A photograph taken minutes after the Cronulla Sharks famous, premiership victory has scooped a national award.
NRL lead photographer Grant Trouville, himself from Cronulla, snapped the award-winning photo which he titled 50 Years of Tears. He took the photo shortly after the Sharks defeated the Melbourne Storm in the 2016 NRL Grand Final.
Sharks captain Paul Gallen is seen shedding a few tears with club legend Andrew Ettingshausen in the picture. Yesterday, the photograph was named the winner of the 2017 Nikon-Walkley Photo of the Year Prize.
“This image shows the outpouring of emotion from the last 50 years for the Cronulla Sharks,” Trouville said.
“The two greatest ever players to put on the Sharks jersey coming together. A thank you from the former captain and club legend to the current captain. The trophy cabinet will never be empty again.”
Trouville has been working with the NRL for the past 15 years and is a big Sharks fan. He said he was not expecting to win the top award.
“I thought it was a great sporting moment and photo but to win the Photo of the Year was unimaginable,” he said.
“It’s the first time a sports photo has won this award and to be an NRL image is very special to me.”
He said he knew it was a special picture as soon as he snapped it.
“I knew it was a special moment and photo as I took it, everything fell into place and I think I even had a tear in my eye,” he said with a laugh.
The Nikon-Walkley Awards for Excellence in Photojournalism recognises the work of photographers across a range of genres, from news and sport to portraiture and photographic essays.
