3rd BoP Mafia Awards - Results
3rd November 2005. By Kiwipie

Another season and here are the Mafia awards as voted for by the members of the BoP Mafia. Not as many votes as last season which probably reflects the success (or lack of it) on the field.

TRY OF THE SEASON

Joint 6th - Aleki Lutui v Waikato & Anthony Tahana v Waikato

5th - Simms Davison v Northland - a length of the field effort, finished off in fine style by the rampaging front-rower.

4th - Grant McQuoid v Taranaki - taking the ball on half-way and using pace and swerve to carve up the Naki backline.

3rd - Colin Bourke v Lions - finishing off after sustained pressure from a great Nili Latu pass.

2nd - Anthony Tahana v Wellington - a sweeping back line move finished off by the finisher supreme.

1st - Wayne Ormond v Taranaki - taking the ball from a line out, dummying to kick and gassing it to the corner.

NEXT BAY ALL BLACK

There were votes for Adrian Cashmore and Wayne Ormond (I suspect their time has past!) as well as Simms Davison, Mark Sorenson, Grant McQuoid & Anthony Tahana.

4th - Nili Latu - the Tongan Torpedo has had another turbo-charged season and if injuries were to hit a couple of open-siders, he could force himself into the AB picture.

3rd - Colin Bourke - a small setback for the young number 8 with non-selection for Super 14 but his intelligent and consistent play will be appreciated in years to come.

2nd - Ben Castle - already a Junior All Black, the captain of the Bay next season and a consistent performer. He can't have been too far away from the selector's thoughts for this tour.

1st - Bernie Upton - who knows, if he had stayed fit, Bernie might have taken Jason Eaton's seat on the plane.

ROOKIE OF THE SEASON

There were votes for Garrick Cowley, John Pareanga, Hayden Reid, David Johnston and Filimone Bolavucu.

4th - Warren Smith - stepping up to the starting XV when Bernie Upton was injured, hopefully the departure of Wayne Ormond won't be felt too much next season.

3rd - Murray Williams - had a great debut against the Lions but struggled along with the rest of the side until his injury against Harbour.

2nd - Rena Schuster - thrown into the midfield after others had been dropped or injured, Schuster formed a good partnership with Grant McQuoid.

1st - Mike Delany - forced his way onto the bench after great performances for the Dev team (which was never so good once he left) and then into the starting XV following Williams' injury. An instinctive player, he showed what he can do against Waikato and Northland and expect a real contest for the 10 jersey between he and Williams next year.

LIFETIME AWARD

The voting for this award was dominated by the departing players.

4th - Kevin Senio - after 3 seasons and 2 minutes as an All Black, Kevin has moved to Canterbury to play for the Crusaders.

3rd - Adrian Cashmore - came back to the Bay to end his playing days with an NPC season,then found himself into Super 12 and then with offers from abroad that were too good to resist.

2nd - Paul Tupai - a Steamers legend with over 100 appearances, his selection for the Samoa squad was enough to raise interest in the UK and give him a chance to make some money from rugby at last. We wish him well.

1st - Wayne Ormond - forever remembered as the first Bay captain to win the Ranfurly Shield, Wayne has chosen to play in Japan as heads towards the age of 30. A warrior in the Bay colours, he has always had time for the supporters and can always be seen chatting away long after the game has finished.

PLAYER OF THE SEASON

Joint 18th - Murray Williams & Warren Smith

Both these rookies promise much for the future.

17th - Hayden Reid

Reid slotted in all over the backline but maybe fullback is where he can find a permanent spot next season.

16th - Charles Hubbard (2004 - 16)

Stepped up when Senio was absent early on but by the end of NPC he had lost the bench spot to Garrick Cowley

15th - Apoua Stewart

Left out for most of the season due to a perceived lack of pace, he returned against Northland to show what we had been missing. Has signed for Coventry.

14th - Mike Delany

Rookie of the year.

13th - Rena Schuster

Runner up in Rookie of the year.

12th - Adrian Cashmore (2004 - 6)

Cashy didn't quite reach the heights of last season but his class is still obvious.

11th - Simms Davison (2004 - 13:2003 - 9)

Always consistent and hopefully starting in the all-Bay front row of the Chiefs!

10th - Colin Bourke (2004 - 7)

Tough 2nd season and probably needs to be seen carrying the ball further at number 8. Lost count of the number of covering tackles made by him this season.

9th - Kevin Senio (2004 - 11:2003 - 3)

Missing on All Black duty and only really getting back to top form at the end of the season.

8th - Mark Sorenson (2004 - 12:2003 - 11)

Stood up when Upton was injured, solid hard-working lock.

7th - Grant McQuoid (2004 - 5: 2003 - 2)

A tough season for all the backs with the constant switches in personnel. Still a great line-breaker who missed Glen Jackson more than most.

6th - Bernie Upton (2004 - 14:2003 - 14)

Solid and an automatic Chiefs choice this time around.

5th - Ben Castle (2004 - 9:2003 - 7)

It is hard to get votes in the front row which shows how outstanding Castle has been for 3 seasons. Rewarded with the captaincy in 2006.

4th - Anthony Tahana (2004 - 8:2003 - 10)

Managed to shine in the very rocky Bay backline and seems to have added a yard of pace judging by the way he scorched the damp Hamilton turf to score a try. Chiefs contract and a loyal Bay player.

3rd - Aleki Lutui (2004 - 10: 2003 - 4)

His throwing was much more sound this season coupled with his high workrate and storming runs with ball in hand. Missed 2nd place by just a fraction

2nd - Wayne Ormond (2004 - 1:2003 - 5)

A Bay legend, blighted by run-ins with the referees in 2005 he came storming back late in the season to end it on a high. There must be some worried Japanese rugby players ....

1st - Nili Latu (2004 - 4:2003 - 8)

Outstanding, Latu won the vote by a huge margin. He was superb all season, starting with the Lions and always playing at 100%. I think Vern realised just how much he lost by subbing him off against Auckland and he had 80 minutes for the rest of the season. Latu will be stuck behind Holah at the Chiefs but it would be great to see him get some starts at Super 14 level.