2010 Senior Awards


Matamata Swifts AFC celebrated their successful 2010 season recently at the club’s annual awards dinner.

Three players stood out on a night when a number of fine performances were rewarded. Stu Watene, Serena Jenkins and Jonathan Crook all took home both the player of the year trophy and the player’s player of the year vote for their respective teams.

Watene, in his first season with Matamata, was a stand out player in the variety of roles he was asked fill for Peter Vossen Builders Matamata Swifts 1st team during the course of the season. The player’s player vote was one of the tightest ever, with ten different players receiving at least one vote from their team mates. “Stu was a class act for us and he deserves this recognition,” said Matamata coach, Duncan Lowry. “He helped me out immeasurably by covering several positions and really turned it on over later part of the season when the quality of our opponents increased quite markedly.”

Serena Jenkins, the captain, leader and senior pro for the Challenge Matamata Swifts Ladies team was a popular and worthy winner of the two major playing awards for her team. Likewise Jonathan Crook, the Metso Matamata Swifts Reserves’ goalie. Crook, also new to the Swifts in 2010, is a quality keeper and showed leadership while delivering consistent quality performances throughout the season.

The two major club awards, club person and outstanding club member, went to a couple of club stalwarts, Mike Collins and Dave Mann. These are two names that have graced these trophies previously and in 2010 their efforts behind the scenes in running teams and taking care of many of the small, yet important, tasks that keep a grassroots club operational were rightly rewarded. Mann’s award went down particularly well as he received a standing ovation from everyone present.

Swifts 1st team leading scorer, Michael Beard, was named the club’s personality of the year while the Matamata Club 3rd team’s leading scorer, Jamie Cox, was also the club’s overall senior leading goal scorer.

The Swifts Sunday team was presented with a trophy recognising their efforts in winning division 2 of the Waikato Sunday Soccer League, while the Waikato Bay of Plenty Club of the Year trophy, which Matamata was presented with in June, was also on display.

Full list of award winners

Club Awards: Club person - Mike Collins; Outstanding Club Member - Dave Mann; Personality - Michael Beard; Sportsmanship - Jamie Baxter & Gary Dobson; Veteran Player - Andy Monteith; Senior Leading Goal Scorer - Jamie Cox; Goalkeeper of the Year - Karl Phillips.

Swifts 1st team: Player of the Year - Stu Watene; Players' Player - Stu Watene; Most Consistent All-round Player - Bevan Woltersdorf; Most Improved - William Mason; Leading Goal Scorer - Michael Beard.

Swifts Ladies: Player of the Year - Serena Jenkins; Players' Player - Serena Jenkins; Most Improved - Keziah Hofmann; Best Trainer - Shanadelle Howard; Top Goal Scorer - Natalie Gaskell.

Swifts Reserves: Player of the Year - Jonathan Crook; Players' Player - Jonathan Crook; Most Improved - Dwayne Signal; Leading Goal Scorer - Simon Arthur.

Swifts 3rds: Players' Player - Jamie Cox; Team Man - Harrison Taylor; Leading Goal Scorer - Jamie Cox.

Swifts Sunday Team: Player of the Year - Paul Graham; Leading Goal Scorer - Jonathan Crook.