Stonier gets top rugby league honours

He considered hanging up the boots at the start of the year but Nambour Crushers talent Brenton Stonier dug deep for a tough campaign and got just rewards.

Nambour Crushers hooker Brenton Stonier was awarded Rugby League Sunshine Coast’s senior player of the year.

RUGBY LEAGUE: He considered hanging up the boots at the start of the year but Nambour Crushers talent Brenton Stonier dug deep for a tough campaign and got just rewards.

The hooker enjoyed a fit and fruitful year on field, snaring 12 tries for the Crushers.

His efforts earned him the Rugby League Sunshine Coast’s senior player of the year gong on Saturday night.

“It was a little bit unexpected,” he said.

“I thought I’d had a pretty good season but it’s obviously nice to be acknowledged in that way.”

The former Sunshine Coast Sea Eagle joined the Crushers midway through last year and was initially unsure as to whether he’d lace up for another campaign.

“At the start of this year I was contemplating giving it up and I was a bit overweight,” he said.

“But, I made the decision in the off-season (to get fit) and I dropped 10 or 15kg in two months to get back to my Queensland Cup playing days and it helped me get through the game and made me contribute more to the team.”

As a veteran in the sport, he had particularly relished guiding the younger stars through the ranks.

“That’s the most enjoyment I get out of playing these days is seeing the young boys come through,” he said.

“Obviously we got rookie of the year and young player of the year as well at our club so I’m really enjoying seeing the juniors come through and we’ve got a good group.”

Stonier enjoyed a challenging competition and hasn’t ruled out hitting the field again for the Crushers next year.

“It’s a strong comp and everyone was beating everyone and we were the unlucky ones to miss out (on finals),” he said. “We probably lost a few tight games we should’ve won but we’ll just keeping working on that, maybe add a couple of players and move forward from there.”

Nambour’s Blake Woodford was named the U16 Division 1 player of the year and the James Ackerman SCJRL (overall) player of the year as well on the awards night.

Kawana’s junior and senior ranks were named club champions. Beerwah’s Kainga Turner scored the most tries in the Div 1 season while Mathew Kidd scored the most points overall. -Tom Threadingham

Originally published as