WAVES FOOTBALL CLUB CELEBRATES A NIGHT OF ACHIEVEMENTS AT 2023 AWARDS PRESENTATION.

The Waves Football Club celebrated a night of outstanding achievements and camaraderie at their 2023 Awards Presentation held on Saturday evening. With a fantastic turnout of 160 attendees, the event proved once again that the club is growing and thriving.

The night began with the under 17s count, where Isac Hose, the reigning league best and fairest, took home the honour of Club best and fairest for the second year in a row. Darcy Tilders received the Runner-Up B&F, while Levi Davis was honoured with the Coaches Award and Benny Medley was recognized as the Most Improved Player. Isac Hose also claimed the Leading Goal Kicker title for the 2023 season. A special moment came when coach JP presented a jumper to Kaine Gould, who was forced into retirement this year, recognising Gould’s contributions to the under 17 squad.

The club’s awards segment highlighted some exceptional talents. Scotty McCallum secured the Loudest and Proudest award for the second consecutive year, while Matthew Edgeworth and Kieranne Whennan were joint recipients of the Mark Veit Volunteer of the Year award. A couple of new awards were introduced this year, the Club Pride award, with new club member Gary Browne taking home the honour, and The Appo Brothers Indigenous Medallion for the Senior Women’s Sir Doug Nicholls Round was awarded to Alice Sephton for its inaugural year. Nathan Van Eekeren was the recipient for ‘The Micky Blair Indigenous Medallion’ but unfortunately was not able to attend the event.

The Hayhoe family, including Jeremy, Samantha, Joshua, Ryan, and Tasmyn, were honoured as the first family to receive the Club Person of the Year for their dedicated contributions to the club. The night also saw the induction of Arty Richardson as a Life Member, recognizing his many years of unwavering commitment to the Waves Football Club.

Moving on to the reserves count, it was a historic moment as three recipients shared the top honours. Seth Brown, Dougal Brown, and Joshua Dickson were jointly named B&F winners for the reserves category. Joshua Dickson also received the Most Improved Player award and the coveted Ultimate Ressie award for the night. Eoin Byrne secured the Runner-Up B&F title, and Aaron Davis was honoured with the Coaches Award. Joshua Johnson claimed the Leading Goal Kicker title for the 2023 season.

The Senior Women’s category witnessed Scout Strong, the reigning league Best and Fairest recipient, winning the Best and Fairest award for the club for the second year in a row, while youngster Rhani Dodd in her first senior year and captain Taylor Jardine shared the Runner-Up B&F honours. Newcomer Georgia Ellis received the Coaches Award, and Jenny Horton was named the Most Improved Player. The League leading goal kicker, Kelly Blair was also recognized as the Clubs Leading Goal Kicker, and Scott Strong unsurprisingly was awarded the Players Player title by her teammates. The snr women’s awards concluded with a jubilant team photo as the senior women were presented with their 2023 jumpers in recognition of their remarkable premiership win for 2023.

Lastly for the evening was the Senior Men’s presentation, where Connor Stone emerged as the Best and Fairest winner, while the 2023 league best and fairest Klint Wagstaff claimed the Runner-Up B&F title with great honour and respect towards Connor. Trent Burchard received the Coaches Award and Will Stupart was recognized as the Most Improved Player. Matthew Edgeworth and Jayden Enever shared the Leading Goal Kicker title. Gary Browne was undoubtably shocked and honoured to be named the Players Player for 2023, capping off an impressive night for the Waves Football Club.

The club would like to further express its gratitude to sponsors, committee members, presenters, coaches, and special guest and MC Peter ‘Spida’ Everitt for making the event a resounding success. The Slideshow for the count was of high standard this year and we would like to extend a special thank you to Tasmyn Hayhoe for her assistance and contribution to making this possible. The Waves Football Club continues to go from strength to strength, building a sense of community and achievement that inspires both players and supporters alike. Here’s to another year of success on and off the field for the Waves Football Club, ONE CLUB!