took some time for Georgia Patrikios to get the wheels turning over after a season out of the game, but glimpses of her Best & Fairest form certainly showed in the tail-end of 2022.

Prominent outings against Port Adelaide and Adelaide signalled the young midfielder at her most influential, with the former display earning her two votes at this week's W Awards.

Patrikios led St Kilda for total disposals (164), metres gained (2817), clearances (33) and inside-50s (34) by season’s end.