WINGHAM junior Mitch Barnett has won the Newcastle Knights Danny Buderus Medal for the second time.
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This was announced at the Newcastle presentation on Wednesday night.
Barnett, a backrower, adds a second medal to the one he won in 2017.
There were four nominations for the medal, with Barnett finishing ahead ahead of fellow nominees David Klemmer, Mitchell Pearce and Connor Watson.
Barnett also won the Gladiator of the Year award
Knights chief executive Phil Gardner described Barnett is a 'potential future captain.'
He told the Newcastle Herald's Barry Toohey Barnett epitomised everything the club should stand for and said he is a priority re-signing. Negotiations have started to extend his contract beyond the end of next season, the Herald reported.
"To me, Barney looks like a Knight," Gardner said. "He epitomises that toughness and all the sorts of attributes we want in our players.
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"He loves the town, loves the club, the players love him - he bleeds blue and red and anyone who saw how badly he was hurting after those losses at the end of the season would have recognised how much it meant to him.
"He is so important to us and a real inspirational figure and is certainly a priority re-signing for us going forward. "
Knights director of football Brian Canavan added: "He epitimises the Danny Buderus label in that he is a real team performer who has always led by actions and deeds."
Barnett started playing rugby league with Wingham's juniors, where Troy Atkins was among his first coaches. He represented Country under 18s while with the Tigers before heading to Canberra for two seasons.
Barnett made his NRL debut with the Raiders in 2015 before switching to the Knights in 2016. He has played 75 NRL games with Newcastle, including 21 this year.
