The Dallas Jackals announced the top player awards for the team’s end-of-season inaugural year on Thursday. Despite the 0-16 record, the Jackals had several stand-out players who made an impact on the field in 2022.
One Jackals player earned two of the end-of-season awards. Conrado Roura was named Player’s Player and Forward of the Year. Roura was an essential part of each of the 13 matches in which he appeared.
Formerly a star in Argentina, Roura joined the Dallas Jackals prior to the 2021 season cancellation, which resulted in the team delaying entry to Major League Rugby action until 2022.
Roura scored a total of four tries on the season. More than anything, Roura, who played out of the third-row position, was an essential component, feeding the ball to teammates to extend opportunities.
The team said in a statement announcing the awards that Roura was someone “who puts the team first, inspires and encourages in all instances. The team said Roura was selected by his fellow players for the Player’s Player award for “showing resilient fortitude on and off the pitch; Roura was a mainstay for positive morale all season long.”
The Jackals also announced that Adriaan Carelse was named “Back of the Year” for the end-of-season awards. Carelse joined the Jackals after spending his first season in Major League Rugby on the Rugby ATL team that was the runner-up last season. Carelse was the team’s most consistent kicker, hitting six penalty kicks and 12 conversions and racking up 42 points to lead the Jackals in scoring.
The team said that despite missing several games due to injury, he is “an attacking 10 with ability to create and make line breaks. Carelse was a constant in team leadership as well.”
The Jackals’ Most Improved Player award went to forward Ryheem Powell, who joined the team as a development player and made his debut in the loss to the Toronto Arrows. Powell appeared in two games in 2022. He is from Warminster, Pennsylvania.
“As a Development Player, Powell trained day in and day out with the MLR squad, working to hone his craft and gain knowledge anywhere he could,” the team said in a statement.
The final end-of-season award the team announced was the Pack Member of the Year. The team selected Matoko Noudehou, who joined the Jackals coaching staff as the strength and conditioning coach. Noudehou was previously a rehabilitation S&C coach for the Minor League Baseball affiliate team for the New York Mets before joining the Jackals in 2022.
In addition to keeping players in proper shape, Noudehou also appeared in several games, taking the pitch to cover for numerous injuries that became problematic later in the season after a number of Jackals players were injured in an off-field accident.
The team described him as someone who “feeds the Pack before themselves,” and he was selected with input from players and staff.
“Giving his all to prepare the squad week in and week out, Noudehou exemplified what it meant to be a Pack member through and through,” the team said.
Even after a disastrous outing this season, the Dallas Jackals have a lot to look forward to for next season. The team is relatively young — with the oldest player being only 27 — and they have a chance this offseason to reset and continue to build on the successes and failures of the 2022 season.