Mojo Homes Illawarra Cup: Top 30 players of the season and 2023 team of the year
Now that the season is done and dusted, it’s time to look back at the players who lit up the competition this season. Check out the list of 30 top performers and the Illawarra Cup team of the season.
The 2023 Illawarra Cup season is now history, with the Thirroul Butchers etching their name onto the famous trophy for this year.
What a season it was, where every team had their moment in the spotlight.
Corrimal ended a 777 day winless run, Wests went nine games unbeaten, De La Salle took out the minor premiership in just their second year in the competition, Thirroul took out the whole competition after limping into finals, the storylines go on.
Now that it’s all said and done, we’ve put together a list of 30 of the top performers from the 2023 Mojo Homes Illawarra Cup season.
We’ve also narrowed this down to a side of 17 that makes up the team of the season.
Check out the full list and team below.
Callum Gromek (Collegians)
An absolute rugby league superstar who clinched the Paul McGregor Medal for the league’s best player in his rookie season.
Affectionately known as ‘Winxy’ for the way he breezes across the turf, Gromek is as quick and agile as anyone in the competition and has slotted right into the Collegians system as if he’s been there for years.
Second highest in the league for tries scored with 15, including two in the grand final.
Levi Pascoe (Wests)
A Country representative this season off the back of his terrific form for club.
Picking up the George Grofus Trophy for the league’s Best Forward, Pascoe was a clear standout for Wests this season.
Incredibly good at creating chances with his run choices and superb at bursting through holes for a big frame, bringing great physicality and an ability to find the try line with seven to his name this season.
Eli Levido (De La)
Steered the De La Salle ship to a minor premiership with class and experience in 2023.
Pin-point accuracy from attacking kicks, great instinctive decision making and not afraid to bust through a hole himself and go for the line.
Took out top prize for most individual points in the regular season, finishing second overall after finals.
Sam McCann (Collegians)
A staggering 19 tries scored from the wing this season for the prolific McCann.
A massive frame for a winger makes him incredibly hard to stop, while also allowing him to contribute to the side with big runs out of the backline.
A terrific aerial threat and a lethal finisher of the footy.
Josh Martin (Thirroul)
Another lethal winger who returned to the competition this year and formed one of the most dangerous edges in the league alongside Steven Marsters.
Terrific aerial ability and speed down the right, he also finished top in the competition for points scored with 140 thanks to some excellent goalkicking.
Lachlan Hurst (Wests)
Another standout winger in this competition this year who led the Devils’ try scoring tally with 14.
A consistent threat, makes some great returns of the footy from kicks and a raw speedster who proved a real handful from the right flank.
Steven Marsters (Thirroul)
One of the most damaging X-factors in the competition from centre.
Shades of Latrell Mitchell or Greg Inglis with his strength, frame and speed which makes him a devastating ball runner and has allowed him to cross for nine tries this season.
Has a lovely flick pass out the back as well which made him a great creator for Josh Martin on the wing.
Aaron Gray (Dapto)
Had a commendable first season of Illawarra Cup footy in a struggling Dapto side from the centre role.
A solid defender and great ball runner, he used all his NRL experience to form a damaging right flank and became an excellent provider for his winger Jack Piccirilli.
Tre Fotu (De La)
If there’s one centre you don’t want running full speed at you in the competition, it’s this bloke.
Such a powerful build, his eight tries this year mostly came from either a stiff fend off or a powerful barge away from defenders. He’s simply so tough to handle.
Zeik Foster (Collegians)
The consistent glue in the halves for Collegians who alongside Max Devlin forms one of the most formidable halves pairings in the competition.
Instrumental to Collegians this season with his passing and kicking game, often providing assists for his forward pack with clever switches of play.
Also packs a real punch defensively, coming up with some big tackles from time to time.
Justin Rodrigues (Wests)
Justin ‘Sugar Man’ Rodrigues seems to get better with age and 2023 was one of his best.
Instrumental to his side’s winning run at the start of the season, Rodrigues is just consistently the creator of tries for his Devils whether it be through the hands or off the boot, no doubt right at the top of the league for try assists.
Pita Godinet (Dapto)
Was consistently one of Dapto’s strongest performers after transitioning from hooker to halfback to make a former NRL halves combination with Brad Takairangi.
A crafty little player with excellent creative vision, good creative playmaking and not afraid to find the line himself with a big dummy and run.
Josh Dowel (Collegians)
One of the most consistent and damaging front rowers in recent Illawarra Cup history, Dowel was destructive with his hit-ups and defensive work in 2023.
Collegians wouldn’t be half the side they are without his work in the front line, showcased by a borderline Player of the Match performance in a losing side in the grand final.
Josh Vaartjes (Dapto)
A big-minute front rower who returned to the club this year and was a consistent performer from the front row for the Canaries.
Big, strong and reliable from the front, he used his 2016 premiership winning experience to inspire a young Dapto pack this year.
Blake Phillips (Collegians)
Collegians’ captain and one of the competition’s great winners, Phillips was as reliable as ever from the front row for Collegians this season.
Has that spark of creativity from the front row to inspire his boys, whether it be with an offload of a surprise pass to create a break.
His performance against Thirroul in round 13 was one of the best individual player performances of the season.
Joseph Dickson (Wests)
An outstanding hooker who heads one of the competition’s best spines.
Cementing himself in the no. 9 jersey after playing mostly centre in 2022, Dickson was outstanding with his craftiness and playmaking ability this year and could no doubt be pushing to play a higher level of footy.
His former centre experience also provided the Devils with great utility value, occasionally dabbling in the back row as well.
Viliami Mahe (Corrimal)
A player who could seriously be looking at playing at a higher level is Corrimal’s crafter playmaker.
Whether it be in the halves or from hooker, Mahe was consistently one of the top five performers on the park week in week out despite being on a losing side.
Check out some of the comments on this Illawarra Star facebook post showing how highly the community thinks of Mahe’s skills.
Jaz Flavell (De La)
Instrumental to De La’s successful campaign this season is their crafty hooker.
Really gets his side going forward with his dummy half bursts, loving a little show to one side and scoot to the other from the play-the-ball.
He’s short and stocky, packing some real star power and is defensively solid as well in the middle of the park.
Dylan Lauri (Wests)
Spending most of the year in the second row but also dabbling in the front line, Lauri is a terrific forward for the Devils who brings great physicality and experience.
Can run hard at the line and earn some metres for his side, or sweep a pass to a teammate with terrific accuracy for a forward.
Jarrod Boyle (Thirroul)
New colours but the same classy Jarrod Boyle in 2023.
It might’ve been a bit of a slow start for him and his Thirroul boys, but Boyle would become more influential as the year went on, bringing invaluable experience to his Butchers.
Capped off the year with a priceless Player of the Match performance in the grand final.
Andrew Faddy (De La)
Captaining De La Salle to a maiden Illawarra Cup minor premiership is no easy task but Faddy has done it and had a superb individual season.
Big, strong and damaging, he led the team around the paddock and provided great threat from the edges of the backrow where De La proved to be so potent throughout the season.
Jackson Stewart (De La)
Just a ‘tough as nails’ lock forward who gets the job done for De La Salle and was a major contributor to their success in the back half of the season.
No nonsense, just runs the ball hard, straight and occasionally busts through the line, while also being right in the thick of De La’s defence as every good lock should be.
Jarrod Thompson (Collegians)
Another one of the Collegians veterans getting the job done as the years go by, with 2023 being no exception.
A tireless worker and a strong ball runner from lock forward, he hit his centurion of games this season and still looks as fresh as ever.
Brad Deitz (Thirroul)
Was a marquee signing for the Butchers with his NRL experience and didn’t disappoint.
So crafty out of dummy half with his bursts out of the ruck, with a try and a crucial assist in the grand final epitomising the kind of impact he had on the Butchers this year from hooker.
Jack Williams (De La)
Truly completed the De La Salle side this season and was sorely missed when he was out injured.
Created a really complementary relationship in the halves with Eli Levido that brought out the best in both players, while being a terrific director of traffic on the park for his side.
Bradley Manton (Dapto)
Another key performer for the Canaries from centre, Manton had an excellent scoring patch around the middle of the season which contributed to his season total of seven.
A big-framed centre with plenty of power in his running game which allowed him to fend away challenges or barge his way forward.
Blake Dowel (Collegians)
Imagine being an opposition defender and trying to tackle not just one Dowel, but two.
Like brother Josh, Blake also had a terrific year from the second row, making big barnstorming runs from the edge and through the middle in the terrific forward pack of Collegians.
Harry Leddy (Thirroul)
Tough and experienced second rower Harry Leddy was a mainstay in the premiership winning second row of Thirroul and had a terrific campaign.
His preliminary final performance against De La Salle was one of the best individual performances of the entire season and ultimately punched his side a grand final ticket.
Luke Chalker (Wests)
Along with Pascoe is probably the biggest contributor to Wests getting up the park.
Super consistent, he has a terrific engine for a front rower and played 80 minutes most weeks and is a tough man for any defence to pull down.
Aamon Carney (Thirroul)
Really grew into a massive weapon for the Butchers this season, typically playing prop forward but also with utility value to play lock.
Has a real turn of pace on his big hit-ups that force some real metres for his side, always giving great energy during his stints on the park, notably in his grand final performance.
Team of the season
1. Callum Gromek (Collegians)
2. Sam McCann (Collegians)
3. Tre Fotu (De La Salle)
4. Steven Marsters (Thirroul)
5. Lachlan Hurst (Western Suburbs)
6. Eli Levido (De La Salle)
7. Justin Rodrigues (Western Suburbs)
8. Blake Phillips (Collegians)
9. Jaz Flavell (De La Salle)
10. Josh Dowel (Collegians)
11. Levi Pascoe (Western Suburbs)
12. Andrew Faddy (De La Salle)
13. Jacko Stewart (De La Salle)
14. Zeik Foster (Collegians)
15. Jarrod Thompson (Collegians)
More Coverage
16. Aamon Carney (Thirroul)
17. Joseph Dickson (Western Suburbs)
Catch up on 2023 Illawarra Cup coverage.
Originally published as Mojo Homes Illawarra Cup: Top 30 players of the season and 2023 team of the year
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