In just his first season with the Bathurst Panthers, Lithgow's Keelan Bresac has been named the club's premier league best and fairest for 2021.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Bresac was one of a number of award winners at Panthers' presentation night on Friday evening and he said his honour came as a bit of a surprise.
"I was pretty surprised, to be honest," he said.
"Our team is full of a lot of good players, so it was good to be around a good bunch of players.
"All the boys were really welcoming and happy to have me, which was a nice feeling."
Bresac joined the Panthers ahead of the 2021 campaign from his boyhood club Lithgow Workies, following in the footsteps of his partner Shannon Legge, who linked with the club's women's league tag team.
He started off the season with Panthers on the wing, before shifting to centre following an injury to Blake Lawson, playing a part in the Bathurst team's scintillating start to the year.
"I think Panthers had me down playing on the wing, or something like that," he said.
"Lawso then got injured pretty early on, so I ended up playing in centre."
READ MORE:
That good form in the backline resulted in him being selected in the Group 10 representative team, alongside teammates Jeremy Gordon, Jed and Jake Betts, Nick Loader and Jeremy Gordon.
Bresac would play at centre for Group 10, in its 20-6 defeat of Group 11 at Lithgow's Tony Luchetti Sportsground back in May.
There's real sense of unfinished business for Bresac, after COVID-19 derailed this year's Group 10 finals series after the statewide lockdown.
And while Panthers missed out on taking home the minor premiership - they finished second on the regular season ladder to Orange CYMS - Bresac believes the Bathurst club could've went all the way and won the grand final.
"I definitely think we had the team to go all the way," he said.
Other major award winners on the night included Jake and Jed Betts, recipients of the Wilma Ash Memorial, Tommy Lemmich winning the Guys Weekes Memorial, Danny Dwyer and Darrin Fardell being named the club person of the year, and Desi Doolan, who finished the season as the club's leading try scorer.
Other best and fairest awards went to Tommy Lemmich (First Division and Under 18s) and Jacinta Windsor (Women's League Tag).
The Bathurst club also paid tribute to its retiring strappers and trainers Tony and Franko.
Panthers also inducted four new life members - current president Dave Hotham, premier league team manager Danny Dwyer, Trent Hotham and Brent Seager.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content:
