PLAYERS, supporters and sponsors of the Tea Gardens Hawks Rugby League Football Club gathered for their annual presentation night at the Tea Gardens Hotel on Saturday 18 October, to celebrate the season.
“Tonight is a celebration of the hard work, commitment and achievements of our players and supporters,” club secretary Windjana Chester said.
“Being Secretary this season, I witnessed first-hand the many hours that go on behind the scenes to keep things running smoothly.
“None of this would have been possible without the efforts of our committee, our coaches, managers, and of course our amazing volunteers – from the bar and canteen staff to our league sage and sports trainers.”
Up first were the Lady Hawks Tag team, which boasted 15 players in total.
“The Lady Hawks had only two wins this season, but many close games, and I saw full commitment from the ladies all season,” coach Alex Sinclair said.
“Some games they had no subs, or just one or two, but played on.”
Alex confirmed he will coach the ladies again in 2026, before presenting each player with a special pink “Women in League” jersey, in which they played their final game.
The 28 players of the Hawks senior men’s team were handed their jerseys by respective sponsors.
Major awards were then presented to both teams, with several players walking away with multiple awards in recognition of their extra efforts throughout a season that was plagued by torrential rain and many cancelled games.
Most of the following awards were based on point-score systems.
– Best in Attack: Shian Perry and James Sinclair
– Best in Defence: Gemma Clarke and Carl Williams
– Best and Fairest: Gemma Clarke and James Sinclair
– Supporters’ Awards: Destinee Carey and Ben Woolard
– Players’ Player awards:Lilliana Baillie and Cole Johnson
– Rookies of the Year: Lilliana Baillie and Ben Furguson
– Coach’s Awards: Destinee Carey and Brodie Earnshaw
– Most Consistent: Abby Fenner and Joshua Papasavva
– President’s Awards for each team went to Annee Perry and Sam Burns
– Players of the Year were Gemma Clarke and Ben Woolard.
The Trent Murphy Award was won by Cole Johnson, the Riley Barry Memorial Award went to Joshua Papasavvas, and Jack’s Choice Award went to Jreay Keenan.
A very special thank you and jersey was presented to Mark Woolard for his tireless efforts in driving the team bus and helping out at games and training, while previous years’ Life Memberships for Clarissa Mitchell and Kerrie Smith were formally recognised.
Peter Evans and Alex Sinclair were also given their own special pink jerseys as thanks for their work with the Lady Hawks team.
The biggest thank-you was to the families, friends and supporters, and the sponsors, who come week after week, rain or shine, to cheer from the sidelines.
By Thomas O’KEEFE
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