LEADING by example in the front with his work rate and toughness - it is something that has long earned Luke Christie Johnston the respect of his fellow Oberon Tigers and in 2020 it was no different.
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In a season which saw Oberon end its 17-year premiership drought by beating CSU 23-10 in the Mid West Cup decider, it was Christie Johnston who impressed the most in Tigers colours.
It saw him named the club's best and fairest.
"There were obviously quite a few guys that stuck their hands up, most noticeably Luke Christie Johnston," Tigers coach Dallas Booth said.
"Certainly opposition teams know how good he is too, we'd be a lot less of a team without him. He hits hard, tackles hard, runs hard, he's the kind of player that everyone needs.
"He's the kind of guy that, if everyone is feeling a bit down, he'll pull off a big hit and inspire the guys to rev up. He's the number one guys who does that."
The Tigers' forward pack was one of their real strengths in 2020 and helped them to an undefeated minor premiership. Christie Johnston played a key role in that with his countless carries and crunching tackles.
There was also another reason the coach liked having him on the field.
"It's not a bad effort for a 35-year-old. I like that he's still playing so I'm not the only old bastard out there," Booth quipped.
Another impressive member of the Tigers' pack was lock Charlie Bailey. Booth had tipped the under 18s graduate as one to watch in 2020 and the young talent more than delivered.
The coach also paid tribute to hooker Caylib Marston.
"Charlie got runner-up player of the year and he also got players' player. He certainly made a difference for us this year, he scored two tries in the grand final," Booth said.
"Caylib, he was one point off best and fairest, one point off players' player and one try off the top try scorer.
"Those guys were just big for us every week and while I thought everyone played well for us this year, those were the guys that really made a difference and were a big reason why we won the grand final."
The Tigers also fielded a women's league tag outfit in the Mid West competition. They reached the first week of the semi-finals and while falling 14-6 to the Barbarians, their campaign could still be rated a success.
Playmaker Jade Taggart was named their best and fairest, but Booth said the whole squad deserves praise.
"The girls did well this year and while they got knocked out in the semis, you've got to remember I think they went two or years without winning a game. So to be able to make the semi-finals and do what they did, it was a massive year for them and very successful," he said.
"They've already got more girls that haven't played before wanting to get involved because they've seen how fun it is.
"From a club point of view having the girls was massive, they were probably borderline if they were going to get a team but Shan [Foley] and Lourie [Bailey] did an amazing job with them to take from barely getting a team into the semis and now girls contacting us asking if they can have a run because what they've seen looks like fun."
