2022 has certainly been a year in which we’ve seen teams and athletes step up and take hold of big moments.
It often takes as little as one mercurial year to etch a sporting team or star into folklore, and we’ve certainly seen that in 2022, with some incredible performances at both an individual and collective level.
Our podcast panel dived deep into the standout teams and athletes of 2022 as part of our 2022 awards ceremony – listen to the show, or read our list of nominations and winners below!
The Only Sports Show | LISTEN TO OUR FULL AWARDS EPISODE:
NOMINATIONS for Team of the Year
(Please note our Awards podcast and the nominations were done before the World Cup Final)
THE SOCCEROOS: Australia’s men’s football team captured the hearts of the nation and even the globe, in the lead-up to the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and in the tournament proper as they qualified for the round of 16 against most expectations. Whether it was Andrew Redmayne‘s goalkeeping heroics in the Socceroos’ qualifier against Peru, the goal-kicking exploits of Craig Goodwin, Mitch Duke and Mathew Leckie, the defensive stoicism of Harry Souttar, and everything in between, the Socceroos had Australia captive.
AUSTRALIAN WOMEN’S CRICKET TEAM: The Aussie Women kicked off the year with a dominant ODI World Cup final win, going undefeated throughout the tournament on their way to huge wins in the semi-final and final, with Alyssa Healy scoring 129 and 170 across those two matches. The winning streak continued as the Aussies entered an inaugural Commonwealth Games campaign, again emerging victorious after some narrow and enthralling battles against India. An ODI World Cup win, the first-ever Women’s T20 Commonwealth Games gold medal, and an undefeated streak that lasted almost the entire year – not a bad return for 2022!
PENRITH PANTHERS: A second consecutive NRL Premiership isn’t just where the Panthers’ 2022 success ends. Put simply, they’re the most dominant rugby league team in 30 years, having won almost 90 per cent of their NRL games since the beginning of 2020. For 2022 specifically, the Panthers won premierships across all grades, a feat that leaves them in rare air. When it comes to dominant rugby league teams, and club-wide seasons, you’d be hard-pressed to find any better than the Panthers.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS: Hockeyroos; Australian Women’s Rugby Sevens team; Australian Steelers wheelchair rugby team
Listen to our inaugural THE ONLY’S awards episode to hear the full discussion!
WINNER: Australian Women’s Cricket Team
NOMINATIONS for Athlete of the Year
SAM KERR: 2022 was certainly a year to remember for the Matildas and Chelsea Women’s star. She led her WSL side to a league and cup double, with an astonishing 29-goal season to claim Player of the Season and the Golden Boot. She also became Australia’s outright most prolific international goal-scorer, top scoring in the Asian Cup and winning the Matildas’ player of the season. To top it off, Kerr was unveiled as a cover athlete for FIFA 23 – not an on-field achievement, but a fitting acknowledgment of her world-class feats.
RAFAEL NADAL: The Spaniard secured victories at the Australian and French Opens this year, moving into outright first place ahead of Novak Djokovic and the now-retired Roger Federer as the leader in all-time Grand Slam wins. But perhaps Nadal’s perseverance and competitiveness were exemplified in his exploits at Wimbledon, battling an abdominal injury that appeared to really hamper him, yet winning his quarter-final matchup against Taylor Fritz. Certainly a deserving nominee for Athlete of the year given his fighting spirit.
CAM SMITH: Smith has outright skipped the ‘cult hero’ tag due solely to his prolific year, winning the ‘unofficial fifth major’ at the Players Championship, and topping his year off with a breakthrough British Open win. In the process, winning those titles made him one of just five golfers to ever produce that double in the same calendar year, while his win at The Open was near-flawless, and duly a record-breaking one. Smith’s year was certainly a break-out, but has been so prolific that he’s now well and truly in the ‘Athlete of the Year’ conversation.
OTHER NOMINATIONS: Minjee Lee, for winning two golfing majors as on; Eliud Kipchoge, for setting a new marathon world record at age 37
Listen to our inaugural THE ONLY’S awards episode to hear the full discussion!
