Vote Now: Who makes the Gold Coast District Rugby Union Team of the Season?
With the curtain drawn on another Gold Coast District Rugby Union season, the time has come to name a team of the year. We will leave that in the peoples hands, who impressed you the most in each position? CAST YOUR VOTE NOW HERE >>
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With the curtain drawn on the Gold Coast District Rugby Union season, now is your chance to piece together the region’s team of the season.
Among the players eligible for voting, we have sought to include those who played at least five games in the position.
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Where not possible, we have taken into account both the athletes who played the most games in the position for their club, those who impressed in limited time at the back end of the season returns as well as those who filled in for other roles and have been selected in the number they wore the most.
Vote now! Voting will close Sunday, August 28 at 11.59pm.
* Note: These selections come from the opinion of our readers and the votes cast.
TEAM REVEALED
Fullback: Jason Beeton (Griffith Knights)
The battle for the fullback spot was the most hotly contested, with our readers nudging the winner in favour of Knights custodian Jason Beeton.
Beeton claimed 34 per cent of the 135 votes cast for the position, just edging out Nerang’s Will Bird (30 per cent) and Bond’s Damien Timms (24 per cent).
All three had standout campaigns, with Bird the only Gold Coast player to crack the Queensland Country squad.
Wingers: Blake Griffin (Griffith Knights) and Joshua Edmond (Nerang Bulls)
No surprises that another premiership winner in Blake Griffin locks up one spot on the flank with 38 per cent of the votes cast, with the flyer regularly scoring and making plenty of ground throughout the season.
He is joined by experienced campaigner Josh Edmond, who missed the season’s opening exchanges but came back strong for the Bulls’ title tilt.
Honourable mentions to Bond’s Rory Campbell and Nerang’s Logan Watene, who each polled just five votes behind Edmond.
Centres: Kenneth Hemopo (Griffith Knights) and Lepau Feau (Bond Pirates)
Kenneth Hemopo was strong throughout the season, finishing up 2022 with a dominant finals campaign in the Knights triumph. From there, he surged up our readers voting polls with 37 per cent of the selections.
We have put him in the number 13 at outside centre, with the sections second highest polling player, Lepeau Feau, jumping into inside centre after impressing even in losing causes.
In what was a hotly contested field, the Bob Sinclair medallist for player of the year, Surfers Paradise star Fetongi Tuinauvai, missed the cut according to those who cast a vote.
Halfback: Cameron Dodd (Griffith Knights)
Our readers well and truly got around Cam Dodd, a man who his Knights coach Shaun Cole has lauded in the past as being the most underrated player on the Gold Coast.
Dodd won out in a field which features former All Black Alby Matthewson to finish with 55 per cent of the votes cast in helping guide Griffith to yet another title.
Fly-half: Edward Berstein (Griffith Knights)
Another Knight to make the cut according to our readers, Edward Bernstein answered an SOS from coach Cole to return to the Griffith ranks mid season when injuries struck.
His comeback never seemed to take time to kick off, hitting the ground running and saving his best performances for the business end of the season.
Honourable mention goes to Nerang’s Jesse Leituvae, who overcame injuries throughout the year to be a regular contributor in the Bulls impressive campaign.
Number Eight: Jaye Paton (Griffith Knights)
There was a point early in the piece when it was a two-horse race between Griffith captain Jaye Paton and Bond skipper Brad Plant.
A late surge of votes, however, got the championship-winning leader over the line, with Paton earning 52 per cent of the votes cast.
Never looked like he had a bad game all year, and set the standard for his men — particularly when they got down to do-or-die football.
Flankers: Devontay To’a (Griffith Knights) and Terence Delalande (Bond Pirates)
Only one vote separated our two flanker selections, with Bond’s Terence Delalande just edging out Griffith’s Devontay To’a. Both were tireless throughout the campaign, and although Knights gun Harrison Cumming came close to edging into the side, he fell just a few votes short from our readers.
Second Row: Kerrod Martorella (Griffith Knights) and Mitch McGreevy (Bond Pirates)
Knights forward Kerrod Martorella was near unstoppable in the 2022 finals series, regularly taking down several would-be defenders as he charged the line.
Having polled 31 per cent of the votes cast, he is joined in the second row by Bond young gun Mitch McGreevy (27 per cent), who has been enormous this year.
The Gold Coast Cyclones Colts captain has never looked out of place in first-grade rugby, and plenty more appearances are firmly on his horizon.
Hooker:Jake Allen (Griffith Knights)
He faced a stern challenge from Dolphins star Lachlan Currie and Pirates gun Zachary Mason-Gale, but the wave of votes at the death gave Knights star Jake Allen the number two jumper in this team of the year.
Another in the Griffith brigade who continuously led from the front, Allen finished with 42 per cent of the votes cast.
Props: Tereina McLean (Griffith Knights) and Lesi Tawake (Griffith Knights)
In our sign of how our readers viewed the efforts of the Knights this year, both prop spots have been taken by the men in red.
Tereina McLean and Lesi Tawake polled 36 and 17 per cent of the votes respectively, with the rest evenly spread out across a strong field of contenders.
Do you agree with the selections? Have your say in the comments below.
FULLBACKS
This could well be one of the hardest fields to pick.
In Will Bird the Bulls have the Gold Coast’s only Queensland Country men’s representative, however Damien Timms proved to be one of the most elusive threats in open space.
Dalin Sharrock played five games at both fullback and fly-half and is up for selection in each position as a result. For the Eagles, no man featured in the number 15 jumper enough, with injuries and other players being moved around the backline to accommodate.
Knights duo Jason Beeton and Connor Kennedy have both been included in the possible selections, having each played games on the wing but the majority of their season (four games each) at fullback.
WINGERS
There is some serious try scoring prowess on the selection table.
Nerang proved to have the most depth with three players up for the gong, with Stephen Williams performing admirably before club champion Joshua Edmond returned to the competition.
Eagles flyer Brad Gordon began his season by scoring in each of his first four games, before playing stints at fullback as the year wore on.
Bond had plenty of promising options, the likes of young gun Fletcher Bleakley earning his maiden first-grade stripes and Sam Heathwood impressive at times before covering for Timms at fullback to miss out on qualifying for the spot.
CENTRES
Through all the contact they endure hitting the defensive line at pace, plenty of centre nominations have proven to be among the most durable players in the competition.
Bob Sinclair medallist Fetongi Tuinauvai featured in 11 games, while Bulls gun Esteban Gimeno Correa, Knights duo Kadison Graham and Kenneth Hemopo, as well as Bond’s Jonagh Gardiner all hit double digits as well.
HALFBACKS
Ordinarily when a halfback who has played for the All Blacks such as Alby Matthewson is in the mix you would assume it’s an easy vote, but the 2022 season has brought out a strong field.
Knights number nine Cameron Dodd has been lauded by his coach in the past as the most underrated player in the competition, and now he has three straight premierships to his credit. Meanwhile Bond’s Jackson Silvester-Lee was a pillar of stability for a Pirates outfit who were ravaged by injuries throughout the season, while Bryson Rukuwai helped inspire the Nerang Bulls to within a whisker of the minor premiership, and Jack Foley was brave in an Eagles side with their backs against the wall.
FLY-HALF
Surfers Paradise stalwart Dalin Sharrock is the only man to be up for two positions in the team of the year, having played five games at both fly-half and fullback.
In his place, Dan McGaveston rose to the occasion and helped guide the Dolphins into the big dance.
Throughout the season Tyler Wright shifted between the number 10 jumper and the custodian role, impressing even as the losses piled up and proving he was a young player worth keeping an eye on moving forward.
Edward Berstein came into the season late as the Knights suffered an injury crisis and steered his side to the premiership, while the lies of Lincoln Matehaere and Jesse Leituvae were constant threats.
NUMBER EIGHT
However he is not the only man who set a standard in his line up. Retiring Dolphin James Brown was inspired in his final season after 14 years at the club, while Albert Elia was a pillar of stability in an Eagles outfit who suffered several season ending injuries throughout their back three in the forwards.
It was a similar story for Nerang’s Sheldon Fidow, who simply kept turning up. Bond Pirates skipper Brad Plant was selected despite not playing five games or more.
The lead of the side endured a disrupted start to the campaign due to injury, with a host of others trialled in the role as he awaited his comeback.
FLANKERS
On the back of an injury ravaged start to the season, Griffith had three men in the mix who played five or more games in the role, each making a great impact in their premiership cause. Eagles gun Xavier Collins was shifted around the pack to accommodate a host of injuries, and wherever he was put he stood tall in a losing cause.
The likes of Alex Behns and Tom Coombs continued to showcase why they have been staples of the GCDRU campaign, as to Matiu Irwin, while Falangike Amato was tireless for the Dolphins.
With so many injuries in jerseys six and seven, Collins was the only man in the Eagles line up to meet nomination criteria.
BACKROW
Injuries in the forwards has once again cruelled the Eagles chances of having more men in the mix, however Michael Armstrong defied the trend and continued to turn in strong displays across the season.
Man mountain Kerrod Martorella did what he does best all season and dragged several would be defenders with each carry, while Nerang’s Tyran Isaac was up for the player of the year gong among a hotly contest field.
HOOKER
A heap of representative talent in the mix in a tight field, with the likes of Liam Cordell, Zachary Mason-Gale and Lachlan Currie pulling on Cyclones jerseys this year. Jake Allen, Keita Niihara and Pani Reti were durable throughout the campaign, playing a heap of games in one of the most physically demanding jobs on the paddock.
PROPS
Now it’s time for the big boys, and gee whiz do they pack a punch.
Lesi Tawake continued to show in Knights colours that he is one of the most formidable players in the competition, while Elliott Aisthorpe made the transition into Dolphins colours to great effect.
Evander Collins and Pat Murray were strong throughout the year as their teammates dropped around them to injury, while the rest of the nominees all went toe to toe with each other to set up enthralling battles with each round.
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