Then there were five in NRC player award

11 Nov 2016 NRC

Jono Lance was outstanding in the Perth Spirit's 2016 NRC victory. Photo: Getty Images

The five finalists in the 2016 Buildcorp NRC players’ player award have been finalised.

All NRC players, both contracted and uncontracted, were asked to vote on the award, after 13 nominees were selected based on their on-field performances in this year's competition.

A 3-2-1 vote process created a five-man shortlist, with the winner to be announced at the RUPA Awards Lunch.

The award is one of eight major awards presented at the lunch, included the RUPA Medal for Excellence, Newcomer of the Year, Academic Achievement Award and Community Service Award.
Previous winners of the award are Samu Kerevi (Brisbane City, 2014) and Ita Vaea (UC Vikings, 2015).

This year's finalists, in alphabetical order, are: Jake Gordon (NSW Country Eagles), Jono Lance (Perth Spirit) Irae Simone (Sydney Rays), Izaia Perese (Queensland Country) and Tyrone Viiga (Western Sydney Rams).

The other nominees were Tom English (Melbourne Rising), Damian Fitzpatrick (Sydney Rays), Ned Hanigan (NSW Country Eagles), Jordan Jackson-Hope (UC Vikings), David Lolohea (Western Sydney Rams), Matt Lucas (Sydney Rays), Isi Naisarani (Brisbane City) and Brandon Paenga-Amosa (Western Sydney Rams).

The voting process was undertaken by players as part of the annual Buildcorp NRC Player Survey, with over 120 unique responses allowing RUPA to gather some crucial information as the competition continues to evolve after just three iterations.