Six nominees for the LUCRF Super PFA Player of the Month have been revealed by the PFA Nominations committee after another action-packed month of domestic football.
The February nominees have been selected from the W-League and A-League by a panel of former players and leading media figures. The winner will be voted on by the players of each respective league, with matches played in February 2021 considered. Check out the nominees below.
W-League
Teresa Polias – Sydney FC
Polias has been nominated for back-to-back Player of the Month awards this season, narrowly missing out on the accolade for December and January due to the outstanding form of Canberra United’s Michelle Heyman. The Sydney FC skipper earns another nomination following an impressive month leading the Sky Blues’ tilt for the Premiers Plate, delivering four assists in four appearances.
Clare Wheeler – Sydney FC
Wheeler, Polias’ Sky Blues teammate, has provided Sydney’s midfield with an equally important contribution and a vital attacking outlet. Wheeler commenced the 2020/21 season – her first with Sydney FC – without a goal in her preceding seven campaigns with the Newcastle Jets, but now has three goals to her name – all of which came in February, including a brace in Sydney’s 6-2 thrashing of Perth.
Emily Gielnik – Brisbane Roar
The Matildas winger has been a revelation upon her return to the W-League from the Swedish Damallsvenskan and the Frauen Bundesliga. Gielnik currently tops the W-League goalscoring charts, having scored nine times in 10 appearances as she shapes as the League’s standout player in 2020/21. Four of those nine goals came in February, with Gienlik netting a brace in Brisbane’s 4-0 demolition of Perth Glory and a double in Roar’s 2-1 win over Western Sydney Wanderers.
A-League
Matt Derbyshire – Macarthur FC
One of the in-form strikers in the A-League, Derbyshire scored six of his seven campaign goals in a prolific month for the Englishman. The highlight was his 23-minute hat-trick in a 4-0 rout of Adelaide United that delivered Macarthur its first home win in the A-League, with the former Blackburn Rovers, Nottingham Forrest and Olympiacos striker also providing the assist for Mark Milligan. The 34-year-old striker also delivered decisive goals in wins over Sydney FC and Brisbane Roar.
Oliver Bozanic – Central Coast Mariners
Bozanic has quickly established himself as a critical cog in Central Coast’s midfield, with the 32-year-old’s return to the A-League producing influential performances for the current competition leaders. In addition to scoring his first A-League goal in five years – a game-sealing penalty against Wellington Phoenix in mid-February – Bozanic has delivered control, poise and has dictated the tempo for the early pace-setters.
Alessandro Diamanti – Western United
The Italian maestro scored eight times for Western United in his inaugural campaign but has yet to score this season. That, however, does not paint the full picture of the effectiveness of the former Serie A and Premier League midfielder in February, with last year’s Alex Tobin medallist providing five assists in dramatic month of football for Western United. Two of the former Italian international’s assists came in United’s 4-1 thrashing of Macarthur, while Western’s number 23 set up two for Besart Berisha in a dramatic 4-3 Melbourne Derby win against Victory.
