Perth-born-and-bred scrum-half Samantha Wood has become first player to win the Western Force’s Rebecca Clough medal twice after taking out the top gong at the Club’s end-of-season awards night on Saturday evening.
The Club held the Rebecca Clough Medal Night at the WACA Ground’s Wally Edwards Function Centre with 150 guests in attendance to honour the Force’s top individual performers from the 2026 Swyftx Super Rugby Women’s campaign.
Wood, who plays for Kalamunda and came through the ARKS junior system, topped the voting to claim the medal for the second time after saluting in 2024, before spending the 2025 season on the sidelines with a nerve injury.
The Wallaroos scrum-half capped her return, after playing every game at last year’s Women’s Rugby World Cup, by claiming the Force’s top women’s individual accolade, which is named after WA women’s rugby pioneer Rebecca Clough and voted on a 3-2-1 basis by players after each Super W game.
Wood led the way from start to finish, triumphing on 92 votes to finish 24 ahead of Kalamunda hooker Hera-Barb Malcolm Heke (68 votes). Rounding out the top five were former Black Ferns back-rower Pia Tapsell (46), Wallaroos midfielder Cecilia Smith (43) and Fijian flyer Adi Vani Buleki (40).
The 22-year-old half-back had a stellar campaign – in her first as co-captain alongside 2025 winner Trilleen Pomare - scoring a team-high 41 points with two tries, with a goal kicking accuracy of 75 per cent, the second best in Super W.
The ARKS product also managed a team-high five try assists (third overall in Super W), with a league-high 1797 kicking metres, plus four breakdown steals and six turnovers won.
Wood also took home the Members’ MVP award, voted by 2026 Western Force Members.
Force head coach Dylan Parsons said: “Sammy has been massive for us this season and to be voted the Rebecca Clough winner by her peers is great recognition from her outstanding season.
“Her hard work and dedication to her game is a great example of when you commit to the process and don’t get bored of it then you earn yourself the consistent performances that she had all year.”
Runner-up Malcolm Heke scored an equal team-high four tries in an impressive season, where her lineout accuracy, strong carries and hard-hitting tackles were a feature. The Kalamunda hooker also won six turnovers, pushing her case for a Wallaroos recall.
In third, Pia Tapsell was a physical powerhouse, underlined by a team-high 19 dominant carries, while she was one of the best in the competition for in-contact metres (100) with a team-high four offloads and seven turnovers won including four breakdown steals.
Talented 20-year-old utility back Ngamihi Monk won the Debby Carley Rising Star for best young talent, having impressed in a variety of roles in the 2026 Super W season as the team’s Swiss army knife. Monk already earned a Wallaroos call-up earlier in 2026, underlining she’s a player on the rise.
Veteran front-rower Alapeta Ngauamo won the Club’s Force Woman Award for the player who embodies the team’s spirit on and off the field as voted by the coaches and staff.
Ngauamo along with Malcolm-Heke were recognized for 25-game milestones, while Michaela Leonard was presented with a club gift for becoming the most capped player in Wallaroos history earlier this year. The Club also acknowledged the team’s 2026 debutants during the evening.
2026 Award Winners
Rebecca Clough Medal: Samantha Wood
Members’ Super W MVP: Samantha Wood
Debby Carley Rising Star: Ngamihi Monk
Force Woman Award: Alapeta Ngauamo
Rebecca Clough medal top 10
1. Samantha Wood - 92
2. Hera-Barb Malcolm Heke – 68
3. Pia Tapsell – 46
4. Cecilia Smith – 43
5. Adi Vani Buleki – 40
6. Michaela Leonard – 37
7. Seina Saito – 24
8. Allana Sikimeti – 17
9. Yuna Sato – 16
10. Nichole Ledington – 14
Rebecca Clough Medal - Honour Roll
2025 – Trilleen Pomare
2024 – Samantha Wood
2023 – Martha Mataele
2022 – Tamika Jones
