Clare Wheeler believed keeping it simple and being consistent in a chaotic W-League season for the Jets was the key to her success after winning the player of the year award and Cheryl Salisbury Medal on Monday night.
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Wheeler, a 21-year-old local junior, said it felt amazing and she was honoured after claiming the major double at Newcastle City Hall.
"Obviously I knew there were a lot of girls who were really good this year and did amazing, like Britt Eckerstrom having the No.1 saves in the league, so I'm honoured," Wheeler said.
The tenacious midfielder also won the Cheryl Salisbury Medal, which is based on dedication to the team on and off the pitch, in 2017-18.
This season she took her game to another level as the Craig Deans-coached team battled injuries to key players and finished seventh.
"When I talk to Deansy, it's all about keeping it simple and just doing the simple things right," she said.
"And I think in a season like we had with the ebbs and flows that we had, the injuries that we had, you just needed someone to potentially keep it simple and just be consistent, so I think that definitely helped me."
Deans said Wheeler showed her commitment to improve in 2017-18.
"I left her out of the team at one point last year," he said. "She didn't sulk about. She just put her head down, asked what she had to do and went about doing it and got herself back in the team.
"She's self-motivated and doesn't need to be told what the expectations are. She's the first one out on the training pitch every day.
"She contacts me and sits down and has a meeting me and on her notepad she has a list of things she wants to talk about. She's very driven and that's very important."
"She had an idea in her head about what she wanted to achieve individually. Just some very simple individual goals she set herself and I think, looking back at the stats, she achieved them and went past what she wanted."
Wheeler said it was mind-boggling to win player of the year in a team featuring players like Emily Van Egmond and Arin Wright.
As for next season's goals, she said: "Next year I'd love to play every game again and just do my best.
"With the team, I'm all about the team, I really want to make finals and win a final.
"But personally, to score a goal and maybe be a bit more aggressive, do a bit more in the front third."
