Bulls president Paul King took out Central North rugby union’s top honour, receiving the 2017 President’s Cup at the conclusion of the grand final matches in Tamworth at the start of the month.

“It was a total surprise,” King said. “It’s a big honour, especially being up agaionst 10 other clubs.”

Central North Zone president Tony Byrnes said King was more than deserving of the honour, following a successful season on and off the field.

“We look for a club president who’s shown strong leadership, worked hard for rugby in the community and dealt with issues in an expeditious way,” he said.

“Paul organised a game of rugby early in the season, the annual Border Cup, and turned it into a great day of rugby.

“He’s worked hard with the Colts program, the 19s and 17s, and had the benefit of the Farrer boys coming on board this year.

“He’s a man that has shown all the right leadership skills and has been leading by example and worked with his committee.

“He has a sense of humility about him and is happy to accept advice and take on suggestions.”

King’s dedication and commitment to the Moree club also earned him Clubman of the Year for the third year in a row at the Bull’s end of season presentation on Saturday night.

Meanwhile, the Bulls’ Best and Fairest player, Sam Callow also received zone honours, being named Central North’s Under 21 Best and Fairest.

“It was a bit of an honour,” the Bulls first grade flanker said.

“Seeing some of the other names on that trophy, it’s an honour to be on the same trophy as those people.

“It’s really exciting.”

King said his and Callow’s zone awards topped off a fantastic grand final day on Saturday, September 2, with Moree coming away with two of a potential three premiership trophies.

Moree second grade and under 17s teams won their respective grand final matches, while under 19s went down to the Tamworth Pirates.

“The under 17s were minor and major premiers and our reserves were minor and major premiers,” he said.

“We did really well to get three teams to the grand final; there’s nothing wrong with winning two out of three.”

With the Bulls finishing third in the first grade competition, King said overall it was a great season, particularly during what was a rebuilding year for the club.

“It had its ups and downs but on the whole it was a very good season,” he said.

“The most exciting thing is that we have a whole generation of new players coming through – we have 10 to 15 between 18 and 20 years old and a lot of them played reserve and first grade for most of the season.

“In the next few years if we can keep them all, they’ll be a lot stronger.”

King would like to thank all those who helped out behind the scenes throughout the season, particularly Peter Copeman and Dave and Vicki Onus.

“You can’t make it through the season without support and help from those people,” he said.