Oct 04 - Michael Jennings has capped a great debut year by not only being named Rookie of the Year, but also being named the 2007 Player of the Year at the Panthers Presentation Night.
Jennings was awarded the Ben Alexander Rookie of the Year Award in what has been one of the largest fields of debutants for the Panthers in recent years. In total, seven players had made their NRL debut this year; however it was Jennings outstanding ability from his very first game against the Broncos which saw him take the award.
The Player of the Year Award a was an even contest until Round 21. Luke Rooney was an early leader until injury ended his hopes of securing the award but it was Tony Puletua who took over and held that lead until Round 22. Up until that time Michael Jennings had trailed the leaders but with some strong performances in the last games of the year he was untouchable from Round 23 and went on to win.
18pts - Michael Jennings
14pts - Tony Puletua
14pts - Nathan Smith
14pts - Frank Pritchard
11pts - Frank Puletua
Panthers stalwart, Frank Puletua, was awarded the Clubman Award by Chairman Barry Walsh; an award which Barry described as being the backbone of the club. The John Farragher Award for Courage and Determination was awarded to Nathan Smith.
In the lower grades, Brendan Smith and Craig Trindall were awarded the Premier League Player of the Year Award and in Jersey Flegg Masada Iosefa and Brendan Hlad shared the top prize.
A special presentation was made to Arthur Reilly ahead of his retirement in December. Arthur has held numerous positions within the rugby league operations from when he first started as a talent scout and more recently to his role as Gear Manager.
After initially being a volunteer Arthur became fulltime in 1995 and has cumulatively served the club for 20 years. In accepting his award Arthur said that while he will miss the club, he was looking foward to spending more time with his family.
