Inaugural NSW Under 20s Award named in honour of Tahs’ centurion and esteemed leader, David Dennis

Aug 31 • General News, International • 1370 Views • Comments Off on Inaugural NSW Under 20s Award named in honour of Tahs’ centurion and esteemed leader, David Dennis

The NSW Under 20s Player of the Year will be recognised for the first time in 2016 with a new award named after NSW Waratahs centurion and esteemed leader, Dave Dennis.

The inaugural David Dennis NSW Under 20s Player of the Year will be announced and presented for the first time this Friday 2 September at the NSW Waratahs Annual Gala Awards featuring the Matthew Burke Cup for Players’ Player.

The purpose of the award is to recognise the NSW Under 20s Player that has not only performed the best on field but also exuded the NSW Waratahs values of leadership, respect, mateship and hard work across the year.

Dave Dennis said it was a huge honour to have the Under 20s Award named after him.

“This award is very special in the sense that it not only awards the player that excels on the field but, more importantly, it acknowledges that man that’s carried himself off the field in a manner that’s expected of a Waratah,” Dennis said.

“This, I believe is a key ingredient for sustaining the long-term success of the Club.”

The NSW Under 20s have secured some outstanding results in the annual National Under 20s Championships, winning back to back titles in 2014 and 2015.

Despite bowing out of this year’s revamped Super Under 20s Championship, the competition was a great chance for the new-look side, which in 2016 was filled with a line-up of recent school-leavers, to gain some very competitive experience against state teams from across the country.

NSW Waratahs General Manager of Pathways, Tim Rapp hopes the new award will further encourage young players coming through the NSW rugby pathway.

“The qualities Dave has as a person and a footballer is why we decided to name this special award after him,” Rapp said.

“As a key facet of the NSW rugby pathways it’s really important to have something to aspire to and work hard for.

“We want to make sure every Under 20s player has the drive to make it all the way along the pathway and go on to represent their state and perhaps even their country.

“But to do that they need to be aware that it’s not just their performance on the field, it’s also their attitude and behaviours off the field. This is the key criteria for the new award and, as many would know, is also a key part of the decision when offering NSW Waratahs professional contracts.”

Within the 2016 squad, 14 players have come through the NSW pathways programs, seven of which have become Wallabies, six made their debuts for the NSW Waratahs this year.

2016 NSW Waratahs who have come through the NSW pathways program:

2016 player	Years part of the NSW pathways program
Benn Robinson*	2003/2004
Dean Mumm*	2004/2005
Kurtley Beale*	2006/2007
Jeremy Tilse	2005/2006
David Dennis*	2005/2006
Rob Horne*	2007/2008
Paddy Ryan*	2009/2010
Will Skelton*	2010/2011
Jack Dempsey	2013/2014
David Horwitz**	2013/2014
Tom Robertson**	2013/2014
Andrew Kellaway**	2014/2015
Ned Hanigan**	2014/2015
Jim Stewart**	2013/2014
Wallabies player *made their NSW Waratahs debut in 2016