The Sydney Roosters’ future stars celebrated a successful year in the Junior Representative pathway at Easts Bondi Junction on Monday evening.
Players from the Harold Matthews, SG Ball and Tarsha Gale teams were joined by family, friends, staff and guest speakers to commemorate their outstanding efforts in 2023.
Notably, two of three teams played finals football, and the Roosters Indigenous Academy successfully defended their title.
Head of Sydney Roosters Pathways, Blake Cavallaro, said the awards night was the perfect end to a stellar season for the Junior Representatives.
“It was a great night, celebrating all the award winners but also everyone who helped out throughout the season,” he said.
“The athletes in the pathway have been training since November, so it was nice for them to finally sit back and reflect on all the hard work they’ve done for the last six months.
Premiership-winning Roosters Corban Baxter and Jake Friend addressed the attendees, reflecting on their experience with the Club and offering generous words of advice to the emerging athletes.
“Corban spoke about the female pathways system and how much it’s grown and developed in recent years,” Cavallaro said.
“She congratulated the Tarsha Gale girls on being back-to-back undefeated premiers and encouraged the team to keep chasing their sporting dreams.
“Jake gave great insight into his role with the Roosters academy and congratulated everyone on their skill progression throughout the season, which meant a lot to the players, because he has been involved with the Roosters for a very long time.”
“All the award recipients were definitely humbled to be recognised and spoke about how much they enjoyed their respective seasons.”
Harold Matthews Cup
The Sydney Roosters Harold Matthews Cup team finished the season in 11th place, recording three wins and five losses.
Player of the Year: Jaxson Allen
Best Forward: Zach Fittler
Best Back: Tody Rodwell
Coach’s Award: Peter Ben Uini
Tarsha Gale Cup
The Sydney Roosters Indigenous Academy claimed their second consecutive premiership in the Tarsha Gale Cup competition, beating the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 26-22 in the Grand Final following an undefeated season.
Player of the Year: Skyla Adams
Best Forward: Ally Bullman
Best Back: Brooke Talataina
Coach’s Award: Imogen Hei
SG Ball Cup
The Roosters SG Ball team, consisting of players from the Eastern Suburbs and Central Coast, finished the season in sixth, recording five wins and two losses before falling to the Newcastle Knights in the first week of finals.
Player of the Year: De La Salle Va’a
Best Forward: Salesi Foketi
Best Back: : Zac Sarfati
Coach’s Award:: Hayden Barton
Ross Norman Award
Harold Matthews Cup Assistant Coach Liam Connolly was awarded the Ross Norman Award, an accolade for the Junior Representative Staff Member of the Year.
The Roosters would like to congratulate all award recipients, junior representative players and staff on an excellent year.
