Western Sydney Wanderers A-League star Keanu Baccus and W-League star Servet Uzunlar have taken out the Player of the Year awards at Tuesday night’s Wanderers Medal in Parramatta.
21-year-old Baccus featured in nearly every Wanderers match this season and has been a force to be reckoned with since graduating from the Wanderers Academy.
The midfielder was voted by his fellow peers as the winner of the prestigious Wanderers Medal, capping off a fantastic season for the youngster who scored three goals and was called up to the Olyroos.
“It’s a massive achievement personally. I’d like to thank the boys, the staff, everyone at the club,” Baccus said when accepting the award on Tuesday.
“It’s been a tough season but there’s always positives, I’m very happy.”
Wanderers W-League captain and foundation player Servet Uzunlar was awarded the Wanderers Medal for W-League Player of the Year after returning to the club this season.
A leader on and off the park, 30-year-old Uzunlar featured in 11 matches for Western Sydney.
Departing Wanderers A-League midfielder Roly Bonvecia took home an award in each hand, winning the Wanderers Members Player of the Year and the Rod Allen: Media Player of the Year, as voted by media representatives.
For the second consecutive year, A-League striker Oriol Riera took out the Golden Boot award for most goals scored, while W-League goalkeeper Jada Whyman was voted Members W-League Player of the Year.
Featuring in every match of the Wanderers Y-League campaign and playing an instrumental role in the team’s run to the Grand Final, young gun Fabian Monge was named Y-League Player of the Year.
Meanwhile, Matthew Mallows won the Powerchair Player of the Year award, Kylie Ledbrook claimed the W-League Golden Boot award, Kellie van Gool was crowned the Wanderers Volunteer of the Year, while Penrith Football Club stalwart Ronald Stonestreet won the Chairman’s Award.
One of the highlights of the evening was retiring Wanderers star Mark Bridge recieving a watch from the club as a parting gift.
Nathan Taylor is the Weekender’s Deputy Editor and Senior Sports Writer. He also compiles the weekly Chatter on the Box TV column. Nathan is an award-winning journalist, who has worked at the Weekender for a decade.
