Kaierau’s Caleb Gray is Premier MVP
By Jared Smith
The nuggety little halfback from Wanganui Car Centre Kaierau has been acknowledged for a fine Tasman Tanning Premier campaign with his recognition as the Most Valuable Player (MVP).
The MVP prize is determined by most overall points awarded after each Tasman Tanning Premier regular season match, on a 3-2-1 allocation basis, over the eight games each team plays over the 10 weeks.
Breaking into the 2022 Kaierau Premier team, Dunedin-born and raised Caleb Gray quickly became an influential player in a side that has great talent but often lacked for communicators and direction-setters.
Co-coach Te Ahu Teki praised the young man’s drive.
“He understands hard work and preparation to get ready for a game.
“He’s got a pass, he can run, makes a lot of tackles defensively.”
Just how important Gray became in a short time span was clear when he was sorely missed on May 7 when Kaierau were pumped 41-10 by Dave Hoskin Carriers Marist.
He proved a key player in Kaierau’s second round recovery to get back into the semifinals, winning three from four games, with his best performance being in the 27-24 upset win over eventual three-peat champions Waverley Harvesting Border.
Gray has been included in the halfback group for the Steelform Whanganui extended squad’s preseason matches.
He finished four points clear on top of the MVP table from Marist prop Keightley Watson, an apprentice with the Whanganui squad last season who will certainly be getting game time in coming weeks.
Watson was a force in a very strong Marist scrum this campaign – leading the charge in the win over Kaierau and back-to-back victories over Settler’s Honey Ngamatapouri.
Also up front, Byford’s Readimix Taihape’s Gabriel Hakaraia finished third in the MVP standings after a superb season where he topped the try-scorers list with 12.
There was a three-way tie on eight MVP points for fourth place, with another four players tied for seventh.
Gray becomes the first halfback to win the award since 2014 when Whanganui’s current incumbent Lindsay Horrocks (Border) shared the prize with McCarthy’s Transport Ruapehu’s No 9 William Short.
MVP Top 10
1. Caleb Gray (Kaierau) 16 points
2. Keightley Watson (Marist) 12 points
3. Gabriel Hakaraia (Taihape) 9 points
4=. Alekesio Vakarorogo (Border), Ethan Robinson (Kaierau), Tyler Rogers Holden (Taihape) 8 points
7=. Angus Middleton (Border), Brook Tremayne (Ngamatapouri), Joe Edwards (Kaierau) Ben Whale (Taihape) 7 points
HAPPENINGS
CAMERON: Former one-test All Black and Cullinane College old boy Brett Cameron will resume his New Zealand rugby career with the Manawatu Turbos for the coming 2022 Bunnings NPC campaign. First-five Cameron spent the first part of the year with the Kamaishi Seawaves in Japan before coming home to Whanganui. He played for the Turbos last year after transferring from Canterbury
