Gold Coast hooker Beau Falloon has beaten State of Origin forward David Taylor by one point to win his first Paul Broughton Medal at the eighth annual Titans Awards Night at Jupiters Hotel and Casino on Wednesday night.
And retiring foundation player Luke Bailey, who has won the prestigious Broughton Medal a record three times, leaves the club in 2014 with with two further awards – the Members Most Valuable Player and the Preston Award, named in honour of Preston Campbell and presented to the player who truly gains respect for embodying what it is to be a Titan, encompassing effort on the field, at training and around the club.
Falloon, who often played 80 minutes as hooker for the towards the end of the season because of the squad’s injury roll after sharing the duties with Paul Carter and Matt Srama, polled 16 of his 17 points in the last 10 rounds after State of Origin second-rower Dave Taylor had polled 13 of his 16 points in the first half of the season.
"It's a great reward for Beau's consistency in a very tough season where he was forced to often play long minutes and with injury," said Titans coach Neil Henry.
"He epitomises the qualities every coach and teammate look for in that he is tough, committed on and off the field, and plays well above his weight."
Having started his NRL career at South Sydney, Falloon played 23 games in his third season on the Gold Coast and was rewarded for his form at club level with a City Origin jersey in May.
Other former winners of the medal include Greg Bird, Nate Myles, Nathan Friend, Preston Campbell and Anthony Laffranchi.
Click here for the full list of winners, final points tally and photos capturing all the glitz and glamour of the evening.
