Forbes' Mitch Andrews awarded Scott-Weir Medal after Peter McDonald Premiership grand final

Andrews was awarded the inaugural Scott-Weir Medal on Sunday after producing yet another relentless performance at fullback for the Magpies in the 28-16 grand final win over Dubbo CYMS.

Andrews got through a mountain of work in the match but wasn't alone in saying he thought Forbes lock Jake Grace should have collected the medal.

Grace, who captained Forbes to premiership wins in both 2016 and 2018, was a workhorse in the middle of the field while he also scored two crucial tries to ensure a third title win in seven years for those in black and white.

"It's an honour but it's a really big surprise," Andrews said.

"I was just speaking to someone and I said I thought 'Gracey' was head and shoulders above everyone. I said if he didn't get it I'd walk home, so I better get going."

While many felt Grace was more deserving of the award, there's no doubting the importance of Andrews' performance on Sunday and in Forbes' season as a whole.

The only NSW Country representative from the Western Rams region, few play each match with as much intensity as Andrews and he's regularly hailed by coach Cameron Greenhalgh as someone who saves as many tries as he scores due to his brilliance in defence at the back.

That was clear to see on Sunday when he produced an outstanding one-on-one tackle on Tom Hughes and bundled him into touch when the CYMS winger was bearing down on the tryline following a break from Jeremy Thurston.

That proved to be a major moment in the first half as Forbes started to earn more possession from there and just seven minutes later hooker Toby Hurford went over from close range to help put the Magpies up 10-4.

Andrews didn't score a try himself on Sunday but constantly chimed in whenever the Magpies attacked and it was his pass that put Alvin Maungaati over for the first try of the day.

It was the little moments like that which led him to win the inaugural man of the match medal, one which honours Group 10 and Group 11 greats Dave Scott and Bob Weir respectively.

Andrews was a teenager playing in the centres in 2016 when he scored the all-important late try to secure a first premiership win since 1987.

Andrews had stint with the Newcastle Knights following that and missed Forbes' 2018 title win but returned to the nest in 2021 and quickly established himself as one of the very best players in the region.

"This one means a lot more. When you win one when you're 18 it doesn't quite sink in," he said.

"This one, I didn't think we were as big as underdogs as then but we turned up and turned it into a dogfight and we didn't just win it in the last three minutes, we dominated from the get-go and took the game to CYMS and normally it's the own other way."

The win completed a massive turnaround for Forbes after they missed the Group 11 finals last season.

One of the major reasons behind that was Andrews was severely hampered by a number of niggling injuries. Someone who has battled calf and hamstring issues in the past, Andrews worked hard on his game this season to ensure he was in the best shape possible.

"Last year I think I played six games or something ridiculous but this year I played 13 or 14 club games and I missed that one because I had rep," Andrews added.

"It's been massive and there's been some bumps and bruises along the way but playing week-to-week was a big improvement."