One of the Aquis Titans players who were instrumental in taking the team to the finals for the first time in six seasons will walk away with the prestigious Paul Broughton Medal tonight which is being presented by the club’s foundation chairman for the 10th time.
It was well publicised that when voting went behind closed doors after round 16 that prop Ryan James was equal leader of the Dally M Medal count which goes to the NRL’s best and fairest player, but will that convert to the Titans’ honour?
The big local forward who broke the all-time record for most tries by a front-rower in a season, had several well-performing allies like Agnatius Paasi who had an explosive start to the season, Zeb Taia and Chris McQueen who (like Paasi) played every match and Greg Bird who was inspirational in his 21 appearances.
Josh Hoffman, who played every game for a second season, was a major contributor and halfback Ash Taylor had a stand-out rookie season while Nene Macdonald was very strong in the second half of the year.
The medal was last year won by Luke Douglas (pictured) and front-rowers have a great record with Luke Bailey winning three times (with Anthony Laffranchi in 2007) and Nate Myles once, giving the big men five of nine medals to date.
The awards night will be held at the QT Hotel in Surfers Paradise and the Broughton Medal, judged on a 3-2-1 basis per game, will be the highlight of a night which also sees the following awards announced:
Titans touch football (SE Qld region) female and male players of the year
Members Most Valuable Player
Rookie of the Year
Try of the Year Award
Coach’s Award (NRL)
Community Award
NYC Player of the Year
NYC Player’s Player Award
NYC True Titan Award
The Preston Award
The Preston Award is our version of the clubman of the year award, named in honour of former Titans champion Preston Campbell. It is presented to the player who truly embodies what it is to be a Titan on and off the field.
Previous Paul Broughton medal winners are:
2015: Luke Douglas
2014: Beau Falloon
2013: Greg Bird
2012: Nate Myles
2011: Luke Bailey
2010: Luke Bailey
2009: Nathan Friend
2008: Preston Campbell
2007: Luke Bailey/Anthony Laffranchi (joint winners)
