Prolific teen goalscorer Laura Bennett and 21-year-old stopper John Oakman have won the senior player of the year awards at the 2025 Melville prizegiving.

In naming 16-year-old Bennett as women's player of the year, coach Tarena Ranui said it had been a difficult decision in a season where there had been so many special moments, as her team won the league by a remarkable 11 points.

"We had so many games where we came from behind, we scored in the last five minutes, we scored in 90-plus," Ranui said. "But whenever I thought about Player of the Year, I took players out, and I was like, 'Could we have won without them? Probably. Could we have won without them? Yes. Could we have won a season?'

"And you can't win a championship without somebody that can score 20-plus goals, and so our Player of the Year goes to Laura".

Bennett's season tally of 24 in the women's northern league championship also won her the female golden boot for the second successive year. It was also an improvement on her 18 goals at this level last year as a 15-year-old, though both tallies were recorded at better than a goal a game.

Meanwhile Melville's men's coach Jarrod Young said Oakman had been a revelation after being switched from right back to centre back.

"I think our season turned around after two losses in the first three games when John moved to centreback," Young said.

"He was fantastic and saved us a lot. He went under the radar for a lot of people, but not fro  the coaching staff - he was much appreciated."

John Oakman, left, with Melville coach Jarrod Young

On a night where there was much to celebrate, with both the men and women gaining northern league promotion, the other main award winners at a ceremony at the Gower Park clubrooms were Tarena Ranui as coach of the year, her husband Harold Ranui as personality of the year, and committee member Jess Wholey as club person of the year.

The men’s side golden boot went to Josh Nooyen, who hit 27 for the Melville Insolvents (so named because they have more liabilities than assets).

The Supporter of the Year award was shared by the club's two chaplains, Brendon Dickinson and Mel Gehl, who provided pastoral care and well-being support to club members on site and at the point of need irrespective of religion, lifestyle and beliefs.

In celebrating promotion for the women, Ranui thanked all those behind the scenes who made things happen on matchday, and was delighted to have had to make fewer 8am phone calls to chairman Wayne Bates this year.

"I have a saying that football hurts, but we show up anyway," Ranui said. "All the way through the community, it hurts. It hurts financially, it hurts on your time, it just hurts.

"But we had such an incredible group of people around us that were willing to keep trusting in the vision that we had, and we returned (to the women's northern premier league)."

Ranui riffed about herself playing for Claudelands Rovers against Melville back when they had one season in the northern premier league in 2003. Here she offered a personal historic anecdote.

"We don't go there for the first time, we return. Andrea Timings was there the last time. I played against Melville out here the last time around and I scored two goals, actually, for Claudelands that day, and I got a yellow card.

Andrea Timings, Tarena Ranui, Kelly Aitken and Jess Wholey with the women's northern league championship cup.

"Andrea Rogers was playing for Melville that day, and the referee, back before there was a registration system called Comet and you had to write names down on a little piece of paper and forward them in. The referee asked me, what's your name? And I of course said, 'It's Andrea Rogers". 

The women's Players' Player award was shared by Rebecca Ellis and Emily Johnston.

"What's cool about this award is that we actually only have three players over 20 in our entire squad, and this year, our Player's Player goes to two of them," Ranui said. 

"It's just a real testament to two women who are willing to ride the waves of teenage life and accept their hoodies and everything else that they show up with, their baggage and their restricted licences and their heartbreaks, and they're learning to funnel for the first time.

"So they are just incredible women. One of them is a harness racer (Johnson), one of them is a physio (Ellis), and that's kind of a tribute to who they are to our team. 

"The harness racer has driven us every minute of every game from behind and just knows how to take us all the way to the finish line, and the physio (Ellis) just keeps showing up and helping us all."

Most improved player was 16-year-old Tyla Webster, who Ranui said was "an incredible example of just staying in it and committing to the learning process". 

"We wanted to create a learning culture where you don't have to be at your best every week, but you just have to keep taking steps towards tomorrow."

Squad member was shared by Stevie-Lee Tiller and Niah Nikau, and here Ranui backgrounded the story of their own emergence as coaches within the Melville set-up

"It's hard to find female coaches, it's hard to find females that can step in, that have the time, that have the ability, to have the willingness to be able to step in and take such a massive role. 

"And this time last year, when I was off trying to do a licence, Stevie stepped in and took our U17 team in. The players were really nervous, and the parents as well, but she did a better job than me.

"They were scared to tell me that, but I was like, 'that is the greatest thing for me, to be able to watch this unfold beyond me, that's what I live for'. 

"And then over the course of the summer, I had all this stuff in my head, and one of them was 'learning to win from within', and understanding that actually, what we have and who we are here at Melville, and where we come from, is good enough to be able to compete with anybody.

"And I was like, what does that actually mean? I need people that can carry this thing beyond me, but from within, and believe in who we are.

"So over the course of the summer, long before we reconvened as a group, Nyah would show up at my house, and I'd say, I need to trial this... I need to trial this exercise programme, I need to trial this philosophy, can you come over?'

"Sometimes she was hung over, but they gave me all that they had, and it was risky to step into that space, and it came at a personal cost... but to Stevie and to Nyah, to learn how to win from within, and to live that, so that the rest can follow, is just an incredible gift to be able to see."

Meanwhile men's coach Jarrod young thanked his coaching and management team, Munith Naidu, James Revell, Tony Govorko, Jamie Knight and Alex Warrington at the start of his presentations..

"Even if we didn't get promoted, it was the funnest year I've had and the most successful year I've had personally and I think that was because of the people i was surrounded by."

Young said it was "ridiculous to have just three players over the age of 21" and come through successful.

"We had a few scares at the end but to get over the line with such a young team and a lot who have come through the academy was a testament to these boys."

Players' player went to centreback Robbie McNichoals, who scored the last-gasp winner to earn Melville promotion in the dying seconds of their final match of the season, at home to Hibiscus Coast.

Young described McNicholas as "a massive personality on and off the field".

"He struggled in the first two games, and thought he was going to get sent home, but became a massive part of this team and his input with his last-minute header is going to live in the memory of everybody."

Nathan Marlowe, promoted after the injury to first-choice keeper Max Tommy, was named young player. 

"He had to jump in, in a big derby game, and to handle those nerves was quite hard, with it being such a focal position as well.

"I rave about him all the time. To take over the position of someone (injured keeper max Tommy) who is a cult hero here was just fantastic."

Caleb Woodfield was named squad member, with Young saying he probably deserved more playing minutes than he got, but it was hard with such a talented squad.

"When he did play and when he did come on he was fantastic," Young said. "I still remember Cambridge away with our second to last game, he was player of the match and such a fantastic talent. He will go far in life, not just in football."

Young was also generous in handing out praise in many directions beyond the actual award winners, saying skipper Joel McMullan had been brilliant and embodied the club in all he did.

"I hope you hang around for many many years, you did so well."

He also called Josh Galletly the most talented player he has ever coached.

"He does stuff in training and games that I have never seen before in my life and i've been around some top, top players."

Ranui was a popular choice as coach of the year. 

On top of guiding Melville to the women's northern premier league, she took Melville U18s to the Girls National Youth League for the second successive year, ran the women’s development programme at the club in the shape of the U16 and U14 TDP programmes as well as the U13 WaiBOP programme.

Ranui has also fulfilled a role as development coach for the Auckland FC women’s talent development centre and was feted for her eloquent programme notes for Melville Magic.

Her husband Harold was honoured as club personality.

Harold was described as  a quiet influence behind the scenes and an unsung hero in the growth of the women’s football programme at Melville over the past 7 years as a parent, partner, and passionate supporter. 

As club person of the year, management committee member Jess Wholey was acknowledged as a master troubleshooter, social media content creator, and aftermatch master chef. 

Melville Prizegiving 2025

Club-wide awards:

Club Person: Jessica Wholey

Club Personality: Harold Ranui

Women's golden boot: Laura Bennett (24)

Men's golden boot: Josh Nooyen (27)

Supporter of the Year: Mel Gehl and Brendon Dickinson

Coach of the Year: Tarena Ranui

Special Achievement

Mia Humphrey (NZ U16 Women OFC)

Miche Cloete (NZ U16 Women OFC)

Laura Bennett (U17 Women's World Cup)

Emma Meadows (NZ U16 Women OFC & U17 World Cup)

Tomas Blackhall (NZ U16 Men's)

Men's awards

Premier

Player of the Year: John Oakman

Players Player: Robbie McNicholas

Youth Player: Nathan Marlowe

Squad Member: Caleb Woodfield

U23 (Reserves)

Player of the Year: Butros Beqain

Players Player: Butros Beqain

Most Improved: Harry Williscroft

Squad Member: Bayley Puha-Harris

Insolvents

Player of the Year: Frank Sullivan

Players Player: Ben Wheatley

Most Improved: Cole Gorringe

Squad Member: Charlie Nelley

Dreadnoughts

Player of the Year: Monish Goundar

Most Improved: Luke Muspratt

Squad Member: Michael Michalakis

Fiji Masters

Player of the Year: Sheik Dean

Player Player: Amen Prasad

Squad Member: Johann Crocker

NOBS

Player of the Year: Jonathan Kennan

Most Improved: Terence Blunt

Squad Member: Daniel Christie

Old Boys

Player of the Year: Merv Williams

Squad Member: Stuart Potts

Goal of the Year: Mike Stuart

Women's awards

Premier Women's

Player of the Year: Laura Bennett

Players Player: Emily Johnson & Rebecca Ellis

Most Improved: Tyla Webster

Squad Member: Nyah Nikau & Stevie-Lee Tiller

W League

Player of the Year: Gabbi Green 

Players Player: Elin Gainsford

Squad Member: Rorri Conchie

Waikato A

Player of the Year: Neve Newport

Players Player: Natalie Brouwer

Squad Member: Jessica Wholey

Epics

Player of the Year: Humaira Feroz 

Players Player: Humaira Feroz 

Most Improved: Jodie Walters

Squad Member: Jacqui McInally

Article added: Friday 03 October 2025