Amid the celebrations at Monday's W Awards, there was one moment that stood out.
As AFL CEO Andrew Dillon read out North Melbourne star Jasmine Garner's name for the first time – in the fifth week of votes – a lengthy round of applause erupted around the room.
It was a different kind of applause. Not the loud whooping of teammates celebrating one of their own polling some votes. Not the generic applause afforded to those deemed best on ground.
It was a show of respect from Garner's peers.
"I actually felt a little bit emotional," now Sydney, and former North Melbourne coach Scott Gowans told AFL.com.au.
"I just know how hard she's worked and what she's been through off-field as well. I just thought to myself, 'How good's this?'"
Anyone that knows Garner will tell you that she hated the moment. Not for the message those around her were trying to send, but for the attention directed her way.
She is a famously no-fuss, get the job done kind of person. She wears simple white boots. Her hair is pulled back in a low bun. She isn't overly chatty on the field.
And the culmination of those things has seen her struggle to poll on the League's night of nights. But her impact on the AFLW should be considered alongside the likes of Daisy Pearce and Erin Phillips.
Originally selected as a key forward by Collingwood with pick 86 in the inaugural Telstra AFLW Draft, she wrote her name into the history books with the very first goal in AFLW history back in the opening game.
When North Melbourne joined the League, she was lured across in the clubs impressive first list build. Her intelligence and elite kick were clear to everyone who watched her play, but a suggestion from the club's then-AFLW list and performance manager Rhys Harwood after the 2019 season led to a pivotal decision in North Melbourne – and Garner's – journey.
Should Jasmine Garner play in the midfield?
"Well, I pushed for it a little bit, but (Gowans) was the coach," Harwood said humbly.
"She obviously played half forward for us and kicked goals and took marks, but she was just so clean, had so much time with the ball… that first year I reckon we had a bit of a one note midfield, we weren't batting deep through there and didn't have too many points of difference outside of (Emma Kearney).
"But she just kind of got herself to the point where she was fit enough to go through there and all the attributes she had, she just had more opportunity to use them."
Harwood was on the money.
"Credit to Rhys, his keen eye saw it. He suggested it to me, we tried it, and it worked," Gowans said.
That shift from big bodied forward to permanent midfielder required hard work to get exceptionally fit. But in doing so, Garner re-determined what it meant to be a midfielder in the AFLW.
"She had to re-imagine her body, and build an engine. And what she's done is show that if you're tall, it doesn't mean that you've got to be a ruck, and it doesn't mean you've got to be the old traditional ruck-rover," Gowans said.
"It just means that you're going to become a mid that needs to impact forward and bring others into the game. So, I think what she has reshaped is the score involvements and the goal assists and all those stats.
"That it's not just the clearance and the inside 50, it's actually putting the ball to good spots and helping the team. And she probably invented that within the game, and then the other mids now follow that and try to be like that."
With Garner sitting third on the all-time AFLW disposal tally, and also equal-third for all time goals kicked, her capacity to turn stoppage craft into genuine attack is unmatched across the competition.
But there is a clear imprint on other players around the country, who aim to play in a similar way. The likes of Gold Coast's Claudia Whitfort and West Coast's Ella Roberts have clear elements of Garner's attacking style of play, while Geelong duo Nina Morrison and Becky Webster show similar traits in their distribution of the football.
Consistency in impact is what leaps to other players' lips when asked about Garner. Her skill, midfield work, and scoring prowess is all greatly admired by her peers.
"Jas is a really inspiring player mostly because of her consistency in brilliance. She shows up time and time again, and makes it all look effortless and easy. A joy to watch," Collingwood midfielder Sarah Rowe said of Garner.
That is, when she's not cutting her own team apart.
"I think everyone considers her as one of the, if not the best player in the league. Her ability to win the ball speaks for itself, but she's such a classy user with ball in hand," Hawthorn star Greta Bodey said.
"And I think the thing that ets her apart is her ability to hit the scoreboard and kick goals consistently. She's easily my favourite player to watch in the game."
Jasmine Garner career snapshot
- 88 career games (=6th all time)
- 7x All-Australian
- 2x All-Australian captain
- 4x North Melbourne best and fairest
- 3rd for all time disposals (1,825)
- =3rd for all time goals (78)
- 2nd for all time clearances (367)
- 1st for all time goal assists (47)
- 1st for all time score involvements (386)
Meanwhile for Libby Birch, who has recently gone from foe to friend, the respect level was always there, but now she has greater insight into just what makes Garner tick.
"Jas is an ultimate competitor and teammate. One that humbly gets to work to put everything on the line for her team," Birch said.
"Jas has an unbelievable footy intuition to sense game changing moments and execute them. Her timing to hit the contest, receive, and launch from that is the best in the League."
Her ability to move from contest to contest, and repeatedly impact passages of play is credit to her elite fitness, but also her cool mindset. Able to shake off any potential concerns and remain focused on the task at hand.
"What her main characteristic is that she's probably the best player I've coached that can have the mindset of just never beaten," Gowans said.
"If she loses a contest, she doesn't get frustrated or frazzled, or if she's tagged, she's almost unflappable in that area, and that is the key ingredient to being involved in the game all the time."
Most evident, however, when canvassing those across the playing and coaching cohort is the immediate reference to both her footballing ability, and who she is as a person and leader.
"I think Jas' off-field demeanour and her ability to just be likeable is unique," Gowans said.
"Kearney does it with aggression on the field. Erin Phillips does it with brute strength. Jas does it almost with a laconic athletic ability, and does it where everybody loves her.
"I just think she's the Robert Harvey of the women's game."
So, the raucous applause at Monday's event makes sense. It was simply a showing of appreciation for someone who will forever leave a legacy on the game, whether she one day wins an AFLW best and fairest medal, or not.
"That's why she got that response the other night," Harwood said.
"She's just the most beautiful human ever. So humble, so kind."
