Narrabri Blues’ Jeff Harvey, Boggabri Kangaroos’ Nick Millar and Moree Boars’ Brenton Cochrane were all named in the 2023 team of the year at Group 4 Rugby League’s awards night at West Tamworth Leagues Club.
Cochrane was named at lock in the 17-man team following a dominant campaign for the Boars that saw them claim the minor premiership before going down 26-16 against the North Tamworth Bears in the decider at Jack Woolaston Oval on Saturday, August 19.
The former Blues captain-coach, who still lives in Narrabri, entered this season aged 39-years-old and still determined to go on again after contemplating retirement at the end of the 2022 campaign.
Unsurprisingly, he showed he still has it as he dominated opposition sides throughout the campaign and helped guide his side to the first-place finish on the ladder and into the big dance.
Cochrane was one of five Moree players named in the team of the year alongside player of the year Adrian Smith at fullback, William Baker at centre, Jamie Sampson at five-eighth and Luke Hetherington at prop, and there were a few other players among the minor premiership-winning side that were unlucky to miss out.
One player who certainly deserved his spot in the team was the young Narrabri Blues prop Jeff Harvey, who had an outstanding season from start to finish in 2023.
The Blues only won one game all year and times were certainly tough throughout the season as it took them until round 13 to get the two points.
Harvey earned the respect of his teammates, the fans and opposition players as he consistently pumped out massive minutes in the middle, more often than not going toe-to-toe with bigger and more experienced opposition forwards and sometimes doing so for the full 80 minutes.
Like Harvey, Boggabri’s Nick Millar is another player you know exactly what you are going to get from week in and week out on the footy field.
The 28-year-old prop is the perfect example of a tough and fearless front row forward with a great footy brain to match.
He showed exactly what his club and his teammates meant to him when he lined up battling sickness in round one but made three dominant hit-ups in the first set of the game and went on to earn the three Group 4 best and fairest points while he helped guide his side to a 36-28 win over eventual champions North Tamworth.
Time and time again throughout the year, he came up with big runs and big tackles for the Kangaroos, and he well and truly deserved his spot in the team of the year.
Millar also had a few teammates like Matt Gillham, Kaylan Murray, Rob Doolan and Cameron Kerr who were unlucky to miss out on the side, however, it is a team stacked full of talented footballers who all excelled throughout the year.
The full Group 4 Rugby League team of the year for 2023 is as follows:
1. Adrian Smith (Moree), 2. Liam Mack (Dungowan), 3. William Baker (Moree), 4. Ethan Parry (Kootingal), 5. Tevita Peceli (Dungowan), 6. Jamie Sampson (Moree), 7. Mitch Sheridan (North Tamworth), 8. Jack Cameron (Dungowan), 9. Scott Blanch (North Tamworth), 10. Luke Hetherington (Moree), 11. Logan Howard (Kootingal), 12. Josh Schmiedel (North Tamworth), 13. Brenton Cochrane (Moree), 14. Trent Taylor (Dungowan), 15. Jeff Harvey (Narrabri), 16. Lincoln Smith (Gunnedah), 17. Nick Millar (Boggabri).
A full list of award winners for the 2023 season is as follows:
Club champions – Moree.
Ladies’ league tag:
Highest try-scorer – Monique Corbett (Kootingal) and Tegan Resch (North Tamworth) with 15, highest point-scorer – Monique Corbett (Kootingal) with 136, player of the year – Monique Corbett (Kootingal), minor premiers – North Tamworth, major premiers – North Tamworth.
Under-18s:
Highest try-scorer – Jordan Hamlin (Dungowan) with 13, highest point-scorer – Braydon Allan (Dungowan) with 172 (10 tries and 66 goals), player of the year – Braydon Allan (Dungowan), minor premiers – Dungowan, major premiers – Werris Creek.
Second grade:
Highest try-scorer – Jamahl Woodbridge and Billy Nean (Dungowan) with 18, highest point-scorer – Wyatt Roberts (Moree) with 210 (10 tries and 85 goals), player of the year – Billy Nean (Dungowan), minor premiers – Moree, major premiers – Moree.
First grade:
Highest try-scorer – William Baker (Moree) with 25, highest point-scorer – Adrian Smith (Moree) with 283 (24 tries, 93 goals and one field goal), player of the year – Adrian Smith (Moree), minor premiers – Moree,
