Sporting heroes honoured at Northland Sports Awards; Black Fern takes top accolade

The last six months have been great for Northland Black Fern Krystal Murray.

She has won the Women’s Rugby World Cup and was named the highest-ranked winner of the 2023 Tai Tokerau Māori Sports Award.

And the awards for Murray continue to roll, with the prop being named top winner of the Northland Sportsperson of the Year Award and Sportswoman of the Year at the Conbrio Northland Sports Awards.

The excellence of Northland’s athletes has been recognized at recent awards, with Murray winning the Supreme Award along with the Fireco Sportswoman of the Year Award. Murray was selected for the 32-man squad for the Black Ferns’ Women’s Rugby World Cup. She scored a try in the second pool game against Wales and came off the bench in the World Cup final against England, scoring a try just three minutes after running onto the field.

The Fireco Sportsman of the Year Award went to joint winners Tupuria King (Waka Ama) and Tim Southee (cricket). King had won an impressive five golds and one silver at the World Sprint Championships in the UK, and also won two golds and a silver at the 2022 Waka Ama Long Distance Nationals.

Southee, who not only received the Sir Richard Hadlee Medal for his outstanding performances in three different cricket formats last cricket season, was also part of the team that was World Cup finalist at the 2021 T20 World Cup and captained of the New Zealand team at the T20 Internationals.

The Garry Frew Memorial Junior Sportsperson of the Year Award went to Hayden Ganley (Hockey), who was selected for the New Zealand Junior Black Sticks (U21) team for the Hockey Junior World Cup qualifiers in Canberra. He was also called up to the NZ Hockey U18 Development Squad and represented Hockey Northland at the National Hockey Championship.

The Brian Maunsell Memorial Service to Sport Award is presented for outstanding contribution to Northland sport and recognizes the selfless dedication of individuals to the sport. This went to Brian Johnston and Peter Crawford for their contribution to cricket, which began in 1978. The pair continue to help expand the game and exemplify the broader purpose of the ‘Spirit of Cricket’.

Te Tai Tokerau has some great paddlers and Team of the Year went to Herberts on Tour in Waka Ama. At the International Va’a Federation World Sprint Championships in Great Britain (2022), Herberts on Tour won gold in the Open Men’s W12 500m, gold in the Open Men’s W6 1500m and gold in the Open Men’s W6 500m. They also won gold in the Open Men’s W6 24K at the Long-Distance Nationals in Waitangi in October 2022.

Dion Nash was inducted as the 33rd Northland Legend of Sport for his outstanding career in cricket – coincidentally 33 was his international player number. Born and raised in Dargaville, Nash is known in the cricket world as ‘The Dargaville Dasher’ – a nickname given to him in a headline by another Northland legend of the sport Northern Lawyer Sportswriter Garry Frew. Nash represented the New Zealand men’s cricket team in 32 test matches and 81 one-day matches and made 120 top-flight appearances during his sporting career.

Samantha Warriner was inducted as the 34th Northland Legend of Sport for her impressive triathlon career, which also began in 2001 at the Kumara Triathlon in Dargaville. Warriner’s career includes podium finishes at the NZ and Duathlon World Championships, World Triathlon Championships, qualifying and participating in the Athens 2004 Olympic Games and the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games where she was rewarded with a silver medal. Sam was at the top of the world in 2008, finishing third at the World Championships and taking part in the Beijing Olympics.

Ted Salmon was inducted as the 35th Northland Legend of Sport with a long-standing involvement in ice hockey. Ted’s passion for hockey began at Kensington Park, Whangārei. He has represented Whangārei in over 100 games and played over 200 games for Northland. He represented New Zealand at the highest level, including the 1968 Mexico City Olympics and the 1972 Munich Olympics.

Eight organizations and community groups were recognized with the Community Impact Award sponsored by Pak’nSave Whangārei for their collaborative community projects that make a positive impact in and on the community through play, active recreation and sport. They were Bream Bay Sports Trust, Northern Region Football – Go Girls Initiative, Kaitaia Boxing Club Inc, Te Rarawa Anga Mua Charitable Trust – Matariki Games, Ngunguru Bowling Club, Parafed Northland – Play Trailer, Northland Cricket Association – Taking Cricket to the Far North and Te Kopuru Community Development Group – Te Kopuru Play Trailer.

A full list of winners:

Conbrio Supreme Winner: Krystal Murray (Rugby)

Team of the Year: Herberts on Tour (Waka Ama)

Brian Maunsell Service to Sport: Brian Johnston and Peter Crawford (cricket)

Garry Frew Memorial Junior Athlete of the Year: Hayden Ganley (Hockey)

Fireco Female Athlete of the Year: Krystal Murray (Rugby)

Fireco Sportsman of the Year: Tim Southee (cricket); Tupuria King (Waka Ama)