Left back-come-utility man Campbell Brown has been named Melville’s 2024 men’s Player of the Year while Rebecca Ellis (nee Brown) earned the Women’s Player of the Year.

Meanwhile in club-wide awards chairman Wayne Bates was named Club Person of the Year and social media guru Raj Naidu was named Personality of the Year at a function at the Gower Park clubrooms.

In a season in which 32 players were used in the first team, Brown was the only one to start (or even appear) in all 25 matches (league and cup).

This was a tribute not just to his growing importance to the club, but also to his discipline in avoiding suspension despite having significant defensive responsibilities.

The 21-year-old is the youngest player to trouser the Player of the Year award since Jesse Edge did so in 2012, while on the night he was also presented with a framed photo montage to mark having also registered his 100th major appearance for the club just before the end of the season.

Even with his injury issues - last year he missed 13 matches in a row - it is remarkable to make 100 major appearances by the age of 21. Few manage that.

In announcing his win, coach Jarrod Young said the highly athletic Brown was the player he sought to build the team around during the season.

But Naidu possibly framed Brown’s growing importance to Melville even more succinctly.

“The way Campbell played this season was like he’d done 250 games,” he said.

Quiet-man Brown was part of the original Melville academy intake in 2017 as part of the Melville 14s, and made his first team debut fin late 2019, starting at left back in a 2-0 midweek win over Onehunga Sports at McLennan Park while still a schoolboy.

Ever since he has been something of an unassuming hero for Melville, versatile, incredibly athletic and unflappable, while also incredibly consistent and reliable with a huge work rate. 

Ellis, a former youth international now in her 30s, returned to action this season after a year off when having her second child, and assisted Melville women to a respectable fourth place in their first season back in the northern league in 20 years.

In a squad where few were even old enough to drink, she was a pillar of the team.

While women’s coach Tarena Ranui was absent with the Melville U18 girls playing a national league match in Palmerston North (where they ost 0-2), men’s coach Young gave a short speech.

“Obviously it wasn’t fantastic,” Young said of a season in which Melville were relegated for just the fourth time in the club’s history. “But the team never gave up.

“The season ended one game too early,” he said, in reflecting on Melville’s strong finish to the northern league campaign. “We will refocus and go again. We hope to go straight back up next year.”

Young also thanked Aaron Scott for his late-season return from northern league retirement. “He was just as good as ever.” 

This led to spontaneous clubroom chants of “one more year, one more year”.

In accepting his club person award, Bates said even in a difficult year the atmosphere had been positive and the best reflection of the club this year was the fact so many former players, such as Sean Leadley, Ryen Lawrence, Jama Boss and Carlos Ranui felt comfortable in returning to assist after spells with other clubs.

He also thanked Tarena Ranui for her work on the women’s side, “coaching about 50 teams a week”.

Meanwhile prizegiving was a bittersweet occasion for the Mighty As, who celebrated winning Waikato A Division – and had Subesh Naidu named as Melville’s coach of the year - but on the day had returned from a 0-1 Waikato Cup final loss to Claudelands Rovers at Galloway Park.

For the final the As had been without their player of the year, players’ player and club golden boot Mike Cosgrave, who was in Europe.

Women’s golden boot was won by age-group international Laura Bennett with 18 goals.

Melville Award Winners 2024

Epics

Squad Member Angela Dowd

Most Improved Erin Davis

Players’ Player Amberley Whelton

Player of the Year Lexy McMurray

Old Boys

Squad Member Gary Monaghan

Goal of the Year Sam Wilkinson

Players Player Rob Dunnigan & Jos Kater

Women's A

Squad Member Jess Wholey

Most Improved Emily Pari

Players’ Player Laurena Gonzalez & Michelle Bennett

Player of the Year Hayley Bennett

Melville D

Squad Member James Macindoe

Most Improved Tommaso Tarchiani

Player of the Year Richie Smith & Mauro Abreu

Fiji Masters

Squad Member Dylan Gies

Players’ Player Avneet Raju

Player of the Year Irfan Hussain

Mighty As

Squad Member Marius Young

Players’ Player Michael Cosgrave

Player of the Year Michael Cosgrave

W League

Kaupapa Gabbi Green

Player of the Year Freya Douglas

Reserves

Squad member Ethan Blakeley

Players’ Player Nathan Marlowe

Player of the Year Noah Harrison

Coach's Player Caleb Woodfield

Premier Women

Kaupapa Stella Bahr

Player of the Year Rebecca Ellis

Northern League men

Squad member / Coach player Isaac Bates

Youth Player Max Mitchell & Josh Barrymore-Uden

Players’ Player Roman Knox

Player of the Year Campbell Brown

Club-wide awards

Club Person: Wayne Bates

Personality: Raj Naidu

Coach : Subesh Naidu

Supporter: Selena Timings & Olivia Studer

Special Achievement: Nadia Allen

Golden Boot (men): Michael Cosgrave (32 goals)

Golden Boot (women): Laura Bennett (18 goals)

Article added: Tuesday 01 October 2024