Narrabri District Cricket Association representative cricketer Dylan Smith proved that hard work and dedication pays off when he was named the 2019 Narrabri Shire sportsperson of the year on Sunday.
The Narrabri Shire Sports Awards event, which was hosted by the Lords Taverners Narrabri group, was held in conjunction with the Australia Day Awards at the Narrabri Golf Club.
It was a triple treat on the day for 17-year-old Dylan who was first named the junior male award winner before accepting the team of the year award on behalf of the Narrabri District Cricket Association representative first XI of which he was member in its 2019-20 grand final-winning campaign.
He then was announced the winner of The Courier Cup, named the standout sportsperson in the shire for 2019.
Dylan, who is a fast bowler in the cricket arena, had an exceptional year in 2019.
He was selected in various regional and state representative sides which included the ACT/NSW Country under-17s side for the Cricket Australia National Cricket Championships in Mackay, the Northern Inland Cricket Council Bolters senior men’s side to play at the Cricket NSW Regional Bash T20 carnival at Coffs Harbour and the Central North Country Colts side which played at the under-18 state country championships.
Dylan was also a member of the NDCA War Vets Cup team only missing out on the grand final win due to being away at a higher level representative carnival.
He was a member of the Western Razorbacks T20 winning side in season 2018-19 as well as the Razorbacks’ first grade one day minor premiership-winning and grand finalist team.
At the conclusion of that season he was named the NDCA junior cricketer of the year.
Dylan has been selected in the Combined High Schools side for the North West region.
Dylan’s Courier Cup win not only completed a successful awards event for the young man himself, but for the entire town of Wee Waa.
One of the driving forces of sport in Wee Waa, Kerry Crutcher, was acknowledged for her dedication and hard work when she received the contribution to sport award.
Another Wee Waa winner was Matilda Currey who was named the sub-junior female winner.
Other award winners were Narrabri’s Nate Browning (sub-junior male), Trish Lawty (senior female) and Shannan Davey (senior male).
After the event Dylan, the son of Brendan Smith and Bianca Mace, was congratulated by the Narrabri Shire Australia Day ambassador and former Australian international cricketer Len Pascoe who is famous for his career with the Australian cricket team, having played 14 test matches and 29 one day internationals for his country as a feared fast bowler.
Pascoe offered Dylan some words of wisdom and advice by which the young cricketer was visibly inspired.
A list of the other 2019 award winners and a summary of their year is as follows:
Contribution to sport – Kerry Crutcher:
Kerry’s contribution to sport has been going for well over 20 years within the school and community sporting fraternity.
Kerry has contributed greatly with the Wee Waa Sporting complex over the past 20 years, as well as served four years as the Wee Waa junior league treasurer, three years as secretary of the Wee Waa Swimming Club and eight years as the Wee Waa netball development officer that saw more than 90 children coming in to play in the Narrabri competition in 2019.
She has also volunteered her time as a netball coach and umpire at school and club level, as well as serving on the Narrabri Netball committee.
Senior male – Shannan Davey:
2019 saw Shannan back up his successful 2018 season where he won the NSW Elite Champion, by claiming the gold medal at the 2019 South East Queensland Titles in the 69kg weight division.
Coupled with his results and prowess in the ring, Shannan also displays great character outside of it where he is a regular visitor to the local Jesse Hunt nursing home where he spends time with the residents discussing all things boxing.
Senior female – Trish Lawty:
Trish has been a regular competitor at both the Narrabri Pistol Club where she has been a member for more than a decade and the Narrabri Basketball Association where she also plays on a weekly basis, as well as holding down administrative roles at both clubs.
Sub-junior male – Nate Browning:
Nate had an exceptional year in rugby league in 2019 at both a school and club level that culminated in him being a part of the NSW PSSA Rugby League team that competed at the School Sport Australia National Championships in Brisbane in August where the team won the bronze medal.
Along the way Nate collected numerous awards at the various representative carnivals he played at, including the Northwest Medal for player of the carnival at the NSW PSSA Championships at St Mary’s in June after he scored 12 of his side’s 14 tries for the carnival.
He was also an integral member of the Narrabri West Public School Rugby League team which won the annual Coal Miners Cup in Gunnedah.
Nate was awarded a North West School Sports Association “Blue” for his achievements in rugby league in 2019.
Sub-junior female – Matilda Currey:
Matilda represented the Wee Waa Public School in a variety of sports including cricket, netball, softball and touch football which saw her gain selection in the North West PSSA state carnival teams in those sports as well as being crowned the Wee Waa Public School sportsperson of the year.
Matilda also had a successful year in club netball that saw her awarded the MVP for the Narrabri Netball Association 12-years team that contested the NSW Hart Junior State titles.
She also was a part of premiership sides in the under-13 and senior B-grade Narrabri Netball Association winter competitions.
Team of the year – Narrabri District Cricket Association Pink Slugs:
The Narrabri District Cricket Association first XI, the Pink Slugs, were grand finalists of the Northern Inland Cricket Council War Veterans Cup for season 2018-19 in February 2019 and then went one better to claim the title in season 2019-20 in December 2019.
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