I can’t believe we are already into the 4th year of the Mafia awards. Thanks to all who voted.
TRY OF THE SEASON
5th – Jamie Nutbrown v Auckland in the Quarter-final. Charge down and scramble to plant the ball just inside the line.
4th – Cory Aporo v Auckland in Round 1. Delany breaking the line, Aporo in support and climbing over Brent Ward to dot down.
3rd – Jamie Nutbrown v Tasman. Blindside run, chip kick, regather, all class.
2nd – Anthony Tahana v Taranaki. Terrible clearing kick straight to Ants, sprint for the line with defenders rushing across, friendly TMO decision.
1st – Hayden Reid v Counties-Manukau. Cross kick by Murray Williams, Anthony Tahana catch and Hayden Reid in support to score the try.
NEXT BAY ALL BLACK
3rd – Cory Aporo. Had a great debut season and will no doubt be a target for poaching soon (Otago probably) – unlucky to miss the Chiefs this year but might get a shot at the Sevens.
2nd – Tanerau Latimer. With all the current open sides in their mid to late twenties, Latimer is the next generation and a season for the Chiefs will position him well for the ABs after the 2007 World Cup.
1st – Jamie Nutbrown. Behind Kelleher, Weepu, Ellis and Cowan so he will need a few injuries to get there. First task is to take the starting spot ahead of Leonard in the Chiefs when Kelleher is away.
ROOKIE OF THE SEASON
3rd – Tanerau Latimer. Old head on young shoulders, a hard worker and always has his head buried in every ruck.
2nd – Aaron Rameka. Given a chance by the injury to Bernie Upton, he took it so well that he will be a fixture next season. Now we have lost Sorenson as well ……
1st – Cory Aporo. Aporo was a major find in the midfield and punched many a hole in opposition defences.
LIFETIME AWARD
We don’t specify the qualification for this award so everyone is free to interpret it as they want.
Joint 4th – Bernie Upton, Mark Sorenson and HoriBOP. The 2 departing locks and the one with the flowing locks. Good luck to Bernie in Wellington and Mark in the UK. Hori will be with the Bay for many years to come.
3rd – Anthony Tahana. A Bay man through and through and always gives 100% in every game he plays.
2nd – Keith Roberts. Keith did more than most to move the Bay from an amateur to a professional side and many of the Bay players have a lot to thank him for. Good luck to Keith for the future.
1st – Nili Latu. It looks like Nili has played his final game for the Bay, and what a player he has been for us.
PLAYER OF THE SEASON
21st – Tajhon Mailata. He was head-hunted by the NZRU and had a solid start for the Bay. With more preparation time next season, he could form a lethal combination with Aporo.
19th – Wayne Hughson. Filled in at centre before Mailata’s arrival, Wayne made the step up from club rugby well and is another one for the future.
19th – Lance McDonald. NZ Colt and started on the right wing for the final 5 games. Never saw him with the ball in space but he did his job well.
16th – Charles Baxter. If we could play every game in Rotorua, Charlie would win player of the season.
16th – Jeffrey Ierome. Another injury-ruined season, that’s 3 in a row for the big man. Again we saw tantalising glimpses of what he can do if injury-free.
16th – Hayden Reid (2005:17). Had a terrible start to the season but once he was settled at full-back he played some great rugby.
15th – Warren Smith (2005:18). Suffered early on as he is not a natural number 8 and came into his own once back to his best position at 6.
14th – Colin Bourke (2005:10 2004:7). Injury kept him out early on and he struggled to reach the heights of previous seasons.
13th – Anthony Tahana (2005:4 2004:8 2003:10). Seemed quiet early on in the season but came back to his rampaging best when we were on our winning streak.
12th – John Pareanga. With Lutui injured, Pareanga was an ever present and impressed with his work at the lineout and around the field.
11th – Tanerau Latimer. Ian Foster is a big fan of Latimer, and the lad has a big future ahead of him. Has a great work ethic and dedication.
10th – Bernie Upton (2005:6 2004:14 2003:14). Big Bernie was in great form when injury ended his season and he had to miss the repechage and quarter final games.
9th – Murray Williams (2005:18). After being displaced from first-five by Mike Delany, Williams came back in after Delany’s injury and spearheaded the big victories, earning himself a Chiefs spot.
8th – Aaron Rameka. Coming from nowhere to claim 8th spot, Rameka will start 2007 as our senior lock. Great season for him, and an example to club players everywhere.
7th – Simms Davison (2005:11 2004:13 2003:9). Week in, week out consistency from Simms, us biased Bay fans reckon he should have made a rep team (Junior ABs) at least in 2006.
6th – Ben Castle (2005:5 2004:9 2003:7). As ever the propping partners aren’t far apart. Ben grew as captain also and has committed himself to the Bay.
5th – Mike Delany (2005:14). Still seems to be ranked behind Williams as a first-five, but was playing very well there before injury. His best game was against the Naki where his kicking was immaculate on a tricky night. Might need to bulk up before he gets a S14 chance.
4th – Mark Sorenson (2005:8 2004:12 2003:11). What more can the man do to win a S14 contract, he was massive all season and having been overlooked again he had no choice but to take the UK pound.
3rd – Nili Latu (2005:1 2004:4 2003:8). You only have to look at Nili’s ranking in these awards to see how highly he is thought of by the fans. The Hurricanes have a gem and it will be interesting to track Nili’s career over the next few years.
2nd – Cory Aporo. The rookie of the season takes second place overall. Image of the season must be Aporo’s legs continuing to drive onwards with 2 or 3 defenders hanging off him. Now can the Bay keep him from a certain poaching S14 franchise base with colours similar to ours?
1st – Jamie Nutbrown. Kevin Who? A landslide victory for Jamie, twice as many votes as any other player. He added a tremendous spark to the Bay forwards and backs and scored some great tries as well.
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