2013 Australian Player of the Year

In a non-Olympiad Year, picking one Australian player as a standout is just that little bit more difficult. These days it is the junior players (Under 16) who carry the flag for Australia on overseas events, while older players have the usual worries about study/work/family to keep them tied to these shores. But even on the domestic scene honours seemed shared about, with a few young players (eg Anton Smirnov and Karl Zelesco) moving to the next level, but no one completely dominating the local scene.
But there was one player who had a number of significant performances in 2013, which placed him ahead of the pack. IM (then still FM) Bobby Cheng started the year with a win in the Australian Open, ahead of a strong field. He had solid performances in the Doeberl Cup and the Sydney International Open, before scoring 10/11 in the 2013 Victorian Championship. Later in the year he scored 6.5/9 in the World Under 16 Olympiad, and finished off the year with a 4th placing in the 2013 Australasian Masters. He was awarded his IM title in May, all the while juggling his schooling.
So for 2013, IM Bobby Cheng is the Chessexpress Australian Player of the Year.

Miezis,Normunds (2554) - Cheng,Bobby (2440) [A10]
2013 Australasian Masters GM Melbourne (8.5), 21.12.2013

1. c4 b6 2. Nc3 Bb7 3. e4 e5 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. g3 Bc5 6. Bg2 d6 7. O-O Nge7 8. d3 O-O 9. a3 a5 10. Rb1 Qd7 11. Nh4 h6 12. Kh1 g5 13. Qh5 gxh4 14. Bxh6 Qe6 15. Nd5 Qg6 16. Qxh4 f6 17. Bh3 Rf7 18. Be6 Nxd5 19. cxd5 Nd4 20. f4 f5 21. Bxf7+ Kxf7 22. Bg5 Kg7 23. Bd8 fxe4 24. Qe7+ Kg8 25. fxe5 Nf5 26. Qg5 Qxg5 27. Bxg5 exd3 28. Kg2 Ne3+ 29. Bxe3 Bxd5+ 30. Kh3 Bxe3 31. exd6 cxd6 32. Rf6 Rd8 33. Rbf1 d2 34. g4 Bb3 35. R6f3 Re8 0-1