2025 Awards: Koula named Player of the Year

Author: Manly Media
Timestamp: Sat 6 Sep 2025, 10:13 PM

Manly Warringah Sea Eagles centre Tolutau Koula has taken home Roy Bull 'Best and Fairest' Award for season 2025.

It was certainly an impressive season for the Tongan International who was the Club’s leading try-scorer with 17 tries in 22 games.

He was in scorching form at the back end of the season, crossing for a try in eight of his final nine games before picking up a knee injury in the penultimate round.

Koula proved a handful for defenders time and time again in 2025 making 18 line-breaks and 79 tackle-breaks, averaging 149 running metres per game.

With an electric turn of speed and able to beat multiple players at a time, Tolu was consistently one of his team’s weapons in every game he played.

Tolu becomes just the fifth player over the past decade to win this award, joining Jake Trbojevic (2015, 2018, 2019), Tom Trbojevic (2016, 2021, 2024), Daly Cherry-Evans (2017, 2020, 2023) and Lachlan Croker (2022).

The 23-year-old speedster also collected the Players’ Player Award, voted for by his teammates over the course of the season.

The Sea Eagles’ Best & Fairest Award is named in honour of Roy Bull who played 177 games at prop for Manly and became the Club’s first Australian International in 1949. Bull ended up playing 25 Tests for Australia and 26 games for NSW.

Coach Anthony Seibold presented both awards to Koula at the Sea Eagles’ Awards Night held at Shangri-La, Sydney and hosted by Channel Nine’s Danika Mason.

While Koula crossed for the most tries, it was Reuben Garrick who was awarded top points scorer for a seventh consecutive season. Garrick notched a total of 176 points, with 12 tries and 64 goals in his 21 appearances.

Garrick’s performance against the Raiders in Round 3 at 4 Pines Park was unforgettable, scoring four tries and 28 points just hours after the birth of his first child.

Last season’s ‘Rising Star’, Lehi Hopoate claimed the Gordon Willoughby Medal for Best Player as voted by the Manly Members.

Lehi had at tremendous second season in the NRL playing 22 games, split evenly between fullback and wing, scoring eight tries.

Like last season, the Ken Arthurson Rising Star Award was again presented to a local junior, with Joey Walsh collecting Rookie of the Year honours.

Walsh made his NRL debut in Round 27 after consistently strong performances in the lower grades. He entered the field to a standing ovation, helping the team claim a one-point win over the Warriors in front of a full-house at 4 Pines Park.

Joey’s first game for Manly would be the last for his childhood hero, Daly Cherry-Evans.

In his first season at the Sea Eagles, Siua Taukeiaho was presented with the prestigious Manly Mentality award.

The Manly Mentality award is for all those ‘effort’ parts of the game, actions by a player that don’t necessarily require talent, but are about making the choice to your teammate.

Siua was a pillar of the pack in 2025 turning in consistently good performances week in week out, averaging 122 running metres per game.

Several other awards were presented, including the ‘Menzies Medal’ for the Play of the Year.

This year it went to Reuben Garrick for his ‘amazing chase’ in the team’s Round 20 victory over the Storm in Melbourne.

Garrick zigged and zagged, covering about 200 metres, before forcing the Storm to score in the corner. The sideline conversion was missed. Manly won by two points.

The prestigious Doug Daley Club Person of the Year Award was presented to General Manager People & Culture, Community and Special Projects, Kellie Pethybridge.

This award is not so much about on-field performance but about bringing a team culture to the work environment, and displaying core values of integrity, respect and professionalism.

Ethan Bullemor was presented with the NRL Club Wellbeing and Education Award after recently being awarded the NRL’s Academic Player of the Year.

Exciting lock Caleb Navale was rewarded for a strong season by claiming the Bob Batty Best and Fairest Award in the NSW Cup.

Highly talented outside back Clayton Faulalo, who recently signed a new two-year contract with Manly, was voted Players’ Player in the NSW Cup.

The Jersey Flegg Russ Bull Best and Fairest Award was taken out by talented forward, Campbell Munn with tenacious young half Callum Dowel voted Jersey Flegg Players’ Player.

2025 Manly Sea Eagles Award winners