Just like that unbelievable World Cup penalty shoot-out thriller starring the mighty Matildas, the year that was 2023 lined up free kick after free kick after free kick for our editorial cartoonists.
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From the coronation of King Charles to the divisive Voice referendum debate, the rising cost of living and the landmark defamation lawsuit that backfired spectacularly on Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith, the daily news cycle offered plenty in the way of own goals and red cards and offsides across national politics, sport, the economy and global affairs.
See the gallery below for the favourites of 2023 as nominated by cartoonists David Pope and Peter Broelman, whose editorial cartoons are carried in many of publisher ACM's leading daily newspapers, as well as in the network's popular free weekday newsletter, The Echidna.
We've also included some 2023 standouts by Fiona Katauskas, former contributor to The Echidna.
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We kick off this highlights replay with - who else but - the Matildas and a Sam Kerr-esque screamer from Peter Broelman.
Australia's epic goal-for-goal Women's World Cup penalty shoot-out against France put millions of Australians on the edge of their seats - and broke the hearts (again) of our former, pre-AUKUS, partners in submarine building.
At the 39th Annual Stanley Awards in Melbourne in October, the Australian Cartoonists Association awarded Broelman the 2023 Jim Russell Award for his significant contribution to Australian cartooning.
In November Katauskas was named 2023 Political Cartoonist of the Year by the Museum of Australian Democracy as part of its annual "Behind the Lines" exhibition at Old Parliament House in Canberra.
Nominated for her work in The Echidna as well as the website Guardian Australia, Katauskas was presented with her award by former ABC journalist Barrie Cassidy.
"I was a little bit less savage this year than I normally am," she said. "But I do also enjoy the savage stuff."
Cassidy said the annual "Behind the Lines" exhibition of the year's best political cartoons was one of the most popular displays at the museum and brought thousands of people through the doors of the Old Parliament House building.
"And, as a result, they wander around and as they do, they get a whiff of democracy, while they're here. Which is the point," he said.
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Political cartoons by Pope, Broelman and Katauskas also feature in the 2023 edition of Best Australian Political Cartoons published by Scribe and edited by Russ Radcliffe.
