Sharks contracted hooker Jayden Berrell was named as the winner of the Brian Moore Memorial Trophy as the Newtown Jets Best and Fairest player for the 2023 season.
In his second season at the Sharks and also playing for NSW Cup partner Club Newtown, Berrell was the standout performer during an up and down season for the Jets, one in which they narrowly missed a place in the five team Finals series.
The 2023 Newtown RLFC Presentation Dinner, held at the Petersham RSL, was a well-attended function with club sponsors, officials, staff and players in attendance.
Other award winners on the night included five-eighth and fullback Daniel Atkinson who won Best Back, centre Kayal Iro the 2023 Most Consistent Player award, young winger Samuel Stonestreet was the top try-scorer for Newtown with 13 tries, while the Ken Wilson Memorial Shield for the leading point scorer was presented to Mawene Hiroti who tallied 142 points from five tries and 61 goals.
Iro was also named as a centre in the 2023 Knock-On Effect NSW Cup Team of the Year. He was the NSW Cup player of the year in 2022.
Veteran front-row forward and former Shark Kurt Dillon won the 2023 Fred Daly Memorial Shield, awarded to the player who is judged to have made the most positive contribution to the club during the year, with another Cronulla junior and ex-NRL player in Billy Magoulias the recipient of the Players' Player award.
Another two players from the Sharks junior rep system in front-rower Rhys Dakin and back rower Kyle Pickering were recognised on the night, Dakin as the Most Improved Player award winner and Pickering as a popular choice for the Coach's Award for 2023.
Berrell added to his major award by also being named as the Jets Members' Player of the Year.
Sharks NRL Head Coach Craig Fitzgibbon was in attendance at the presentation event, speaking positively in support of the partnership between the Cronulla Sharks and the Newtown Jets. Earlier this year the two clubs announced a two-year extension of their NSW Cup partnership.
