Andrew Alderson: It will be All White on awards night

The All Whites celebrate scoring a goal against Italy during the World Cup. Photo / Brett Phibbs.

Opinion

Diiner suits will be ordered, plane tickets booked for Auckland and the entree, main and dessert plates will be exquisitely arranged. But all for what?

The 2010 Halberg award winner to be announced on February 10 in Auckland will be the All Whites.

The 28-person voting academy, mixing sports media and sportspeople, had 71 nominations to consider and their verdicts have generally come up sound after it went to the ballot.

It's hard to go past the All Whites' performance at the football World Cup in South Africa as the overall winner. Their achievement was at an event that captivated this nation in the only true global sport.

The All Whites went through the tournament as the only undefeated team. To be fair, they didn't win a match either, so left after pool play, but their efforts had kettles boiling, duvets being dragged into lounges, buttocks teetering on the edges of couches and tongues wagging in the wee hours across the country.

Their rivals deserve appreciative nods in the team category. The All Blacks turned around their fortunes but we know where their real stage lies...

The Kiwis put together another fine effort when it counted to take the Four Nations inside the last two minutes of the final and the Silver Ferns did well to hold their extra-time nerves in Delhi. But being minority world sports is always going to cost them in this company.

Rowing can consider themselves unlucky, particularly with 10 medals in the world championships on home water, but the ferocity of the Eric Murray and Hamish Bond triumph in the men's pair final was the pick of the rowing results to earn a nomination.

The only real dissatisfaction in the voting came in the sportsman category. What does cyclist Julian Dean have to do to get a look in?

It's understandable he missed out last year, despite being the only cyclist in the world to complete all three grand tours of France, Italy and Spain. These awards are about excellence not endurance, so fair enough. But with three stage podium finishes in the world's greatest race, the Tour de France, over 3500kms in the middle of the European summer, his omission is preposterous.

Dean's effort enters uncharted territory for any New Zealand rider and he remains a pioneering inspiration for young Kiwi pedallers. Compare that to Jossi Wells, the freeski halfpipe and overall freeski world champion. His achievements, while admirable, will only be given Olympic status in 2014.

Nelsen should take this category out for commanding the All Whites' campaign as their star player. However, it's ironic the sportsman category could not cater for another finalist in Dean when the sportswoman category - in a relatively weak year - had five, as did the team category, despite the All Whites being shoo-ins.

All five finalists in the sportswoman category were impressive at the Commonwealth Games but cyclist Alison Shanks might have the edge as a gold medallist in the (now non-Olympic) individual pursuit. That medal was in arguably the most competitive discipline of the five finalists, plus she has been a stalwart in developing the women's Olympic team pursuit squad which took bronze at the world championships.

It wasn't Valerie Adams best year in the shot put, the only serious opposition to Casey Williams' superb defensive netball efforts is Australia, Nikki Hamblin produced two silvers rather than gold despite heroic efforts in the 800m and 1500m and Joelle King won her gold and silver in the rarely-played squash doubles.

Ricki Herbert should be coach of the year for getting the All Whites to their first World Cup in 28 years.

Fans have the chance to pick the sporting moment of the year but for sheer unexpected, lounge-eruption delight Winston Reid's 93rd-minute equaliser against Slovakia will take some beating.

The finalists:

The Halberg Award finalists (with Herald on Sunday winning predictions in bold):

Sportsman
Richie McCaw (rugby), Benji Marshall (rugby league), Ryan Nelsen (football) and Jossi Wells (X-games).

Sportswoman
Valerie Adams (athletics), Nikki Hamblin (athletics), Joelle King (squash), Alison Shanks (cycling) and Casey Williams (netball).

Sports team
All Blacks (rugby), All Whites (football), Kiwis (rugby league), Eric Murray and Hamish Bond (rowing) and Silver Ferns (netball).

The supreme trophy, the Halberg Award, will be chosen from one of the above.

Coach of the year
Graham Henry (All Blacks), Ricki Herbert (All Whites), Stephen Kearney (Kiwis), Gordon Tietjens (New Zealand sevens).

Emerging Talent
Jacko Gill (athletics), Gareth Kean (swimming), Tyler Bleyendaal (rugby), Julia Edward (rowing).

Sporting moment
Brendon McCullum - 116 not out off 56 balls; Black Caps vs Australia cricket T20, Christchurch.

Adam Hall - recovers and wins slalom gold; Vancouver Paralympics.

All Whites - Winston Reid's last-minute goal vs Slovakia, Football World Cup, South Africa.

All Blacks - Israel Dagg's last-minute try to beat Springboks, Tri Nations rugby, Soweto.

Nikki Hamblin - late surge for 800m silver, Delhi Commonwealth Games.

Silver Ferns - double extra-time victory over Australia for netball gold, Delhi Commonwealth Games.

Men's Pair - Hamish Bond and Eric Murray win gold, world rowing championships, Lake Karapiro.

Kiwis - Nathan Fien's last-minute try to beat Australia and win the Four Nations league title, Brisbane.