The January nominees for the Austraffic PFA Player of the Month award have been revealed, with a total of 12 players across the A-Leagues up for the second peer-voted award of the season.
The 12 players were selected by a panel of former players and experts, who nominated the individuals based off their performances during January.
Six players have been nominated across the A-League Men and A-League Women competitions for 2025’s first Player of the Month award. The nominees must be PFA members to be eligible for the award.
PFA Members will receive a link from the PFA to vote on the nominees this week. Take a look at the nominees below!
A-League Men
Nando Pijnaker (Auckland FC)
Central to Auckland’s brilliant first season in the league has been the form of Pijnaker. The New Zealand international has been a rock in central defence alongside both Dan Hall and Tommy Smith, marshalling brilliantly with the added support of in-form full-backs Francis De Vries and Hiroki Sakai. He has also popped up at the other end of the pitch with three crucial goals, adding his third of the season in Auckland’s 3-0 win over Melbourne City.
Jed Drew (Macarthur FC)
Drew’s final month in the A-Leagues was absolutely exceptional. The former Macarthur FC attacker – who has now signed for Austrian side TSV Hartberg – enjoyed a breakout campaign this season and put together his best stretch during the first month of the new year, scoring three goals – including a brace against the Western Sydney Wanderers – and tallying two assists. He departs the league with 13 goal contributions (six goals, seven assists) to his name.
Noah Botic (Western United)
Botic continued his brilliant campaign to date with four goals in January, including a brace against Newcastle Jets which saw him score one of the goals of the season from long range. The young striker has worked brilliantly in tandem with fellow in-form striker Hiroshi Ibusuki, benefiting from working alongside the experienced attacker. The inaugural Dylan Tombides Medallist now has seven goals for the season and sits equal second in the Golden Boot charts, two behind leader – Sydney FC’s Joe Lolley.
Joe Lolley (Sydney FC)
Lolley’s incredible campaign continued in January, putting together a string of top performances which took him right to the top of the A-League Men Golden Boot charts. The Englishman fired home four goals – including a hat-trick against Perth Glory – and tallied two assists in their loss to Brisbane Roar in January, taking his overall goal contributions to 14 for the season (nine goals, five assists).
Teague has been Melbourne Victory’s constant throughout an up-and-down the season to date. The midfielder – who earns his second Player of the Month nomination this season – performed brilliantly throughout January, not just with his fantastic work-rate, array of passing and hard-nosed tackling, but with his ability to hit the back of the net, adding two goals against Western Sydney Wanderers and Adelaide United. He also helped himself to a lovely assist for Victory’s opener in their 2-0 win over Sydney FC. Stefan Mauk (Adelaide United) Mauk’s fine start to the season continued in January, with the midfielder helping Adelaide to an unbeaten month and, as a result, a surge up the A-League Men standings into second. The attacking midfielder put together a string of impressive performances in the Reds’ engine room, capping it off by scoring a brilliant goal in their 3-2 win over Melbourne Victory. He now has five goals for the entire campaign and sits second in Adelaide’s goalscoring charts. Chelsie Dawber (Adelaide United) Adelaide United’s surge up the standings in January has been helped in large by the form of Dawber. The attacker has scored four goals and tallied two assists throughout the month as Adelaide put together a six-game unbeaten run to put themselves well and truly in the mix for a return to the finals. This also included a dramatic winner against reigning champions Sydney FC on the final day of the month to cap off a brilliant run of performances. Alexia Apostolakis (Melbourne City) Apostolakis has fit in brilliantly since arriving at league leaders Melbourne City this season and quietly, has become one of their most consistent performers. The defender’s form has been key to their sensational start to the campaign, helping City keep two clean sheets in four games and concede only twice in said matches. Her ability to get forward is just as dangerous to opposition players, providing a fantastic outlet up-and-down the right flank. Annalie Longo (Wellington Phoenix) Longo has been a bright spark for Wellington so far this season, but particularly in January as she helped Paul Temple’s side to an impressive first month of the new year. The experienced New Zealand international helped herself to a goal and an assist in their 3-2 win over Newcastle Jets, but also put in brilliant performances in wins over Perth Glory and Western Sydney Wanderers which has put the ‘Nix in the mix for finals football heading into February. Jessika Nash (Central Coast Mariners) Nash earns a second A-League Women’s Player of the Month nomination this season, as she continues to put together a fantastic season in her first campaign at Central Coast Mariners. The defender has been huge in each of the Mariners’ five games this month, helping her side keep three clean sheets throughout January. Not only has she impressed with her defending, but her distribution too, averaging 50 accurate passes per 90, which is the third-highest in the league. Claudia Jenkins (Adelaide United) Jenkins’ run of form has been one of the great stories of the campaign. After entrenching herself as the side’s number one choice between the sticks, Jenkins has solidified herself as one of the form goalkeepers in the league this season, keeping five clean sheets (the second most in the league) and making a string of important saves for the Reds. Jenkins – who only kept the one clean sheet in January also made 3.8 saves per match which is the fourth most in the entire league and has a save percentage of 73.6% (third best in the league). Sofia Christopherson (Canberra United) Christopherson enjoyed a breakout month in January, putting together a string of impressive performances. The Canberra United winger scored twice in January and almost had a third, which was ruled an own-goal in their victory over Western Sydney Wanderers. Her performances up and down the left flank have been key to Canberra’s recent uptick in form and more of the same will help her side enormously as they chase a finals berth.
A-League Women
