RSL Colts' Marty Jeffrey was named the Herb Whitney Memorial Trophy Cricketer of the Year for 2022/23

Jeffrey was named the Herb Whitney Memorial Trophy Cricketer of the Year for 2022/23 at the Dubbo District Cricket Association (DDCA) presentation night on Thursday, capping off an impressive individual season.

Leading RSL Colts to yet another RSL Whitney Cup minor premiership, Jeffrey took out the first grade best and fairest as well, winning by several votes.

Now in his early 20s, Jeffrey believes he has matured as a player greatly in the last few seasons especially.

"Coming through the grades and into first grade, I've probably relied on the teams I've made," he said.

"I've always been thereabouts in talks but over the last few years, I've started to put some runs on the board and take wickets.

"I'm really proud of the way that I have matured as a player and I'm happy with where I'm at."

Jeffrey picked up four awards in total for the evening, also winning the Greg Keir Memorial Trophy Batting Average trophy for the second consecutive year as well as taking home the Barry Hildebrandt Daily Liberal Cricketer of the Year.

The all-rounder finished second for the season in runs scored, only just behind teammate Chris Morton and for Jeffrey, he feels there can still be improvement in his game.

"Like I said last night (Thursday), it's probably a result of a lot of things in general with life," he said.

"I've sorted out the off-field stuff, I've settled into a job and finished uni.

"I've figured out who I am as a player and I think the results are sort of just looking after themselves."

READ ALSO:

Captaining Dubbo, Western Plains Outlaws and Western Zone, Jeffrey has developed into a leader in the Central West.

Having come through the grades at Newtown, Jeffrey made the move to RSL Colts, a club which handed him the captaincy when he was still relatively young.

But for the man himself, he admitted he revels in having extra responsibility.

"Stepping into the captaincy has only helped my cricket," he said.

"I'm that style of player where if I have a bit of responsibility, I wanna grab a hold of it and make the boys come behind me.

"I think the leadership roles definitely suit who I am."

Surrounded by the likes of Mitch Bower, Jason Ryan, Brad Cox and Morton, Jeffrey has had some handy mentors to lean on at RSL Colts and said he has learned a lot from the experienced heads.

"I'm super grateful for what Colts have provided me ever since I made the move across," he said.

"I've been able to play alongside some pretty experienced players and I've learned massive amounts from those lads in the way you approach a game as well as knowing how to win games as well."

During his speech on Thursday night, Jeffrey also made special mention to DDCA president Ben Semmler, someone he believes deserves recognition for a lot of hard work done behind the scenes to grow the game in town.

"I think if you look at where Dubbo cricket was at a few years ago, it was in a bit of a hole after 'Shanksy' (Jeff Shanks) stood down," he said.

"We needed to have a look at where we wanted to go and Benny Semmler put his hand up to fill that void.

"Over the last few years, we've just sort of improved year-by-year to where we are now.

"We've got juniors coming through, our rep sides are strong and the amount of sides we have playing in the competition all goes back to his leadership and the board behind him."

Scotland's Lyle Robertson was named Peter Morrison Night Cricketer of the Year while CYMS all-rounder Harry Bayliss picked up Dubbo RSL Memorial Club Rookie of the Year.

Nathan Astri was presented with the Davis Family Award for Umpire of the Year, while Lachlan Strachan picked up a pair of awards also.

Strachan was named the winner of the Lloyd Keir Memorial Trophy for Rep Player of the Year as well as the Ian Drake Memorial Shield All-Rounder of the Year.

Mick McMullen received the Dennis Cox DDCA President's Award for his efforts off the field.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: