The winners of the very first Midlands Junior Rugby League Awards have been revealed at the end of another exciting season.
This new set of awards has been introduced by the RFL and the Midlands Junior League to celebrate all the players, teams, coaches and volunteers who are integral to the Junior game throughout the Midlands, with four categories up for grabs; Team of the Year, Coach of the Year, Volunteer of the Year (Non-coaching) and Club of the Year.
The awards were chosen by a panel consisting of the following RFL staff, ensuring an independent and transparent process was in place; Phil Jones (Performance/Coaching), Tim White (Competition Manager), Darby Sladdin (Volunteer Lead) and Steve Guan (Southern Regions Manager)
The ‘Club of the Year’ category saw nominees judged on nine key criteria, including areas such as their outreach and number of active teams. East Markham based Bassetlaw Bulldogs have won the inaugural award with the club currently boasting 80+ players, competing across seven different age groups. Throughout the nomination process, the Bulldogs have been praised by other clubs for their professionalism, their participation in every Midlands Festival this year and their new clubhouse facilities.
Jason Spafford has been named ‘Coach of the Year’ for his work with the NEW Ravens RLFC. This season, he’s primarily coached the U14-15 age group, but has helped oversee the Ravens entire junior set-up and has even been coaching at after school clubs to inspire more children to take up Rugby League. His love for the game shows through to all the players he coaches, and his knowledge and experience of the game is nothing short of admirable.
There was plenty of competition for ‘Team of the Year’ and Bassetlaw Bulldogs Girls U13s have been crowned winners. This season, the team became the first and only Midlands team to enter the National Girls Leagues, playing in the East Division B. They won two of their games against heartlands clubs and fulfilled 11 league fixtures and 3 round-robin cup matches, which has resulted in the team travelling more than 800 miles this season to play the game they love.
There were five nominations for ‘Volunteer of the Year’ with Jamie McNeil of Sherwood Wolf Hunt claiming this year’s accolade. Jamie has been involved with Sherwood for just over two years as the Juniors Co-ordinator and in this short space of time he has developed a thriving youth section that caters for both boys and girls. This year, Sherwood’s U16’s have played in the City of Hull and District Development League, and the club has hosted one of the most successful junior tournaments in the Midlands, all of which wouldn’t be possible without Jamie.
Southern Regions Development Manager, Stephen Guan, says:
“This year, the Midlands Junior League has seen an increase in activity and an incredible 18% growth in participation numbers. The league continues to develop and provide playing opportunities for our Midlands teams and its remarkable development year-on-year is all down to the great effort from the management group and clubs involved.’’
Clubs from across the Midlands Junior League were invited to submit nominations for each category in September - for both their own club, and others - with the RFL panel deciding the final winners. Each recipient has received a trophy, a personalised message of congratulations and the accolade of the inaugural award itself.
Midlands Junior Rugby League Awards
Club of the Year
Bassetlaw Bulldogs - Winners
Moorends Marauders
Bolsover Bulls
Junior Volunteer of the Year
Jamie McNeill, Sherwood Wolfhunt – Winner
Gavin Brittan, Moorends Marauders
John Hemmingway, NEW Ravens
Martin Brown, Bassetlaw Bulldogs
Jane Baker, Telford Raiders
Junior Coach of the Year
Jason Spafford, NEW Ravens – Winner
Matthew Pennington, Bassetlaw Bulldogs
Ed Hayles, Telford Raiders
Russ Dixon, Sherwood Wolfhunt
Dean Armstrong, Moorends Marauders
Ash Howlett, Leamington Royals
Greg Linsdell, Moorends Marauders
Junior Team of the Year
Bassetlaw Bulldogs Girls U13s – Winner
Bassetlaw Bulldogs Youths
Moorends Marauders Boys U14s
Sherwood Wolfhunt Boys U16s
