By Michael Burt
Urunga rugby league mentor Scott Mieni will be in the spotlight at the NRL Grand Final after scoring the 2025 NRL Indigenous Community Award.
Scott will be presented with the prestigious award on ground alongside other community champions just prior to the start of the big game.
The recognition comes on the back of a First Nations Volunteer of the Year award at the 2025 NSW Rugby League (NSWRL) Community Awards in July.
“The recognition at a state and now a national level has blown me away,” Scott said.
“I love the sport of rugby league, but I love sport in general and the benefits it can bring.”
“I do a lot for the indigenous community, but I work with all cultures and nationalities. Sport allows you to do that.”
The former boy from Bourke has been in Urunga for 13 years and is a life member of NSWRL.
“I don’t do it for the accolades. It’s for the love of it and for wanting to help someone. The winner on the day is when you get to support someone through sport. That’s everything to me.”
The NRL Indigenous Community Award is presented to someone who has acted as an exceptional advocate for the growth of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s participation in rugby league.
Scott fits that bill after being a committee member, coach and mentor in the East Coast Region for more than 30 years and playing a defining role in assisting the First Nations community.
He has coached First Nations teams across NSW and helped provide pathways and opportunities for hundreds of players to develop their skills and confidence while instilling pride in their cultural identity.
For the past three years he has led the development of culturally appropriate judiciary panels which has strengthened trust between the First Nations community and Rugby League governance, and has been a pioneering figure in the growth of women’s Rugby League within the Mid North Coast Region.
The NRL Community Awards is Rugby League’s most prestigious community-focused awards ceremony, connecting the grassroots to the elite level.