Blackburn showing out at the Big V Awards night

A Season to Be Proud Of: BigV Awards Night 2026

This year's Big V Awards Night was a chance to look back on a season that saw real progress across the club — on the court, in development, and in the depth of talent coming through our program.

Strong seasons across the board

Both of our youth league teams pushed hard all year, finishing just short of finals in their respective divisions — a sign of the growth happening at that level of the program.

Our Division 2 Women had a genuinely strong campaign, going all the way to a Preliminary Final before falling to Wallan in a tight, hard-fought contest.

And our Division 1 Men capped off a brilliant season, finishing top of the ladder before going down to a very strong Chelsea outfit in the Grand Final. To go all the way to the big dance is a huge achievement, and one the group should be proud of.

Building through our own

What made this season especially pleasing was how it was built. Both senior teams moved away from import players this year, instead backing talent largely developed through the Blackburn Vikings program — athletes who've come up through different stages of their junior careers to now lead our senior teams. It's exactly the kind of pathway we want to see, and the results on court speak for themselves.

Celebrating our award winners

None of this happens without individual effort, and on the night we celebrated some standout contributions from across the club:

🔸 Mitchell Turner – Leading Scorer, Y1M
🔸 Brooke Mudge – Golden Hands, Y2W
🔸 Max Morgan – Youth Player of the Year, D1M
🔸 Rebecca Cunningham – Defensive Player of the Year, D2W
🔸 Jake Heath – All Star Five, D1M
🔸 Chris Petalas – Coach of the Year, D2W
🔸 Shaun Coghlan – Coach of the Year, D1M

Congratulations to each of you — well deserved recognition for the work you've put in all season.

More than the trophies

These awards aren't why we do this. But they represent the huge body of work — from players, coaches, and everyone around the program — that made this season one of the club's best in recent memory.

Here's to building on it next year.