Sunbury product Dean Ieremia has been named Melbourne Storm’s Rookie of the Year.
The 20-year-old wing player was dubbed the club’s best first year player at a ceremony held earlier this month.
Ieremia burst onto the NRL in 2021 after working his way up as a player for the Sunbury Tigers and as a part of the Victorian Thunderbolts squad.
He debuted against Cronulla in May in an easy 40-14 win for Melbourne.
In 10 games he scored six tries, with his best outing coming against Penrith in round 20. Ieremia scored three tries in a leading performance where the Storm bolted to a 37-10 win.
Speaking to Storm media after receiving the award, Ieremia said the honour had taken him by surprise.
“I’m just speechless right now,” he said.
“I want to thank my family and also my fans out there supporting me.”
Ieremia said legendary Storm coach Craig Bellamy had been a fantastic support for him in his first year at the club.
“He’s been teaching me everything about the basics of hard work and effort,” he said.
“[It’s] just credit to the boys you know, everything I do is for them, to support them and help everyone.”
The Storm finished in equal first at the end of the season, with an impressive 21 win and three loss tally.
made it to the third week of finals before losing to the Panthers 10 to 6.
The Panthers ultimately beat the South Sydney Rabbitohs 14-12 in the grand final.
Ieremia said he was focused on continuing to improve his game.
Oliver Lees
