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Anna Gleeson admits she's "blown away" by her selection in the NSW Touch Association senior women's Golden Jubilee team as one of the top 14 players in the last 50 years.
Gleeson was one of three Port Macquarie Makos to be rewarded for their service to the sport at a gala dinner in Sydney last weekend.
Peter Vincent (senior men's) and Louise McCourt (also senior women's) also received the honour of being in the top 14 players in their respective divisions.
"Even when I was picked for NSW a few years ago... you really do need to put in the hard work when you're from the country because it's really hard to crack those (on-field) sides," Gleeson said.
"Even now I train really hard and you always try to show your kids that if you can put in the hard work, you get these rewards."
Gleeson was named in the senior women's team alongside McCourt.
"Lou has done so much for women's touch specifically so to be named with her is very special," she said.
"I didn't even for one second think it was something I was a chance of being named in. I'm blown away."
Gleeson acknowledged the reward she received was one of the proudest moments in her touch career while McCourt was still "in shock" about receiving the honour.
"I noticed the quality of the players that I beat to get there and I'm really humbled that they acknowledged it," McCourt said.
"I can see why I did get nominated because I've been around for a long time and still coaching Port's over-45 women's team for State Cup. I've been around since 1983 so it's a long time."
McCourt said it was a privilege to be named alongside players such as Gleeson.
"Players like Anna are guns. They're amazing players and their ball skills are far superior to what I had and it's fantastic to see these girls coming through," she said.
Vincent said it was "unbelievable" to hear of his selection in the senior men's team when he was preparing to fly out for a holiday in Fiji.
It meant he had to alter those plans and stay in three different hotels before he departed on Tuesday.
"I was never a legend like Shane Frederiksen or Tony Eltakchi or a star of the game, I was just the guy who did my job on the wing or as a link or wherever they played me," he said.
Players were selected if they met a "fairly vigorous" criteria which included playing for your state, your region and at national level.
"If you're going to play sport at that level, I don't care who it is, everyone's got a bit of an ego," Vincent said.
"If you don't have an ego, you're not going to play at that level, but you can get up and look at yourself and say 'hey I did alright'."
Of the senior men's team, Vincent played with or coached nine of the 14 players at either New South Wales or Australian level.
"It's a team sport, but to get an individual honour like that... you can't ask for much more," he said.
"When you see it's across five decades of players and then look at those not picked, you feel very humble."
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