The West Australian and Channel 7 have swept the WA Football Media Guild awards in the latest recognition of the masthead’s outstanding coverage of the sport.

Five of the newspaper’s industry-leading reporters claimed gongs at the ceremony, while Channel 7 journalist Ryan Daniels claimed the Geoff Christian Medal for Excellence across a season.

The win continues Daniels’ remarkable five-year streak after another strong year of breaking news and comprehensive coverage.

The West’s sports editor, Jakeb Waddell, won the Jack Lee Award for the best print story of the year with his bombshell exclusive detailing how a growing number of West Coast players did not want Adam Simpson to coach beyond the 2024 season.

It was revealed multiple players wanted change at the end of the year, despite Simpson still being contracted. The future of the long-serving Eagles premiership coach was the biggest football story of the season in Perth.

The West sport’s chief of staff Jackson Barrett won the Tracey Lewis Emerging Media Talent award for his work in print and podcasting, as well as the WA Country Football League and WAFC Community Football prizes for his popular weekly Bush and ‘Burbs column.

Ben Smith won the Best Match Coverage award for his outstanding analysis of matches at AFL and WAFL level, including a piece on Josh Treacy’s breakout game against Richmond at Optus Stadium in July.

The Colin Minson Best WAFL Coverage award went to Mitchell Woodcock for his coverage of matches throughout the season, including all angles of the finals series, his annual ranking of the top 40 players in the league and exclusive stories that shaped the league, including the Peel Thunder pre-season camp controversy and an assistant coach banned for almost half a season for shoving a teenager during a colts match.

The West’s digital sports editor Chris Robinson was recognised for his tireless work behind the scenes on thewest.com.au and PerthNow with the Best Off-air Performer gong.

Photographer Jackson Flindell’s shot of Swan Districts forward Tom Edwards flying for a hanger during a match against Peel Thunder was judged the Best Photograph of the season.

Hard Ball Gets, The West’s much-loved footy podcast featuring Daniels, former Eagle Xavier Ellis, Nick Rynne, Robinson, Barrett and Jake Colvin, took out the prestigious Best Football Program title ahead of a stacked field that included broadcast and radio products.

Daniels also won Best Columnist for his must-read weekly takes in each Saturday’s edition of The West, as well as Best TV Feature for his moving obituary of WA footy legend John Todd and Best TV Breaking News for his report uncovering the details of North Melbourne’s details to play matches in Perth and Bunbury.