Alicia Eva

Alicia Eva (born 2 April 1991) is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Greater Western Sydney Giants in the AFL Women's (AFLW). She previously played for the Collingwood Football Club in 2017. Eva was selected in the AFL Women's All-Australian team and won the Gabrielle Trainor Medal in her first season at the Giants in 2018. She has served as Greater Western Sydney captain since the 2020 season.

Alicia Eva
Eva playing for Greater Western Sydney in 2018
Personal information
Full name Alicia Eva
Date of birth (1991-04-02) 2 April 1991
Original team(s) Melbourne University (VFLW)
Draft No. 54, 2016 national draft
Debut Round 1, 2017, Collingwood
vs. Carlton, at Ikon Park
Height 163 cm (5 ft 4 in)
Position(s) Midfielder / forward
Club information
Current club Greater Western Sydney
Number 2
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2017 Collingwood 07 (3)
2018– Greater Western Sydney 20 (3)
Total 27 (6)
Representative team honours
Years Team Games (Goals)
2017 Victoria 1 (1)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of round 1, 2021.
2 State and international statistics correct as of 2017.
Career highlights
Source: AustralianFootball.com

Early life

Eva grew up supporting the Melbourne Football Club, and her favourite player was their former captain David Neitz. Eva was forced to stop playing local football at the age of thirteen when she was no longer allowed to play alongside boys, and instead took up coaching.[1] Eva played state league football with Melbourne University in the VFL Women's (VFLW).[2]

AFL Women's career
Eva playing for Collingwood in 2017

Collingwood (2017)

Eva was drafted by Collingwood with the club's seventh selection, fifty-fourth overall, in the 2016 AFL Women's draft.[3] She was appointed vice-captain at Collingwood in late January 2017.[4] Eva made her debut in round 1, 2017, in the league's inaugural match at IKON Park against Carlton.[5] She played in all seven of Collingwood's matches that season, kicking three goals and leading the club in both total and average disposals.[6] At season's end she placed second in the club's best and fairest award.[7] Eva was named in the All-Australian squad of 40 players, but did not make the final team.[8]

Greater Western Sydney (2018–present)

In the May trading and signing period, Eva was traded to Greater Western Sydney as part of a three-way trade involving the Western Bulldogs.[9] Following her first season with the Giants, in which she played all seven games and ranked second in the competition for average kicks (13.7 per game) and third for tackles (52), Eva was selected on the wing in the 2018 AFL Women's All-Australian team[10] and won the Gabrielle Trainor Medal as the Giants' best-and-fairest ahead of 2018 AFLW Players' Most Valuable Player Courtney Gum.[11]

In November 2019, after inaugural Greater Western Sydney captain Amanda Farrugia announced her sudden retirement, Eva was announced as the club's new captain.[12] Leading into the 2020 season, womens.afl journalist Sarah Black named Eva at no. 30 on her list of the top 30 players in the AFLW.[13] Eva missed an AFLW match for the first time in 2020, missing rounds 5 and 6 with a foot injury,[14] before returning to play in Greater Western Sydney's semi-final loss against Melbourne.[15]

Statistics
Statistics are correct to the end of round 1, 2021.[16]
Legend
 G  Goals  B  Behinds  K  Kicks  H  Handballs  D  Disposals  M  Marks  T  Tackles
AFLW playing statistics
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game) Votes
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
2017Collingwood2 73163167916310.40.19.02.311.32.34.40
2018Greater Western Sydney2 711962912510520.10.113.74.117.91.47.43
2019Greater Western Sydney2 721902911915200.30.112.94.117.02.12.95
2020Greater Western Sydney2 50252237510360.00.410.44.615.02.07.25
2021Greater Western Sydney2 10014418040.00.014.04.018.00.04.0
Career 276531599414511430.20.211.73.715.31.95.313

Honours and achievements

Individual

Coaching career

Eva coached the Calder Cannons in the TAC Cup Girls competition in 2017, winning the competition's inaugural premiership,[17] and led the NSW/ACT Youth Girls and Eastern Allies teams in the 2018 AFL Women's Under 18 Championships.[18] She has served as a development coach of Greater Western Sydney's North East Australian Football League (NEAFL) team since 2018.[19]

In September 2017, Eva was featured in the AFL Media series The Chase, where she spoke about her initially limited playing opportunities in women's Australian rules football and her time in coaching prior to the creation of the AFL Women's, as well as her coaching aspirations post-football.[1] In April 2019, Eva received the AFLCA coaching pathway scholarship,[20] and she was enrolled in the second intake of the AFL Women's Coaching Academy later that year.[21] She later completed a study tour in the United States at the end of the AFL season as part of her scholarship.[22][23]

References
  1. "AFLW: 'Bigger than the game of football'". afl.com.au. 1 September 2017. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
  2. Black, Sarah (20 December 2016). "Alicia Eva brings coach's perspective to Pies' women". afl.com.au. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  3. Black, Sarah (12 October 2016). "As it happened: 2016 AFL Women's Draft". afl.com.au. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  4. Sewell, Eliza (25 January 2017). "Black and white the right look for Collingwood's first AFLW captain Steph Chiocci". Herald Sun. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  5. Guthrie, Ben (2 February 2017). "Blue ribbon day for AFLW as Carlton downs Collingwood". AFL Media. Bigpond. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  6. "Collingwood WFC". Australian Football. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  7. Wood, Lauren (17 May 2017). "Collingwood's AFLW team could lose another star player with Alicia Eva exploring her trade options". Herald Sun. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  8. "AFLW Lions and Crows dominate All Australian squad". AFL Media. Telstra Media. 23 March 2017. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  9. Harrington, Anna (23 May 2017). "Collingwood star Alicia Eva traded to GWS Giants in a bumper trade involving the Western Bulldogs". Fox Sports (Australia). News Corp Australia. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
  10. Navaratnam, Dinny (27 March 2018). "W Awards: Nine named dual All Australians". afl.com.au. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
  11. "Eva Claims 2018 Gabrielle Trainor Medal". gwsgiants.com.au. Telstra Media. 28 March 2018. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
  12. Black, Sarah (24 November 2019). "Giant shock: Skipper retires on eve of pre-season". womens.afl. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
  13. Black, Sarah (18 January 2020). "Sarah Black's top 30: And the AFLW's No.1 player is..." womens.afl. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  14. Black, Sarah (17 March 2020). "Injury wrap: Star Tiger to miss rest of season with concussion". womens.afl. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  15. Curley, Adam (19 March 2020). "Giants skipper set to return for historic final". womens.afl. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  16. "Alicia Eva". Australian Football. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  17. "Calder TAC Cup Girls Premiers". AFL Victoria. 10 May 2017. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
  18. Arnold, Caitlin (7 June 2018). "Eastern Allies squad announced for upcoming 2018 NAB AFL Women's Under-18s Champs". AFL NSW/ACT. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
  19. Black, Sarah (26 September 2019). "Is this star Giants midfielder the AFL team's lucky charm?". womens.afl. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
  20. Black, Sarah (13 April 2019). "Giants star named inaugural coaching scholarship recipient". womens.afl. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  21. Black, Sarah (3 October 2019). "Premiership Crow one of six in Women's Coaching Academy". womens.afl. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  22. Eva, Alicia (3 December 2019). "Eva on Learning From the Best in the U.S". gwsgiants.com.au. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  23. Eva, Alicia (3 December 2019). "The US college visit that stole new Giants captain's coaching heart". womens.afl. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
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