Rugby: Hudson nominated for Heartland Player of Year

Bryn Hudson has had another great season for Wanganui.

Steelform Wanganui's Bryn Hudson will be hoping to keep the three-peat tradition going after his nomination as Mitre 10 Heartland Player of the Year at the 2017 ASB Rugby Awards.

Wanganui players have won the award in the last two years to coincide with also winning the Meads Cup.

The 29-year-old loose forward Hudson was back to his dominant best this year after being beset with leg injuries in the last two seasons, playing all ten Mitre 10 Heartland Championship matches on his team's road back to another title.

After the fallout with New Zealand Heartland coach Barry Matthews, Wanganui lock Sam Madams was not in the reckoning, despite being named Wanganui's player of the season.

Nominated is Mid Canterbury's 1.94m tall forward Eric Duff, part of the side who beat Wanganui in the dying seconds in Ashburton and then went on to claim the Lochore Cup.

The other contender is Horowhenua-Kapiti prop Scott Cameron, a mainstay in the engine room as his side played very successful ten man rugby to reach their first ever Meads Cup final at home in front of a massive crowd in Levin.

All three men were in the NZ Heartland XV who retained the McCrae Cup in a thrilling 41-39 win over New Zealand Marist in Timaru.

Another Whanganui connection at the Rugby Awards will be expat former schoolboy Vilimoni Koroi (Otago), who along with DJ Forbes (Counties Manukau) and Regan Ware (Bay of Plenty) is nominated for the Richard Crawshaw Memorial All Blacks Sevens Player of the Year.

Previous Heartland Players of the Year from Whanganui were Cameron Crowley (2008), Asaeli Tikoirotuma (2009), Peter Rowe (2010 and 2012), Jon Smyth (2011), Lindsay Horrocks (2015), and Te Rangatira Waitokia (2016).

Others to be nominated were Denning Tyrell (2006), Mike Thompson (2007), Steelie Koro (2011) and Stephen Perofeta (2015).