State Leagues Gala Dinner takes centre stage
The 2015 State Leagues Gala Dinner took centre stage at Rosehill Gardens on Friday 25th of September as players, coaches and officials attended, acknowledging the achievements from the Women’s State League, Men’s State League One and Men’s State League Two seasons.
It was a fascinating evening as all state league competitions across both genders got together in what was a monumental evening for the code in NSW which was proudly presented by the MC talents of Australian Sports Presenter Stephanie Brantz.
The NSW State League Referee Award was up after the Fair Play and Club Championship awards were given respectively to kick off the evening as Craig Fisher was crowned Referee of the Year in the Men’s State League One for his achievements this season. While in the Women’s State League category, Kelly Jones grabbed the accolades after a flawless season in the middle.
The official Media Award was up next and this was given to North Shore Times’ Peter Theodosiou did an impecable job with his flawless coverage on the Men’s State League 1 Premiers and Champions the North Shore Mariners.
Goalkeepers were next on the list and across the three categories, Dunbar Rovers’ Stephen Deasy, Gladesville Ryde Magic’s Kiriakos Tohouroglou (who scooped this award for a record fourth successive season) and Women’s State League’s Jessica Daymond from the Central Coast Mariners Academy were all crowned leaders in their competitions for 2015.
Golden Boot awards were next up and Hurstville FC’s Denis Cutura claimed the top gong for his 18 goals this year. The Men’s State League One saw Zakeriya Elrich notch up the award from the Rydalmere Lions with 12 goals. In the Women’s State League category it was one-way traffic as a clear winner shone bright with Bankstown City FC’s Samantha Muscat scoring 26 goals in season 2015, her third Golden Boot in successive seasons.
Coach of the Year was next and Hurstville FC’s young aspiring debutant Tomi Vidovic bagged the top award in Men’s State League Two while North Shore Mariners’ Joe Haywood grabbed glory in what was a sterling year for his club in the Men’s State League One competition. Finally St George FC’s Carlo Tini basked in glory for taking out the Women’s State League Coach of the Year.
The much anticipated Player of the Year category were to be the final awards of the evening with the Women’s State League competition seeing joint winners. Bankstown City FC’s Mel Parlato and Parramatta FC’s Vida Opoku-Agyemang received the top honours of the night after both female footballers put in a great season for 2015.
Dunbar Rovers midfielder Andrew Doddy grabbed the headlines in State League Two as he shone brightest with a spectacular season for the new club while finally it was Elrich who bagged his second award of the evening, taking out the Men’s State League One Player of the Year award. Cousin to former Socceroo Ahmad and current Australian and Adelaide United star Tarek, Zak had a breakthrough season with Tony Basha’s outfit as he dazzled in the Men’s State League One competition.
2015 State Leagues Award Winners Honour Role
Fair Play Award
State League 2 – Prospect United
Women’s State League – Western NSW Mariners
State League 1 – Gladesville Ryde Magic
Club Championship
State League 2 – Dunbar Rovers
Women’s State League – Bankstown City FC
State League 1 – North Shore Mariners FC
Referee of the Year
Men’s State League – Craig Fisher
Women’s State League – Kelly Jones
Media Award
State League Award – Peter Theodosiou (North Shore Times)
Goalkeeper of the Year
State League 2 – Stephen Deasy (Dunbar Rovers)
Women’s State League – Jessica Daymond (Western NSW Mariners)
State League 1 – Kiriakos Tohouroglou (Gladesville Ryde Magic)
Golden Boot 1st Grade
State League 2 – Denis Cutura (Hurstville RC) 18 goals
Women’s State League – Samantha Muscat (Bankstown City FC) 26 goals
State League 1 – Zakeriya Elrich (Rydalmere Lions FC) 12 goals
Coach of the Year
State League 2 – Tomi Vidovic (Hurstville FC)
Women’s State League – Carlo Tini (St George FC)
State League 1 – Joe Haywood (North Shore Mariners)
Player of the Year 20’s and Reserve Grade
State League 2 – Matthew Amoroso (Southern Districts)
Women’s State League – Sarah Mason-Trybel (Bankstown City)
State League 1 – Aaron Avery (Rydalmere Lions)
State League 2 Player of the Year
Andrew Doddy (Dunbar Rovers)
Women’s State League Player of the Year
Mel Parlato (Bankstown City) & Vida Opoku-Agyemang (Parramatta FC)
State League 1 Player of the Year
Zakeriya Elrich (Rydalmere Lions)
