Western Force playmakers Ben Donaldson and Samantha Wood have taken out the top honours at the Western Force's Awards night.
Donaldson was awarded the Nathan Sharpe Medal for an outstanding debut year for the club that saw him picked in the Wallabies' July series squad.
The Wallaby polled 224 votes to edge out Bayley Kuenzle (200) and Test squad member Hamish Stewart (168).
Carlo Tizzano finished fourth (143) but left with the Members’ Super Rugby MVP and Force Man Award.
Donaldson led Super Rugby Pacific for kicks in play (136) and kicking metres (5,444), whilst in the top five for points and goals.
He also led the side for tackle busts and sat top two for carries and metres gained.
"Ben is an extremely driven and motivated athlete who epitomises what it means to be a professional athlete," coach Simon Cron.
“It was mentioned to us earlier this year that ‘sweating is easy’. It is what you do away from the field that makes a huge difference. Dono is always working on his craft and constantly looking at ways to get better.
"This year you would have seen how dangerous he is as a triple threat in attack but also a guy willing to put his head in the spokes in defence. This is an award given by his peers and he is thoroughly deserving of it.”
As for Wood, she continues her meteoric rise with a clean sweep of the major awards as Rebecca Clough medalist, Members’ Super W MVP and Force Woman Award.
The 20-year-old won the Rising Star Award last year and parlayed her debut season into a Wallaroos call-up, starting during the Pacific Four series.
Wood was critical in their maiden finals appearance as the side's leading point scorer.
“Sammy played high minutes for her age and led on-field. She had key moments with her kicking game; scoring points when we needed them and getting us down into scoring zones to execute our Game Model," Force women’s head coach Dylan Parsons said.
“It’s impressive how good her decision making is at that level when she’s so young. It’s exciting that she’s had a full season under her belt now and we’re excited to see her development in the future.
“Off the field, Sam lives our values. We’ve talked a lot about our Maali DNA this year and she showed that every week. She was able to influence her teammates to be better and supported the coaching staff to get across their messages and style of play. She’s a deserving winner.”
Scrum-half Henry Robertson won the Men’s Rising Star award, while 24-year-old front-rower Hannah Palelei was named the Women’s Rising Star.
