The Yenda Blueheelers junior was rewarded for his non-stop efforts for the NYC Canberra Raiders as he took out the coaches award last week.

“It was unreal, I was bloody surprised,” Dole said.

“I went there thinking ‘there’s some superstars in this team, I work hard and that but I don’t think I’m up for any awards.’

“As soon as the coach started speaking, I thought ‘this sounds like it could be me here’.

“Then he said ‘he also thinks he’s one of the best looking blokes in the team’ and I thought ‘Jesus’ and then he said ‘Daniel Dole’.”

The hard-hitting prop described getting up in front of the thousands in attendance as “nerve-racking” but when it came to his upcoming wrist reconstruction, Dole was much calmer.

“I tore the ligament before round one and the surgeon said ‘you’ll need surgery’ but I said ‘I think I’m just going to put up with it’. I didn't want to miss the last season of 20s,” he said.

“It [wrist] now needs a full reconstruction but that’s a decision I made at the start of the season. Hopefully I can do as much as I can before pre-season to get myself a bit more ready.”

The surgery will sideline Dole for roughly two months before he does a pre-season with the Raiders first grade side.

Come new year, Dole will break away from the first grade side and join NSW Cup – and Canberra feeder – side Mounties.

He hopes to make the move to lock – the position his brother James played at a local level – as he continues his NRL apprenticeship.

“That’s how the process goes, you don’t just get thrown in,” Dole said.

“I won’t be playing NRL next year or anything. I still have to work hard for a couple years and see what comes.

“That’s the goal [to play NRL] but it’s a hard business.”

The 20-year-old still has strong ties with his junior club and said Yenda’s future was bright after the club secured the 2016 Group 20 under 18s premiership.