TALENTED Burdekin No.10 Andrew Kennedy has been named the Queensland Outback Barbarians most outstanding player of the 2018 US tour.
The 24-year-old electrician who works for Wilmar Sugar, was also named by his team mates as the Player’s Player of the month long, seven game tour.
Kennedy was instrumental in many of the tourists’ tries, particularly through his often seemingly effortless passing and running game that kept the outside backs driving towards the scoreline.
The Outback Barbarians amassed a staggering 433 points on the tour, conceding only 65 points to the opposition teams. The clean sweep included: Dallas Harlequins 72-14, Houston Athletic 73-14, New Orleans 33-0, Tallahassee Conquistadors/FSU 77-7, Boca Raton Buccaneers 61-0, Birmingham Vulcans 58-5, and Little Rock Stormers 59-25.
Other award winners included: Most valuable tourist - Sam Schmidt (Newcastle). Best Forward - Tubby Heron (Gladstone). Best back - David West (Gladstone). Leading try scrorers - Dudley Miles (Cairns) and Adam Conway (Gladstone). Entertainers - Barney Watts (St George) and Joe Dawson (Cunnamulla). Captain's leadership award - Cameron Knights (St George). Coach's player - Scott Holloway (Caboolture).
Tries were a feature of the Outback Barbarians’ running game. Dudley Miles and Adam Conway both scored 10, Colby Mason (Townsville) eight, and David West and Andrew Kennedy four, while Sam Schmidt, Jai Blakely (Burdekin), Sam Fairweather (Fraser Coast), and Damon Hesp (Burdekin) all scored three.
2018 was also coach Mike Bishop’s (Kingaroy) second undefeated tour.
“There certainly has been a big improvement in US rugby in recent years,” Mr Bishop said.
“Despite the scorelines, the games were generally very physical and I am sure the games will get a lot tougher in the next few years as the US teams develop their skills.”
Mr Bishop and nine Outback Barbarians took time out at the end the US tour to fly to Cuba to conduct rugby coaching clinics on the Caribbean nation.
The Queensland Outback Barbarians’ major sponsors include Dyno Nobel, Haulmark, Ray White Rural, Inventia, NAB Agribusiness, Crop Care, Hamburg Sud, Rentokil, Wellard Rural Exports, Cobram Olive Oil, Redback Boots, Bundaberg Molasses, Monsanto, Ian Weigh Toyota, Performance Feeds and Mongrel Boots.
- Queensland Country Life’s Mark Phelps is traveling with the Outback Barbarians.