Oli Schmude played every grade in 2025 and earned his first grade debut from the bench midway through the season. This year, he cemented his spot in the top grade and has made every post a winner!

RUGBY NEWS: You’ve made the Sydney Uni No.9 jersey your own this year and now you’ve been recognised as the competition’s best rookie. How does that sit with you?

OLIVER SCHMUDE: It’s unreal. My main goal when pre-season started back in October last year was actually to play No.10 — I’ve always relied on my size and kicking game for that — but after an injury, and with new input from John (Manenti), Chris (Delooze) and Liam (Winton), they wanted me to be more versatile and cover both No.9 and No.10. 

So the plan this year was just to play the best footy I can, and whatever job they gave me, to do my best. I can’t control selection, I can only control how I perform, so that was my goal, and it’s worked pretty well?

RN: Tell us about your rugby journey from Armidale, to Joeys and on to Sydney Uni?

OS: I started in Armidale when I was five, playing for the Armidale Blues and travelling across rural NSW with my family to play games each Sunday. From there I went to Joeys, and even though I loved the game, I never got picked in the firsts. My good mate Hwi Sharples was always ahead of me and that just lit a fire in me to work harder. As my mum and dad always said — hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard — so that became my main attribute. I fell in love with the journey.

Once I finished Joeys, I didn’t get picked up by anyone. Dad pushed me to go to Eastwood or Randwick, but as I was studying, I wanted to play at Uni. I’m working at Buildcorp now, so it was the right decision. I started playing third grade colts in 2023 and have played in every grade across the club since then.

This year, I think the trust the coaches put in me helped a lot and allowed me to cement my position in first grade. 

Now, I think I enjoy playing No.9 more because they allow me to play an attacking role. At school, the structure was really just speed passing, quick delivery. Whereas John, Liam and Chris know how I like to play — a running game, with a bit of a kicking option too — and they’ve put their trust in me to play my own style.

RN: Sydney Uni have featured heavily at the pointy end of the season right across the grades over the past few decades but that hasn’t been the case in recent years. What has changed this year under John Manenti? 

OS: Yeah I haven’t played much finals footy to be honest, so I’m excited for the challenge ahead. I think the big thing John, Chris and Liam have done is build trust — with us and between us — and build that relationship where everyone trusts that their mates are going to work hard for them. Having trust in what we’re doing, and that it’s going to work, and evidently it seems to be. 

Past Winners:

2025 Marshall Le Maitre (Norths)

2024 Sam Allsopp (Sydney Uni) 

2023 Zac Barnabas (Manly) 

2022 Conor Hickey (Warringah) 

2020 Max Douglas (Manly) 

2019 Michael Icely (Eastwood) 

2018 Will McDonald (Sydney Uni) 

2017 Kevin Fuavao (Manly) 

2016 Irae Simone (Sydney Uni) 

2015 Kelly Meafou (West Harbour) 

2014 Henry Clunies-Ross (Syd Uni) 

2013 Hugh Roach (Eastwood) 

2012 Jed Holloway (Sth Districts) 

2011 Bernard Foley (Sydney Uni) 

2010 Greg Peterson (Manly) 

2009 Lachlan McCaffrey (Eastwood) 

2008 Nathan Charles (Sydney Uni)