Big River Country lock Ella Gomez and Harbour lock Taylor Dale picked up the major prizes at the Dunedin club rugby awards on Friday night. The pair were named players of the year in their respective competitions. Dale stood out for Harbour during the Dunedin division 1 competition, whether he was playing in the second row or anchoring the back of the scrum. He was co-captain for the Hawks in the final and skipped over to score during the 41-35 win against Kaikorai. Gomez was part of a powerful Big River pack. Her side made it to the women’s club final but were defeated 52-27 by a stacked Dunedin team. Gomez slotted into No 8 for that match. She is a rugged and uncompromising player, who has made more than 25 appearances for the Otago Spirit. Dunedin winger Te Atawhai Campbell collected a couple of honours. She was the leading scorer (110 points) in the competition and achieved that without slotting a single conversion, penalty or drop goal. Her tally was made up of 22 tries — the most in the competition. Harbour first five Rique Miln achieved the double as well. He was the leading scorer (187 points) in the Dunedin division 1 grade and he crossed the chalk for 12 tries. Elusive Kaikorai winger Jake Hill also nabbed 12 tries, so Miln and Hill were joint leading try scorers. University lock Emily Dale was named breakthrough women’s player of the year, while the Ben Smith emerging player of the year award went to Alhambra-Union loosie Oliver Church. Fraser Hannon was named referee of the year and Dunedin club stalwart Dave Conrad received the club champion award. Conrad joined the club in 1978 and never left. He started off as a player and graduated to team management when he hung up the boots. He managed the Sharks from 2018 to 2021 and has had many years managing the colts. He has also held various roles within the club, including club captain and president and he is a life member. Sidney Fidow (Kaikorai, 100 games), Marc Rooney (Taieri, 100 games), Wilson Driver (Southern, 100 games), Tim Hogan (Dunedin, 100 games), Mike Mata'afa (Southern, 200 games) and Mika Mafi (Southern, 200 games) had their milestones acknowledged.
