Top 24 of 2024: A Glorious season, Olympic joy and rising stars as we look back at WA’s year in sport
As 2024 draws to a close The West Australian looks back on who grabbed the headlines as we countdown the top WA athletes for 2024.
Here’s who kicks off our countdown in part I of our series.
24 . Ben Donaldson (Rugby)
The five-eighth’s first season as a Western Force player could not have gone much better as he won the club’s coveted Nathan Sharpe Medal.
Entrusted by Simon Cron to conduct the backs’ orchestra, Donaldson was at his best when challenging the line and ripping holes in it – his superb solo try late in the rout of Fijian Drua an example of his playmaking ability.
He garnered nine Tests for the Wallabies, and while he was unable to prize the starting job from Noah Lolesio’s hands, he did kick the winning points in Argentina, before playing a part in Max Jorgensen’s memorable late try at Twickenham.
23. Adam Taggart (Soccer)
If 2024 was Perth Glory’s on-field annus horribilis, Adam Taggart was the only thing which preserved their dignity at times.
Promoted to captain, the northern suburbs product ended last A-League Men’s season with 20 goals in 25 games to claim the Golden Boot award, an astonishing feat from someone in a wooden spoon team.
His form won him a brief recall to the Socceroos squad, followed by a goal for the green and gold against Palestine in his hometown, and while the Glory’s form has continued to sink again this season, Taggart’s class remains permanent.
22: Ella Roberts (AFLW)
West Coast’s best-ever AFLW season was largely driven by two key factors, a new coach in Dasiy Pearce and Ella Roberts quickly becoming one of the most dominant players in the competition.
After an outstanding 2023 season, Roberts went to another level averaging career-high totals across all the key metrics while adding a goal-kicking edge to her game.
For the second year in a row, she was named in the AFLW’s 22under22 team and added a first All-Australian blazer to her locker as well as taking out the club champion.
At just 20 years old there’s still more room to grow and is a legitimate must-watch superstar for the league.
21. Cameron Burgess (Soccer)
Not content with helping Ipswich Town get promoted last year, Burgess went and did the same thing again, helping the Tractor Boys back into the English Premier League for the first time since 2022.
Having been handed a surprise national team debut in 2023, the ECU Joondalup (now Perth RedStar) product firmly established himself as the Socceroos’ first-choice starter in 2024 under both Graham Arnold and Tony Popovic.
Burgess started this EPL season out of favour at Ipswich, but has since started nine of their last 10 games to put a bow on an outstanding year.
20. Maddison Keeney (Diving)
Maddison Keeney was in the form of her life heading into Tokyo. On the back of bronze in Rio, she picked up two world championships and one Commonwealth gold only for her career to be put on hold by COVID and shoulder surgery leaving her in tears.
Early in Paris, she saw a medal slip from her fingers after partner Annabelle Smith slipped on their final dive in the 3m synchronised final in what looked like more heartbreak for the WA product.
But eight years on from her first medal and with plenty of heartache in between Keeney would not be denied in the 3m final, nailing her forward 2½ somersault dive with two twists to clinch silver with the highest-scoring dive of the final round.
“Many times my legs have buckled from under me, but going through all those experiences, falling off the board, it’s kind of made me who I am. I feel like I have been forged with fire.”
19. Jeremy McGovern (AFL)
Battered and bruised but still standing tall in the Eagles’ backline Jeremy McGovern was back to his vintage best on his way to a fifth All-Australian blazer this season.
With former partner in crime Tom Barrass MIA for much of the year, McGovern was often a one-man show. He did not disappoint, averaging more than 20 disposals and three intercept marks per game in what was arguably the 32-year-old’s best season since their 2018 triumph.
McGovern was richly deserving of a maiden John Worsfold medal and while the Eagles are in transition, the veteran remains a key pillar on which they can build.
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