Bond University has ended a stellar 2015 rugby season on a high, winning three awards at the Reds Gala Ball on the same weekend the Bond University Rugby Club (BURC) Premier Reserve Grade team claimed victory in their grand final against Brothers Rugby Club.
BURC's First Grade team captain, Josh Fuimaono, took home the Alec Evans Medal for Queensland Premier Rugby Player of the Year.
Fuimaono showed outstanding form on the field throughout the season and was voted by referees to be the best player in the 2015 Queensland Premier competition.
Bond student and Queensland Reds prop, Ben Daley, took home the People's Choice Award as voted by Reds members and fans on social media, receiving high praise off the field for his charitable initiative 'Be Great, Do Good' which raised awareness and funds for 16 charities throughout the season.
Former coach and current Bond Rugby board member Alec Evans - the namesake of Fuimaono's accolade - was amongst three rugby greats to be inducted into the Queensland Rugby Hall of Fame.
Sean Hedger, Bond University's Director of Rugby, said it was a major coup for Bond Rugby to receive three acknowledgements at the Reds Gall Ball.
Mr Hedger said Fuimaono was one of BURC's most experienced campaigners and a worthy recipient of the Queensland Premier Rugby Player of the Year award.
"Josh is an exceptional footballer, the experience he brings from his history playing in both the Super Rugby competition as well as internationally in Japan is invaluable to our club, especially for our younger players," he said.
"He has led by example all season, both on and off the field, and has displayed outstanding leadership in his role as captain."
The BURC Premier Reserves team continued the winning streak on Sunday, claiming the club's very first grand final victory after narrowly defeating Brothers 37-35 in a thrilling match.
The game was tied 23-all at full-time with both teams neck-and-neck during extra time - the winning moment coming in the form of a converted try from Bond in the final minute of play.
Mr Hedger said it was the first premiership Bond had won since it joined the Queensland Premier Rugby competition in 2014.
"I'm unbelievably proud of the players, they played an epic game of rugby that was hard fought and only won in the final 50 seconds of play," he said.
"The lead was constantly changing throughout the match which made it tough viewing as a coach but an amazing display of football for the crowd.
"A grand final that runs for that long really becomes a war of attrition, it's more about players' mental determination than their physical game and they should all be extremely proud of their achievement.
"It was a great end to the 2015 season, and shows we're moving in the right direction to hopefully build upon this result next year."