While the players and coaches surely wish they were competing in the Mann Cup this week, the Victoria Shamrocks found time to celebrate their 2016 accomplishments with an awards dinner on Monday night.
Not surprisingly, it was the league’s leading scorer who earned the George Blackstock Memorial Award as the Shamrocks’ most valuable player. Rhys Duch tallied 43 goals and 101 points across 16 regular season games in what was the most productive season of his distinguished Western Lacrosse Association career.
The Victoria native also earned the John Crowther Memorial Award as the team’s highest scorer.
Captain Corey Small took home some hardware as well, earning the Mason Sheldrick Leadership Award and the Most Popular Player Award, as voted on by the fans. Small finished second in league scoring to Duch with 33 goals and 75 points.
Taylor Northway and Ian McShane split the team’s rookie of the year honours, while brothers Jon Harnett and Greg Harnett each earned nods as the team’s best defensive players. Greg also earned the Chris Hall Memorial Award for the player with the most competitive spirit, as selected by his teammates.
Forward Chris Wardle, who finished third on the ’Rocks with 28 goals, was the team’s unsung hero.
Lastly, head coach Bob Heyes and his assistants, Dave Lowdon, Art Webster and Terry Dennett, earned the Leon Hall Memorial Award for outstanding service and dedication to the game of lacrosse.
joel.tansey@goldstreamgazette.com