Thanks to everyone who took the trouble to vote.

This is the 9th year of Mafia awards, click on the year to see the details.

Usually at this time of year we list the Chiefs squad, bemoan all the Waikato players and argue that a few more Bay players should have been included. The announcement of the 5 New Zealand Super squads for 2012 contains very few surprises, given that most of the signings have already been announced.

This time around, Steamers players are spread around 4 franchises plus 1 Australian franchise. Only 4 Steamers are included in the Chiefs and one of those moved to the Bay after being signed by the Chiefs. So let's take a look at where our players have ended up - and which players have been excluded altogether.

There’s always a danger in putting your money where your mouth is – especially when your mouth is as big as Hori BOP’s.

Now the colourful Bay of Plenty rugby mascot is about to become Hori Bubbles, after losing a bet about Stephen Donald taking part in the All Blacks’ Rugby World Cup campaign.

Not only did Donald take part, he kicked the match-winning penalty in Sunday’s final.  It means the larger than life, 184kg Hori will head for Hamilton on Saturday where he’ll swim across the Waikato River, drink a can of Waikato Draught and eat a Mooloo meat pie to pay his dues.

As the Rugby World Cup rumbles on, Sportboy shunned the packed city stadiums and headed for Tolaga Bay to rediscover rugby’s rural roots.

Has rugby lost its soul?

It’s a question I ponder as my trusty Toyota winds through the black depths of the Waioeka Gorge, a Friday night on the way to Gisborne.

Inundated by the hype and careful packaging of the Rugby World Cup and over-run by reports of an All Black injury crisis and a quavering nation, it was time to head for the fabled grassroots of the game.

Running for cover, seeking shelter from the Cup cacophony; a Heartland match in Tolaga Bay between East Coast and Poverty Bay seemed the perfect place to go looking for an answer.

But this was a personal journey as well – after 14 years covering rugby, I was a burnt out cynic, sick to death of seemingly endless Super 15 seasons and a superfluity of meaningless All Black matches.