Who will be crowned the Spartan’s best on-field performer of 2016/17? Find out Thursday, March 16th at our annual Read/Waterer Medal Count!
The Leeming Spartan Cricket Club’s Champion Player Award returns on Thursday the 16th of March, LIVE from the Clubhouse on John Connell Reserve from 6:30pm!
All Spartans, past and present, Sponsors, family and friends, and those associated with the Club are invited to attend the award ceremony, and we’re expecting it to be our closest one in many seasons.
This is without doubt a hugely enjoyable night, so please make sure you get down to the clubhouse to experience the fun!
Thursday March 16th – 6:30PM
• Vote Count • Player’s Tea • Presentations •
Do Not Miss Out!
Our Summer Raffle Winners Will Also Be Drawn!
We’re expecting a huge crowd.
With this Saturday the last home and away game of the 2016/17 season, there will only be a closed First Grade training session on the Thursday of our Read/Waterer night, which is taking place the days before the Semi-Final.
So, we’re expecting a huge turnout for the Read/Waterer Medal Count, an award that can be won from any player in any grade.
This is a compulsory event for all Spartan players, so please make sure you’re at the clubhouse from 6:30pm onward for our Read/Waterer Medal Count on Thursday March 16th.
Don’t miss this!
This is going to be a massive night, and it is always hugely entertaining to watch the round-by-round voting presentations.
MC Hack makes for a very enjoyable and memorable overview of the performances, and our Player’s Tea and cheap drinks are very much the icing on the cake!
Be surprised at where you have (or haven’t!) polled votes throughout the season, as us individuals learn exactly what our captains think in terms of our personal season performances!
No certainties this year.
Who will win the 2017 Read/Waterer Medal? Every player is eligible, meaning it is not just an award given to our top sides (although, certainly, votes are weighted accordingly).
Manty’s name will no doubt be mentioned heavily through the course of the night, but even he, with 840 runs to his name and one game to go, is no certainty.
Gilly’s efforts in the First Grade are very much second to none, and his post-Christmas efforts means he will likely poll heavily in the later rounds.
Strong weekly bowling efforts from the Pom, Sre, Rushy, and a number of others are going to secure them regular votes, and the Pom in particular will make it challenging for Gilly in certain rounds.
Cunners, who has played only 9 games this season sits on a whopping 550 runs, meaning he too will be competing with the new-look Manty for votes.
A revamped format.
This season, we’re speeding up the process by introducing a revamped format for the night, meaning you’ll never lose interest throughout the voting rounds.
Sre and Hacky have been working hard on preparing the layout and new keynote presentation, so be amazed at the standard of the evening!
Summer Raffle Winners!
We’ll also be drawing the winners of our 2017 Summer Raffle. Please make sure you get your tickets and money back to the Club as soon as possible, by returning them to the bar at your earliest convenience.
Read more here, and a big thank you to those who have already returned their tickets and money collected!
An award with a long history.
The award itself is named after two of the Leeming Spartan Cricket Club’s biggest legends and stalwarts in Lew Read and Brian Waterer.
Lew Read, just after receiving his Life Membership in 1970.
These two figures have proven to be amongst the Club’s most pivotal and influential, responsible for over five decades worth of commitment to the cause.
Lew Read was certainly one of the mainstays and core members at the Spartan Cricket Club for over twenty years since first debuting in 1946, becoming Club Captain and Coach in the 1965/66 season, a position he held for four seasons.
Brian Waterer’s name is synonymous with the Leeming Spartan Cricket Club, having been its most crucial member for the better part of five decades. Brian has served as Treasurer, Secretary, Vice President, and incredibly as President for twenty-seven years.
The service of these two gentlemen are amongst the greatest in not only Leeming Spartan history, but in that of all sporting clubs in the state of Western Australia.
When the Club Champion Award was introduced by the Committee during the 1993/94 season, it was a mere formality to name one of the Leeming Spartan Cricket Club’s highest honours after them.
Previous Winners:
Last year’s Pom Ryan Buckley is the current holder of the Read/Waterer Medal, but with Bucks not returning this season, there will be a new name added to the list.
Check out the full table of previous winners below!
Year Club Champion Grade Notes
1993/1994 N. Sparks Second Grade Inaugural Winner
1994/1995 P.L.Hitch First Grade
1995/1996 M. Bunyan Fifth Grade
1996/1997 N.R. Wood Fifth Grade
1997/1998 K.R. Wade Third, Fourth & Fifth Grade
1998/1999 J. Leinasars Sixth Grade
1999/2000 G.R. Dudley First Grade
2000/2001 P.L. Hitch First Grade Dual Winners
P.A. McGilvray Second Grade Dual Winners
2001/2002 S. P.Wright First & Second Grade
2002/2003 P.J.Flavell Sixth Grade
2003/2004 M.J.Bennett Fourth Grade
2004/2005 W.S. Fontana First Grade
2005/2006 M.P. Atkinson First Grade
2006/2007 K.M. Poller Third Grade
2007/2008 W.S.Fontana First Grade 2nd Victory
2008/2009 W.S. Fontana Fifth Grade 3rd Victory
2009/2010 D.W. Epariama Fifth Grade
2010/2011 A.P. Walton Sixth Grade
2011/2012 A.J.Gibbs Second Grade
2012/2013 R. Lee Fourth Grade
2013/2014 W.A. Maxwell Fifth Grade
2014/2015 J.R. Foster Fourth Grade
2015/2016 R.S. Buckley First Grade
2016/2017 T.A.Gill First Grade
2017/2018 K.P.McKrill First Grade
2018/2019 M.A.Elvidge First Grade
2019/2020 K.P. McKrill First Grade 2nd Victory
2020/2021 C.C.Forsyth First Grade
2021/22 J.R. Foster First Grade 2nd Victory
2022/23 M.W.Milton First Grade
Award Facts:
- The Read-Waterer Club Champion Award was first awarded in the 1993/1994 season.
- Nick Sparks won the inaugural Club Champion medal on the back of an outstanding season as an opening bat and spin bowler in the Second Grade.
- A total of 22 individuals have won the award in 23 separate medal counts.
- Currently, 2000/2001 is the only season in which there has been dual winners. Paul Hitch and Peter McGilvray both finished on equal points in that season.
- Wayne Fontana is currently the only Spartan to have won the award more than once, for a total of three times.
- Wayne Fontana is currently the only Spartan to have won the award in consecutive seasons, which he achieved in 2007/08 and 2008/09.
- Eight Spartans have won the award in the First Grade competition.
- The lowest grade from which a winner has won the Club Champion award is from the Sixth Grade, on three occasions, firstly in 1999 by Jim Leinasars, again in 2003 by Phil Flavell, and most recently in Andy Walton in 2011.
- Ryan Buckley is the most recent winner of the award, which he won in 2016.
- Ryan’s victory was the first since Wayne Fontana in 2008 that the winner had been from the First Grade.
Left Image: Wade Maxwell (centre) won the Award in 2014. Here, he is pictured alongside Lydia Read (left) and Brian Waterer (right) at the 2013/14 Medal Count.
Right Image: Josh Foster (right) won the award the following season. Here he is pictured alongside President Peter Coombs (right) at the 2016 Windup.
• Thursday, 16th March 6:30PM •
Hope to see you there!
Mark it in your diary – Thursday 16th March is Read/Waterer night – and you do not want to miss out.
With a free dinner, cheap drinks, and a hugely enjoyable evening, this really is a great way to cap off the season at the Leeming Spartan Cricket Club!