Karen "Paxy" Paxman (born 25 November 1988) is an

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

er playing for the

Melbourne Football Club The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Demons or colloquially the Dees, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier comp ...

in the

AFL Women's AFL Women's (AFLW) is Australia's national semi-professional Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules football competition for women's Australian rules football, female players. The 2017 AFL Women's season, first season of the l ...

(AFLW). A defender, tall, Paxman plays primarily on the

half-back line In the sport of Australian rules football, the half-back line refers to the positions of the 3 players on the field that occupy the centre half-back and left and right half-back flank positions. Centre half-back The role of the centre half-bac ...

with the ability to push into the

midfield In many sports, midfield is the part of a sports field that is near the line that is equally far from the end lines. That is, in American football it is the part of the field near the 50-yard line; in association football (soccer) and field hoc ...

. She first played football at sixteen years of age and won a premiership and league

best and fairest In Australian sport, the best and fairest award recognises the player(s) adjudged to have had the best performance in a game or over a season for a given sporting club or competition. The awards are sometimes dependent on not receiving a suspensi ...

in her first year. She played in the premier division of the

Victorian Women's Football League The Victorian Women's Football League (VWFL) was the oldest and largest Australian rules football league for women in the world, consisting of 47 clubs from Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia across seven divisions with a total of over ...

(VWFL) from the 2008 season and won three VWFL premierships with

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...

and

Darebin The City of Darebin () is a local government area in Victoria, Australia, in the northern suburbs of Melbourne. It has an area of and in June 2018 Darebin had a population of 161,609. Municipal offices are located at 350 High Street, Preston. ...

, in addition to a VFL Women's premiership with Darebin. Her accolades in football include three league best and fairests, state representation on four occasions, best-on-ground in a grand final, and five-time AFLW All-Australian honours. Paxman's achievements in the VWFL saw her recruited by the

Western Bulldogs The Western Bulldogs are a professional Australian rules football club based in the Melbourne suburb of Footscray. The club competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition. Originally named the Footscray F ...

with the sixth selection in the 2013 women's draft ahead of that year's exhibition match. She played with the Bulldogs throughout the women's AFL exhibition series before she was recruited by Melbourne to play in the all-star match in September 2016. Her performance in the all-star match saw her signed by Melbourne as a priority player ahead of the inaugural AFL Women's season in 2017.

State league and representative career

Paxman first played football at sixteen years of age in 2005 with Lalor Park, securing a premiership in her first year of football, in addition to winning the division two

in the south east conference of the

(VWFL). She won a further two league best and fairest in the north west conference in the VWFL, winning the Kate Lawrence Medal in 2006 playing for Hadfield and another in 2008 playing for Heidelberg. She received state honours representing Victoria at the

2007 AFL Women's National Championships The 2007 AFL Women's National Championships took place in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia. The tournament began on 11 June and ended on 16 July 2006. The 2006 tournament was the 16th Championship, the previous one being held in ...

where she received All-Australian honours. Paxman played her first senior VWFL season with the St Albans Spurs (now the Parkside Spurs) in 2009. She played over fifty matches with St Albans, including the 2011 grand final victory, in which she won the Lisa Hardeman Medal as the best player on the ground. In the same year, she represented Victoria for the second time at the

AFL Women's National Championship The AFL Women's National Championship was the premier national and international competition in Women's Australian rules football. The championship was held every year between 1992 and 2015. The tournament was organised by the sport's governin ...

where she played in the winning final over Western Australia and was named in the All-Australian side. Prior to the start of the 2013 season, Paxman changed VWFL teams and joined the

Darebin Falcons The Darebin Women's Sports Club, nicknamed the Falcons, is a sports club based in the northern suburbs of Melbourne that is primarily notable for its women's Australian rules football, Australian rules football team which competes in the highest- ...

, and won a premiership in her first season with the club. In the same year, she was drafted by the

with their third selection and sixth overall in the 2013 women's draft to play in the inaugural women's AFL exhibition match against the

at the

Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as the 'G, is a sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadium in the Southern Hemisphere, the Lis ...

in front of approximately 8,000 people in a thirty-two point loss. A week before the exhibition match, she played in the AFL Women's National Championships representing Victoria and was named on the half-back line in the All-Australian team. Paxman played in her third VWFL premiership in the 2014 grand final against Diamond Creek at

Coburg City Oval Coburg City Oval (also currently known as Barry Plant Park due to naming rights) is an Australian rules football and cricket stadium located in Coburg, Australia. It is home to the Coburg Football Club in the Victorian Football League, and the ...

. In the same year, she was one of thirteen players retained by the Western Bulldogs to play in the 2014 women's AFL exhibition match against Melbourne, in which the club lost by forty-six points at

Etihad Stadium The City of Manchester Stadium, currently known as Etihad Stadium for sponsorship reasons, and commonly shortened as The Etihad, is the home of Premier League club Manchester City, with a domestic football capacity of 53,600, making it the 7t ...

and she was named in the Bulldogs' best players. After missing the entire 2015 season due to travelling, Paxman returned to the Darebin Falcons for the inaugural VFL Women's season in 2016. In her first match in over a year, she was named the best player on the ground by '' Preston Leader'' journalist Tim Michell. She played eighteen matches for the year, including the grand final victory against

Melbourne University The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state of Victoria. Its ...

, in addition to being named on the half back line in the VFL Women's team of the year. With the growth of the women's exhibition series, she played two matches for the Western Bulldogs in March and June, the second of which, she was named in the Bulldogs' best players by

AFL Media AFL Media is an Australian sports media company operated by the Australian Football League (AFL) to provide coverage of the league and the sport of Australian rules football. History Established in 2012, AFL Media provides content to AFL.com.au ...

in the thirteen point win over Western Australia at Etihad Stadium. After playing with the Western Bulldogs throughout the exhibition series, she was recruited by Melbourne to play in the all-star match in September against the Western Bulldogs at

Whitten Oval Whitten Oval (also known as Mission Whitten Oval under a naming rights agreement) is a stadium in the inner-western suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, located in Barkly Street, Footscray. It is the training and administrative headquart ...

as a showcase for the inaugural

(AFLW) season in 2017. In the thirty-nine point loss, she recorded a game-high twenty-six disposals and was named Melbourne's second best player by AFL Media journalist Bruce Matthews.

AFL Women's career

2017: Inaugural season

After her performance in the all-star match, Paxman was signed by the Melbourne Football Club as a priority player. Predicted to be one of the "stars" of the AFLW competition by ''

Herald Sun The ''Herald Sun'' is a Conservatism, conservative daily tabloid newspaper based in Melbourne, Australia, published by The Herald and Weekly Times, a subsidiary of News Corp Australia, itself a subsidiary of the American Rupert Murdoch, Murd ...

'' journalist Liam Twomey, her accurate kicking and decision-making was speculated to give her an edge over other women in the league. Paxman debuted in the club's inaugural match against at

Casey Fields Casey Fields is a $30 million, 70 hectare multi-sports complex in the City of Casey at Cranbourne East, a southeastern suburb of Melbourne. The complex is home to Australian rules football, cricket, netball, soccer, tennis, cycle spor ...

in a fifteen-point loss. She recorded a game-high 24 disposals and was named Melbourne's best player by the ''Herald Sun'' and AFL Media. The next week in the 19-point win over at

Ikon Park Princes Park (also known as Ikon Park under naming rights) is an Australian rules football ground located inside the Princes Park precinct in the inner Melbourne suburb of Carlton North. Officially the Carlton Recreation Ground, it is a hi ...

, she recorded an equal-second most disposals (15) and kicked her first AFLW goal, in addition to being named Melbourne's best player for the second consecutive week by the ''Herald Sun'' and AFL Media, with

Fox Sports Australia Fox Sports Australia Pty Limited (formerly Premier Media Group Pty Limited) is the division of Foxtel that owns and operates the Fox Sports television networks and digital properties in Australia. The group operates nine Fox Sports Channels as w ...

journalist Anna Harrington naming her the best player on the ground. Paxman continued recording high disposal counts the next few weeks, collecting 27 disposals in the 14-point win over the at

, 24 in the 6-point win against at Casey Fields, 25 in the 5-point loss to at the

Blacktown International Sportspark Blacktown International Sportspark (BISP) (officially known as Blacktown Olympic Park) is a multi-sports venue located in Rooty Hill, a suburb in Sydney, Australia. The venue includes two cricket grounds, which have also been used for Australi ...

and 21 in the 2-point win over at

TIO Stadium Marrara Oval, currently known as TIO Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in the suburb of Marrara, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. With a seating capacity of 12,215, the ground is the largest stadium in the Nort ...

. Heading into the final round, she was leading the disposal count in the league. Paxman's 17 disposals in the 54-point win over at Casey Fields in the final round pushed her to second overall in the league, finishing one disposal behind teammate

Daisy Pearce Daisy Pearce (born 27 May 1988) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Melbourne Football Club#AFL Women's team, Melbourne Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW) and is the current AFLW senior coach of the West Coast Eagle ...

. She was named in Melbourne's best players in every match of the year apart from the round six win against Adelaide, and was consequently predicted to poll highly in the league best and fairest according to ''Herald Sun'' journalist Lauren Wood and AFL Media reporter Sarah Black. Paxman was ultimately runner-up in the award, finishing with ten votes (four votes behind winner

Erin Phillips Erin Victoria Phillips (born 19 May 1985) is an Australian basketball player and former Australian rules football player. She played nine seasons in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) for five different teams and is a two-time ...

). Her season was further rewarded with being one of three Melbourne nominees for the

AFL Players Association The AFL Players Association (AFLPA, also simply known as AFL Players) is the representative body for all current and past professional Australian Football League (AFL) and AFL Women's (AFLW) players. The AFLPA promotes and protects its member ...

most valuable player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

award—in which she was also the runner up behind Phillips—and she was listed in the 2017 All-Australian team. With the inaugural season only having one-year contracts, Paxman re-signed with Melbourne for the 2018 season during the trade period in May 2017.

2018–present: Multiple All-Australian selections

Paxman experienced a volatile start to

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

, gathering 8 disposals early in Melbourne's round 1 win over Greater Western Sydney before suffering a back injury which prevented her from returning to the field after quarter-time. Nevertheless, she recorded 21 disposals and played a highly influential role one week later in an emphatic 32-point victory against reigning premier Adelaide. Although Melbourne yet again narrowly missed out on qualifying for the grand final, Paxman earned her second All-Australian selection in as many years. In the absence of pregnant leader Daisy Pearce,

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

saw Paxman elevated to the position of Melbourne vice-captain. She enjoyed another successful individual season which included standout performances in victories against Brisbane and the Western Bulldogs, managing 24 disposals and a goal on both occasions. Recognition followed in the form of her maiden club best and fairest award as well as finishing third in the league best and fairest behind Erin Phillips and Dana Hooker with 10 votes. The consistent output in her AFLW career would be underlined by becoming the first three-time All-Australian, a feat shared with Emma Kearney and

Chelsea Randall Chelsea Randall (born 14 June 1991) is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Adelaide Football Club#AFL Women's team, Adelaide Football Club in the AFL Women's competition. She is one of the club's inaugural AFLW team co-captains, and ...

. During the post-season trade period, Paxman signed a two-year contract with Melbourne despite strong interest from expansion club St Kilda. The

2020 AFL Women's season The 2020 AFL Women's season was the fourth season of the AFL Women's (AFLW) competition, the highest-level senior women's Australian rules football competition in Australia. The season featured 14 clubs and ran from 7 February to 22 March; it ...

saw Paxman obtain her fourth AFL Women's All-Australian team selection, named in the rover position. In the

2021 AFL Women's season The 2021 AFL Women's season was the fifth season of the AFL Women's (AFLW) competition, the highest-level senior women's Australian rules football competition in Australia. The season featured 14 clubs and ran from 28 January to 17 April, compr ...

, Paxman was awarded with her fifth consecutive

All-Australian The All-Australian team is an all-star team of Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules footballers, selected by a panel at the end of each season. It represents a complete team, including an interchange bench, of the best-perfo ...

blazer, named on the interchange bench.

Personal life

In 2023, Paxman updated her personal details with the Melbourne Football Club. When completing her league registration form, Paxman opted to change her first name from Karen to Paxy, the nickname by which she has been known throughout her career. Paxman is known as Paxy Paxman where traditional structure dictates the use of a first and last name, and simply Paxy when only a first name is required.

Statistics

: ''Statistics are correct to the end of 2022 season 6.'' , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

, , 4 , , 7 , , 2 , , 1 , , bgcolor="CFECEC" , 102 , , 50 , , 152 , , bgcolor="DD6E81" , 27 , , 23 , , 0.3 , , 0.1 , , bgcolor="CFECEC" , 14.6 , , 7.1 , , 21.7 , , bgcolor="DD6E81" , 3.9 , , 3.3 , , 10 , - , scope="row" text-align:center ,

, , 4 , , 7 , , 2 , , 3 , , 87 , , 37 , , 124 , , 16 , , 21 , , 0.3 , , 0.4 , , 12.4 , , 5.3 , , 17.7 , , 2.3 , , 3.0 , , 5 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" , scope="row" text-align:center ,

, , 4 , , 7 , , 3 , , 5 , , 93 , , 53 , , 146 , , 15 , , 24 , , 0.4 , , 0.7 , , 13.3 , , 7.6 , , 20.9 , , 2.1 , , 3.4 , , 10 , - , scope="row" text-align:center ,

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

, , 4 , , 7 , , 1 , , 2 , , 97 , , 52 , , 149 , , 21 , , 29 , , 0.1 , , 0.3 , , 13.9 , , 7.4 , , 21.3 , , 3.0 , , 4.1 , , 9 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" , scope="row" text-align:center ,

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

, , 4 , , 11 , , 4 , , 6 , , 166 , , 81 , , 247 , , 36 , , 44 , , 0.4 , , 0.5 , , 15.1 , , 7.4 , , 22.5 , , 3.3 , , 4.0 , , 13 , - , scope="row" text-align:center , 2022 (S6) , , 4 , , 12 , , 4 , , 3 , , 134 , , 96 , , 230 , , 32 , , 41 , , 0.3 , , 0.3 , , 11.2 , , 8.0 , , 19.2 , , 2.7 , , 3.4 , , 7 , - class="sortbottom" ! colspan=3, Career ! 51 ! 16 ! 20 ! 679 ! 369 ! 1048 ! 147 ! 182 ! 0.3 ! 0.4 ! 13.3 ! 7.2 ! 20.5 ! 2.9 ! 3.6 ! 54

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Paxman, Paxy Living people 1988 births Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) Melbourne Football Club (AFLW) players All-Australians (AFL Women's) Darebin Falcons players