League recognition

Press, 7 March 1978, Page 32

League recognition

The outstanding form shown by the Eastern Suburbs forwards, Alan Rushton and Barry Edkins, during the very wet winter of 1977 has earned them recognition from the 1978 New Zealand Rugby League Annual. There are three levels of individual rankings made by the annual with John Smith (Auckland) filling the top rung. He was chosen by the

New Zealand selection panel as the official national “player of the year” as a reward for his earnest efforts at scrum-half in the World Cup series. Rushton is joined by three Auckland players who were team-mates of his in the cup squad, Mark Graham, Lyndsay Proctor and Olsen Filipaina, as the other “players of the year.’’

It was a memorable season for Rushton. From the obscurity of not having been included in the preliminary World Cup training camp, he surged through the trials to become the first-choice hooker, and was the first New Zealander to claim a try in his test debut while filling that specialist position.

Perhaps even more importantly .Rushton was tne only Kiwi to be listed in all three “World teams” chosen by some of the annual’s contributors, An Australian writer ignored all of the other New Zealanders; two Auckland journalists found places for two other Kiwis

each, Dane Sorensen getting votes from both, and Fred Ah Kuoi and Proctor finding favour once. Incredibly, they preferred Sorensen — and, in one case, Proctor — ahead of the mighty Australian prop, Arthur Beetson. Edkins, whose contributions to Canterbury’s cause were invaluable, is one of the “promising players of the year.” The others are Huka Love (Wellington), and the Auckland trio, Gary Kemble, Gary Prohm and Peter Simons.

In the provincial section, Edkins and Rushton are joined by Robin Alfeld (Hornby), Terry Gillman (Eastern, now Marist-West-ern Suburbs) and Lewis Hudson (Linwood) as the Canterbury “players of the year.” Edkins gained further credit as the most outstanding footballer, and Alfeld as having shown the most potential.