Bears and Seagulls crown their 2018 best

Bears and Seagulls crown their best
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PAT Politoni, Rona Peters and Cheyne Whitelaw have been the big winners on the night when both Burleigh and Tweed Heads named their players of the year.

Politoni was crowned the Bears’ best from their Intrust Super Cup squad’s run to the preliminary final, having been a weapon in attack and a rock in defence.

The 27-year-old’s award comes as no surprise following a year in which he earned Queensland Residents representative selection and was hailed as the ISC’s premier hooker for a second straight season.

Politoni also won Burleigh’s players’ player to cap his night.

On the women’s front for the club, it was Peters who was declared the No.1 player in their charge to a fourth straight South East Queensland division one title.

Peters, who was last weekend part of the Broncos outfit that clinched the inaugural NRLW premiership, starred across various roles for the Bears, including at lock forward and in the halves.

Meanwhile, Whitelaw won the top honour on offer at the Seagulls presentation night – the Col Hayes Trophy.

A knee injury limited Whitelaw to just 10 games during the year, but it did not stop him from having a noticeable impact both through his work-rate and leadership on and off the field.

Whitelaw recently resigned with the club and has been all but confirmed to captain their ISC side again in 2019.

“We’ve had a really solid season both on and off the field, and I feel we’ve laid solid foundations from which to launch a serious tilt at all competitions next year,” said Seagulls chief executive Paul Stephenson.

Tweed stalwart Josh Harvey collected the A-grade players’ player and clubman of the year double, while two young guns were named the Coast’s best at under-18 Mal Meninga Cup level.

Jayden Campbell, the son of Titans legend Preston Campbell, was Burleigh’s best in the division, while newly crowned Peter Sterling Medallist Tom Dearden won the Tweed under-18 award.