Grace Nweke has capped off a stellar first season in Suncorp Super Netball by winning the QBE Most Valued Player Award at the NSW Swifts’ 2025 Gala Dinner on Friday night.
The Award is the Club’s highest accolade and awarded to the player who received the most MVP votes from a specialist SSN panel during the regular season.
First presented in 1997 - when the Swifts were formed - since 2008 it has been presented in partnership with QBE Insurance. It has been won by list of past and present Swifts greats down the years such as Liz Ellis, Cath Cox, Kim Green, Sarah Klau and Helen Housby.
It was one of two Awards that Nweke took home on the night with the Silver Ferns superstar also winning the Players’ Player of the Year.
Elsewhere, co-captain and Club veteran Paige Hadley remains as popular as ever with Swifts’ faithful after she won the Members’ Player of the Year for the fourth time in her career, while Teigan O’Shannassy and Sophie Fawns were named joint winners of the 2025 Coaches’ Award.
From the Staff, performance analyst Natalia Waterson took home the High-Performance Club Person of the Year gong while Swifts Commercial Partnerships Manager Jen Silva was named Club Person of the Year from the Administration Staff.
Rising defender Freddie Schneideman, who debuted for the Swifts in SSN this year, was named the QBE Swifts Academy Players’ Player of the Year while Academy Captain Lili Gorman-Brown took out the Academy Coaches’ Award.
Also recognised on the night was cult hero Patrick O’Malveny, better known as MopMan to Swifts Fans. He took out the Volunteer of the Year Award.
Swifts Head Coach Briony Akle paid tribute to Nweke on the night.
“To win an MVP Award in your first season is a pretty phenomenal achievement and I think Grace has proven that coming across the Tasman has been amazing for her.
“Her ceiling is very high and at just 23 there is so much more to come from her but milestones like these are important and she should be very proud.
“The season may not have ended how we wanted but it was a journey we all shared together and tonight we rightly celebrated the amazing people at our Club in a fitting end to our season.
“Now the works starts for 2026.”
FULL WINNERS LIST
- QBE Most Valued Player: Grace Nweke
- Coaches Award: Teigan O’Shannassy & Sophie Fawns
- Players’ Player: Grace Nweke
- Members’ Player: Paige Hadley
- Academy Players’ Player: Freddie Schneideman
- Academy Coaches Award: Lili Gorman-Brown
- Club Person – Performance Team: Natalia Waterson
- Club Person – Admin: Jennifer Silva
- Aware Super Volunteer of the Year Award: Patrick O’Malveney
- Volunteer 10 Year Service Award: Allira Smith-Connor, Dianne Chestney
