Sevens stars Faith Nathan and James Turner have claimed their maiden Shawn Mackay Awards at the Rugby Australia Awards
25-year-old Nathan ends the recent dominance of Maddison Levi, who was hunting for a third consecutive award, with captain Isabella Nasser also nominated.
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As for Turner, he bested co-captains Henry Hutchison and Henry Paterson, who were both gunning for their second.
The two speedsters lit up the SVNS World Series in a strong year for the respective Australian sides.
Nathan scored 27 tries in 35 matches on the circuit as the Aussies took out the Dubai and Australia legs of the World Series to finish second.
The honour has been a long time coming for Nathan, who has been nominated in previous year along with for World Player of the Year.
"It's always an honour being nominated, especially for receiving the award. There was Bella [Nasser], Maddi Levi being nominated for three years as well, and it's just a special achievement," Nathan said.
Meanwhile, Turner continues the trend of first-time winners in the Men’s category, becoming the eighth unique winner.
He finished the series as Australia’s top try-scorer with 15, with the team finishing runners-up in Perth before a seventh-place finish overall.
"It's a pretty challenging year, so to get the rewards for it at the end of the year means a lot," Turner added.
"There's a lot of good players in our team, so it means a lot getting picked for it...But all the boys are constantly challenging themselves, so to pick it up, I reckon anyone could have won it.
Along with this, the Sevens players swept the Junior Players of the Year awards on the night.
Mackenzie Davis claimed the Women’s honour, with Sid Harvey and Aden Ekanayake sharing the Men’s.
Levi also claimed Defender of the Year for her freakish try-saving tackle during the Singapore Final against New Zealand.
"It's pretty awesome seeing a lot of the Sevens players come through, winning awards," Nathan said on the haul.
