Betfred Championship and League 1 award winners announced

Toulouse Olympique full-back Mark Kheirallah was tonight (Tuesday, September 25) crowned Betfred Championship Player of the Year for 2018.

Kheirallah finished the regular Betfred Championship season as top points scorer, crossing for 20 tries and scoring 127 goals in 2018. He has played a huge part in Toulouse Olympique’s march into the Super 8s The Qualifiers and their fight for promotion to Betfred Super League.

He secured the award ahead of fellow Toulouse player Johnathon Ford, Halifax RLFC Captain Scott Murrell and Featherstone Rovers’ winger Luke Briscoe.

The 28-year-old received his award at the Betfred Championship and League 1 Awards at The Principal Hotel, Manchester, where many of the other stars of the 2018 season were honoured.

In his first year as coach of London Broncos, Danny Ward was voted the Betfred Championship Coach of the Year after his side secured a 2018 Qualifiers position and are still in the running for a return to Betfred Super League. Voted for by his fellow coaches, Ward beat off competition from Halifax RLFC’s Richard Marshall and Sylvain Houles of Toulouse Olympique XIII.

Sheffield Eagles’ Matt Costello scooped the Betfred Championship Young Player of the Year, ahead of Harry Newman of Featherstone Rovers and Halifax RLFC’s Brandon Moore.

York City Knights had plenty to celebrate as scrum-half Connor Robinson was named Betfred League 1 Player of the Year and James Ford won the Betfred League 1 Coach of the Year award.

Robinson has been key to the Knights’ campaign for promotion and ended the season as top goal and overall points scorer in League 1 this year. He secured the coveted prize ahead of fellow York City Knights’ player Ben Cockayne, Workington Town’s Sean Penkywicz and Dane Chisholm of Bradford Bulls.

James Ford beat Bradford Bulls’ John Kear and Leon Pryce of Workington Town to the Betfred League 1 Coach of the Year. Nominated for the award in 2017, Ford has led his side in their fight for promotion which has seen the club defeated just twice in the league, the last time in April 2018.

Ethan Ryan of Bradford Bulls was named Betfred League 1 Young Player of the Year, fending off strong competition from teammate Brandon Pickersgill and York City Knights’ Judah Mazive.

Betfred Championship Club of the Year was awarded to Toronto Wolfpack. In only their second season since formation, they dominated the Betfred Championship and lifted the League Leader’s shield in July. They’ve continued to draw in large crowds to their home games in Canada and captivate a new audience in North America.

The Betfred League 1 Club of the Year award was presented to York City Knights as recognition for their accomplishments both on and off the field this season. The Knights successfully secured promotion to the Betfred Championship for 2019 and have engaged with the local community through unique campaigns to engage with new supporters and increase crowds this year.

The Project of the Year award recognises a club across both leagues who has shown an outstanding commitment to meeting the objectives of raising the visibility and profile of the competition and increasing attendance at one or more games through a special project.

London Broncos were this year’s winners of the Project of the Year Award for Championship and League 1 for their alliance with Featherstone School Sports Partnership delivering programmes within primary schools in Ealing to improve numeracy and literacy and emotional and physical wellbeing.

Using the values and ethos of Rugby League, London Broncos encouraged students who were finding the transition to secondary school difficult to utilise personal skills learnt to improve their self-confidence and showed the importance of physical activity to personal and mental well-being. They also worked to support students with numeracy and literacy in a way they could relate too, rather than the traditional classroom format.

The project was chosen for the award as it had clear long-term vision, targets and outcomes which London Broncos are tracking and delivering against.

The Foundation of the Year award, which is awarded to the best foundation in both leagues, was presented to York City Knights. They have made real strides through a range of educational, community and health programmes and were commended for their work in equality and diversity and the impact they are having on supporting the development of the Women and Girl’s game.

Ben Moorhouse was named as the 2018 Supporters Direct Community Champion. He lives and breathes The Steve Prescott Foundation and over the last four years has undertaken a series of Extreme Challenge Walks raising an impressive £11,300. Despite working full time, Ben has dedicated every spare moment to promoting the foundation both in the UK and overseas and received an overwhelming amount of nominations for the award.

The player of the year, coach of the year and young player of the year award winners are selected by a poll of every coach in the Betfred Championship and League 1. The Club of the Year and Project of the Year awards are determined by the Rugby Football League Board, whilst the Foundation of the Year is selected by Rugby League Cares.

The 2018 Betfred Championship and League 1 award winners in full are as follows: