Honour for footy stars

INSPIRATIONAL play by Nic Arthur and Liam McCarthy for Bendigo Senior SC and Catholic College Bendigo respectively, earned best team player awards in this year’s MCC Herald Sun Shield action.Arthur and McCarthy starred in ruck-roving roles in the football series.Both said yesterday the best team player award was a “tremendous’’ honour.Arthur and Coghlan marked the 2009 season by being teammates in several of Sandhurst’s senior matches in the Bendigo Bank BFNL.The BSSC Lions were coached by Bendigo Football League great Derrick Filo, with assistance from the Bendigo Bank Bombers’ Steve Thomson.“We played some good footy in patches,’’ Arthur said of the Lions’ three-match run.Arthur played in a back pocket or half-back flank in more than 10 senior matches for Sandhurst, and was also in defence for the Bendigo Pioneers in the TAC Cup under-18s competition.The talented teenager is bound for Darwin todayto play in the Northern Territory Football League with Waratahs.His lead-up included a time of 98 minutes in his Melbourne half-marathon debut.McCarthy was rapt to have earned the award.“This award is one of the biggest honours I have received,’’ he said.McCarthy was captain of the Bill Gaskell-coached CCB team which achieved a win-loss record of 2-1.The team was beaten by eventual champions Assumption College Kilmore.McCarthy has played eight senior matches for Sandhurst in the past two seasons, and starred in the under-18s.He broke his left collarbone in the second semi-final clash with Golden Square, which ended his season.A year ago, Lee Coghlan was CCB’s star in the Herald-Sun Shield action, and he kicked on to win the Michelsen Medal and be a joint winner for September with Joel Selwood in The Advertiser WIN Television Sports Star of the Year award.The long-running Sports Star awards are proudly sponsored by RegionalOne Credit Union.Study commitments for Year 12 VCE exams have been and will be McCarthy’s major focus for the next few weeks.“I have been doing some running, cycling, and limited weights workouts.“Increasing stamina is a major focus in training,’’ McCarthy said of footy goals for 2010 and beyond.