This is the press release from the NSWRU, Hamish is a good young player playing mainly flyhalf when I saw him this year though he has played a lot at fullback and on the wing even in the past.
As a flyhalf he lacked deception in my eyes and just dished the ball out but it is obvious that he improved a lot during the season.
No surprise that Leota was second. It's been a pity that the career of this fine centre has been interrupted by a neck injury else he might have had a Super contract by now.
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Hamish Angus voted Shute Shield Player of the Year
Warringah captain Hamish Angus has been voted Shute Shield player of the year for the 2012 season, with Southern Districts’ lock Jed Holloway taking out the Shute Shield Rookie of the Year award and his club coach, Cameron Blades, receiving the David Brockhoff Medal for Coach of the Year.
Rats’ fly half Angus was awarded with rugby’s top individual prize, the Ken Catchpole Medal, at the Sydney Rugby Union Awards lunch held today at the Manly Pacific Novotel. Having scored eight tries and kicked 31 goals and 29 penalties for his team, he also picked up the Roscoe Fay Trophy for the Shute Shield’s highest points scorer with 189 points over the regular season.
The 22-year-old former Australian Sevens representative becomes the 31st player to claim the title since the award’s inception in 1981. St George legend Peter Lucas won the award in 1983 and was part of a three-way tie with teammate David Niu and Eastwood’s Sione Tahaafe in 1996; Mark Catchpole won the award for two different clubs in 1994 (Warringah) and 1998 (Sydney University); and Eastwood’s Scott Fava was victorious in 2002, 2003 and 2004. In 2010 the honour went to Brendan McKibbin from Eastern Suburbs, with Norths’ David Harvey collecting it for the second time in 2011, having tied with Warringah’s Scott Fardy in 2008 whilst representing Gordon.
Adding his name to the illustrious list, Angus recovered from a slow start that saw him placed just 14th overall after the first six rounds of the 2012 season, to sit joint top after round 11, earning points in all but one of the intervening matches, including a maximum three in the round nine clash against Souths, to sit equal with West Harbour fullback Shaun Treweek on 12.
Further maximum points effort in rounds 13 against Gordon and the final regular season match, where he scored a try in the 46-7 win over Penrith, took his final points haul to 18, edging him ahead of Parramatta pair Iese Leota (17) and Andrew Cox (15), who finished second and third respectively, and early contender Treweek whose 14 points saw him finish fourth overall.
Voting for the Ken Catchpole medal was conducted over all 16 rounds of the regular season by the referees on a 3-2-1 basis for the players who most impressed them in each match, giving a maximum possible individual total of 48.
Angus polled points in eight out of a possible 16 matches, an achievement matched only by second-placed Leota. Seven of the 12 Shute Shield clubs were represented by the top 12 players.
Also recognised at the annual Ken Catchpole Awards Lunch were referee James Leckie, who picked up the Dick Byres Medal for Shute Shield Referee of the Year, and Eastern Suburbs’ lock Phil Mathers, who was voted Sydney Rugby Union Representative Player of the Year for his efforts in leading Sydney to victory in the annual fixture against the GrainCorp NSW Country Gold Cockatoos.
Josh Stewart from Tamworth Pirates was recognised as the NSW Country Player of the Year with the Will Tanner Award and, for the second year running, Sydney University was presented with the Gregor George Trophy for the 2012 Club Championship and the Eric Spilsted Shield for the Colts Club Championship.
After changing hands a record five times during the course of the season, Northern Suburbs were presented with the Sir Roden Cutler Shield. Held by a first grade side until they lose at home, the shield started the 2012 season with reigning premiers Eastwood before being handed over to Eastern Suburbs, then Sydney University, returning back to Eastwood and being handed over to Manly before finally ending the season with Norths, after they recorded a 33-12 win over the Marlins at Manly Oval in the penultimate round of the regular season.
2012 SYDNEY RUGBY UNION AWARDS
Friday September 14, 2012
The Manly Pacific Novotel, Sydney
KEN CATCHPOLE MEDAL
Shute Shield Player of the Year
18 Hamish Angus (Warringah)
17 Iese Leota (Parramatta)
15 Andrew Cox (Parramatta)
14 Shaun Treweek (West Harbour)
12 Hugh Perrett (Eastwood)
11 Sione Tau (West Harbour)
10 Trent Dyer (Sydney University)
10 Richard Hooper (Manly)
10 Miles McCaffrey (Eastwood)
9 Ben Batger (Eastwood)
9 Matthew Swann (Southern Districts)
Shute Shield Rookie of the YearJed Holloway (Southern Districts)
DAVID BROCKHOFF MEDAL
Shute Shield Coach of the Year
Cameron Blades (Southern Districts)
DICK BYRES MEDAL
Shute Shield Referee of the YearJames Leckie
Sydney Rugby Union Representative Player of the Year
Phil Mathers (Eastern Suburbs)
WILL TANNER AWARD
NSW Country Player of the Year
Josh Stewart (Tamworth Pirates)
SIR RODEN CUTLER SHIELD
Northern Suburbs
ROSCOE FAY TROPHY
Shute Shield Highest Points Scorer
Hamish Angus (Warringah)
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