Northern Echo Sport Awards 2017

SPORTS PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR

JORDAN PICKFORD

This time last year, Washington-born goalkeeper Jordan Pickford was still trying to make his mark at Sunderland. Twelve months on, he finds himself at Everton after a £30m move, eyeing a place at next year’s World Cup finals. Who knows how good he might eventually become.

The 23-year-old spent the first five months of 2017 playing with Sunderland, and while the Black Cats might have suffered a miserable time as they crashed into the Championship, Pickford’s superb goalkeeping displays marked him out as someone special.

Sunderland were never going to be able to keep him in the second tier, and he became the most expensive player ever sold by the Wearsiders when he made his summer switch to Everton. The Toffees might have struggled in the first half of the current campaign, but Pickford has already established himself as a firm fans’ favourite thanks to a string of excellent displays.

On the international stage, Pickford spent the summer representing England at the European Under-21 Championships, and his penalty save in the opening game was a major factor in his side’s run to the semi-finals.

That earned him a step up to the senior stage, and he enjoyed the biggest night of his career so far when he kept a clean sheet on his full England debut against Germany last month.

Gareth Southgate showered him praise in the wake of that game, and with question marks over both Joe Hart and Jack Butland, Pickford could yet find himself in the starting line-up when England play their World Cup opener against Tunisia next summer.

Runner-up: Graeme Storm

Third: Nicola Wilson

2016 Jack Laugher

2015 Steph Houghton

2014 Katy McLean

2013 Ben Stokes

2012 Kat Copeland

2011 Tony Mowbray

2010 Adam Johnson

2009 Joanne Jackson

2008 Tony Jeffries

2007 Paul Collingwood

2006 Graeme Storm

YOUNG SPORTS PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR

GEORGIA O’CONNOR

Seventeen-year-old Georgia O’Connor has cemented her status as one of the most promising young talents in British boxing in the last 12 months, with her stand-out performance coming when she claimed a gold medal at the Commonwealth Youth Games in the Bahamas.

Representing England at July’s competition, the Waterhouses teenager won a gold medal by beating Canada’s Naomie Pelletier in the final, with the success accompanying other 2017 victories at both the English and British Championships.

Georgia travelled to India for the Junior Women’s World Championships last month, and enjoyed another superb tournament as she came away with a silver medal. A member of GB’s high-performance squad, she has a good chance of making the team for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

Runner-up: Markhim Lonsdale

Third: Daisy Cooil

2016 Amy Tinkler

2015 Amy Tinkler

2014 Jack Laugher

2013 Matthew Fisher

2012 Josef Craig

2011 Jack Hermeston

2010 Jordan Henderson

2009 Savannah Marshall

2008 Jemma Lowe

2007 Kieren Emery

2006 Paul Drinkhall

OVERSEAS PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR

SONATANE TAKULUA

This has been an excellent year for Newcastle Falcons, with the club powering towards the top half of the Aviva Premiership, and Tongan scrum-half Sonatane Takulua has been the stand-out performer for Dean Richards’ side.

The 26-year-old moved to Kingston Park in 2015, and is now justifiably regarded as one of the best number nines in the English game thanks to vast range of passing and instinctive creativity from the base of the scrum.

He has been key to the evolution of Falcons’ slick, expansive passing style, and excelled at both try-scoring and kicking duties in the second half of last season and the first half of the current campaign. His stand-out performance came in February, when he claimed a hat-trick of tries against Northampton.

Runner-up: Brydon Carse

Third: Julio Arca

2016 Gaston Ramirez

2015 Dimi Konstantopoulos

2014 Jonas Gutierrez

2013 Keaton Jennings

2012 Tim Krul

2011 Dale Benkenstein

2010 Jose Enrique

2009 Michael Di Venuto

2008 Dale Benkenstein

2007 Ottis Gibson

2006 Dale Benkenstein

COACH OF THE YEAR

RAFAEL BENITEZ

It could be argued that winning last season’s Championship title was merely par for the course for Newcastle United and their manager, Rafael Benitez, but as the current campaign is proving, it is never easy for a newly-relegated side to bounce back at the first time of asking.

Newcastle did it with aplomb, with Benitez assembling a side ideally suited to the demands of the second tier before successfully guiding his players through the inevitable highs and lows of a Championship campaign.

Life has proved tougher back in the Premier League, but despite being handicapped by the parsimonious financial policies adopted by Newcastle owner Mike Ashley, the Spaniard is the main reason why the Magpies head into the second half of the season with a decent chance of beating the drop.

Runner-up: Dean Richards

Third: Jon Lewis

2016 Martin Gray

2015 Aitor Karanka

2014 Jon Lewis

2013 Dean Richards

2012 James Harris

2011 Alan Pardew

2010 Steve McClaren

2009 Chris Hughton

2008 Geoff Cook

2007 Roy Keane

2006 Fab Flournoy

PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR

GRAEME STORM WINNING THE SOUTH AFRICAN OPEN

Prior to teeing it up in South Africa at the start of the year, Hartlepool golfer Graeme Storm had gone almost ten years without recording a European Tour victory. However, he ended that run in the most spectacular fashion possible, beating multiple Major winner Rory McIlroy in a thrilling play-off.

Storm played superbly over the four days of the tournament, even though just three months earlier, he had looked certain to lose his Tour card. He finished on 18 under par to force a play-off with McIlroy and the pair were inseparable over the first two extra holes.

However, when McIlroy missed the green at the third play-off hole, Storm sensed his chance, and a par proved sufficient to hand the North-Easterner the biggest win of his career. The victory proved the spark for a hugely successful season, with Storm also finishing in the top five at the British Masters at Close House.

Runner-up: Nicola Wilson winning an individual and team medal at the European Eventing Championships

Third: Jordan Pickford keeping a clean sheet on his England debut

2016 Keaton Jennings hitting a century on his Test debut

2015 Mecca’s Angel winning the Nunthorpe

2014 Richard Kilty wins the 60m title at the World Indoor Championships

2013 Josef Craig breaks the world record at the World Championships

2012 Savannah Marshall becomes Women’s World Boxing champion

2011 Chris Tomlinson breaks the British long jump record

2010 Simon Vallily wins a Commonwealth Games gold medal in boxing

2009 Joanne Jackson breaks the swimming World record

2008 Stewart Downing’s man-of-the-match display for England v Germany

2007 Ottis Gibson claims all ten wickets in an innings for Durham v Hampshire

2006 Newcastle swimmer Chris Cook wins gold at the Commonwealth Games

MOMENT OF THE YEAR

GLEN DURRANT WINS THE BDO WORLD DARTS CHAMPIONSHIP

Middlesbrough’s Glen Durrant has spent the last few years establishing himself as the number one player in the British Darts Organisation. Up until this January, however, the World Championship remained the one major trophy that eluded him.

That all changed during an unforgettable fortnight at the Lakeside, as Durrant held his nerve to claim the biggest victory of his career.

The Ormesby arrowsmith survived a few scares in the early rounds, but was at his best in the final as he beat Dutchman Danny Noppert 7-3. A successful year also saw him triumph in the Welsh Open, Winmau Wolverhampton Classic and Denmark Masters, and he will defend his World title at Frimley Green next month.

Runner-up: Newcastle winning the Championship title on a dramatic final day

Third: Close House staging the British Masters

2016 Middlesbrough clinch promotion against Brighton

2015 The All Blacks and Tonga perform their pre-match routines ahead of their Rugby World Cup match in Newcastle

2014 The Tour de France heads up the Buttertubs Pass

2013 The first ball of the Ashes Test at Chester-le-Street

2012 Doug Embleton and Shaun Campbell save Darlington with a suitcase containing £5,000

2011 Chris Senior’s FA Trophy-winning goal for Darlington

2010 Tony Mowbray’s return to Middlesbrough

2009 Sir Bobby Robson’s memorial service at Durham Cathedral

2008 Joe Kinnear’s rant at the press

2007 Mathew Tait’s run in the Rugby World Cup final

TEAM OF THE YEAR

SOUTH SHIELDS

South Shields can justifiably claim to be the most successful football club in the North-East at the moment, and their rise up the footballing pyramid shows no sign of stopping.

The 2016-17 season saw the Mariners win a remarkable four trophies. A 32-game winning run helped them claim the Northern League title, and they also won the Durham Challenge Cup and Northern League Challenge Cup. Their greatest day came at Wembley, as they beat Cleethorpes Town 4-0 in the final of the FA Vase.

The 2017-18 season has been every bit as good, with South Shields currently sitting at the top of the Evo-Stik League table. They enjoyed a remarkable run in the FA Cup, beating Darlington and York City from higher divisions before losing to Hartlepool United in the final qualifying round.

Runner-up: Newcastle Falcons

Third: Newcastle United

2016 Durham

2015 Yorkshire

2014 Yorkshire

2013 Durham

2012 Newcastle Eagles

2011 Newcastle United

2010 Whitley Bay

2009 Durham

2008 Durham

2007 Durham

2006 Newcastle Eagles

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

GORDON SURTEES

Gordon Surtees, who died in September, was one of the most respected athletics coaches in the country thanks to more than five decades of dedication to the sport.

In an incredibly distinguished career, the Teessider coached 38 internationals, of whom 19 competed in major championships and seven were Olympians.

A regular presence at Middlesbrough’s Clairville Stadium, Surtees was Britain’s national event coach for middle-distance athletes, steeplechase, marathon and cross-country, and worked with Olympic steeplechase finalist Dennis Coates, North-East miler Tony Morrell and Great North Run winner Steve Kenyon as well as a host of other well-known stars.

2016 Denys Smith

2015 Kath Cassidy

2014 Mick Mulhern

2013 Geoff Cook

2012 Sir Bob Murray

2011 Dave Elderkin

2010 Niall Quinn

2009 Dave Parnaby

2008 Stephen Miller

2007 Sir Bobby Robson