What an absolute belter of a year it has been in Australian sport.

2016 will forever be remembered as the year of the underdog, the year of the smokey, the year of the dark-horse. In an era where money has a tendency to lead to sporting success, 2016 had definitely been a year that has bucked the trend.

Let’s look back at some of our nation’s sporting highlights.

Catherine Skinner

What a story. The 26-year-old was the toast of Mansfield (give her the bloody keys to the town right now!) when she took out Gold in the Rio’s trap shooting event in Rio.

So what was the secret to Skinner’s success? We were impressed with her choice of pre-competition day meal.

“I had to sneak over to the McDonald’s and get a big McFlurry.”

Her Dad Ken couldn’t make it to Rio because he had to stay in Mansfield to look after the farm.

“Her mother and brother are over there (Rio) but it sounded like too much excitement for me,” Ken said after the win.

But he was proud as punch as he watched from home on the TV seeing his daughter come from behind to snare the gold.

For Catherine it was a dream come true.

“It’s indescribable what it’s like to be on that podium and hear the anthem, it’s just winning all over.”

We can’t wait to see her strut her stuff again on the big stage at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in 2018.

Matthew Dellavedova

NBA Finals Game 1 @ Golden State! #ALLin216 A photo posted by matthewdelly (@matthewdelly) on Jun 2, 2016 at 2:24pm PDT

This bloke has been a phenomenal story.

Welcome to Maryborough Larry! Great to have you visit ? come up to the local stadium where I'll be having a talk and taking photos with Larry from 430-630pm. Larry and I will also be in Melbourne tomorrow from 12-3pm, more details soon A photo posted by matthewdelly (@matthewdelly) on Aug 28, 2016 at 6:27pm PDT

The Maryborough marvel now has himself an NBA championship ring. He played a huge role in Cleveland’s come from behind series win over the Warriors. But he still ‘keeps it real’ driving around in a Mazda…

So Delly just pulled up for shootaround in a Mazda CX-5 A photo posted by Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) on Jun 9, 2015 at 7:05am PDT

And quoting The Castle’s Darryl Kerrigan when he gets his Championship ring. Respect.

Straight to the pool room ? pic.twitter.com/p2Ip5nn9Uk — Matthew Dellavedova (@matthewdelly) December 22, 2016

The Western Bulldogs

Absolutely nobody gave them any chance of winning the flag this year. They limped their way into the finals series and most thought they’d get flogged in Perth and be out of the finals after the first week.

Well… Somebody forgot to send the memo to Bevo and his lads. The Bulldogs’ performance against the Eagles was their best match of the year, even better than the GWS Prelim or the Grand Final. The reason? The Doggies made a statement. To go to Perth and smash the Eagles on their own dung-heap in front of 50,000 screaming West Coast fans was a huge achievement. It sent a clear message to the Bulldogs rivals and more importantly instilled a sense of belief in the Dogs team that they could beat absolutely anyone.

The Dogs carried this new sense of confidence and belief right through to the Grand Final where they were far too quick and composed for the older and more seasoned Swans.

The season also saw the emergence of The Bont who is now the biggest superstar in the game.

The Cronulla Sharks

Not too dissimilar to the Bulldogs Premiership success, the Sharks had never won a Premiership. Even worse they had the tag as perennial chokers after having some big finals flops throughout the 90’s and 00’s.

To make matters worse they were the centre of the ASADA supplements scandal a few years back which saw them lose their much loved coach Shane Flanagan.

After a solid 2015 the Sharks were considered as contenders in 2016 but nobody seriously thought they would win it. All the experts expected either the Storm or Cowboys to come away with it.

When the Sharks had to travel to Canberra for the first week of the Finals, most of the experts and cocky Raiders fans thought the Sharks would deliver another finals ‘choke’.

But the Sharks meant business in Canberra well and truly sticking it to the home team to set up a shock win. The win over the Green Machine ultimately set up the Sharks Premiership success.

In the Grand Final the Sharks appeared far hungrier than the Storm, outplaying Cameron Smith’s men to bring the Shire it’s first ever Premiership.

The Premiership also put to bed the famous “Curse Of Harold Holt”. Former Sharks coach Jack Gibson once famously said: “Waiting for Cronulla to win a Grand Final is like leaving a porch light on for Harold Holt.”

Well Harold is back ladies and gentlemen.

Chloe Esposito

Before the Rio Olympics nobody had ever heard of Chloe Esposito. After the Rio Olympics still nobody has heard of Chloe Esposito.

And that is a bloody shame because Esposito pulled off one of the performances of the year at the Rio Olympics. The 24-year-old entered the final leg of the modern pentathlon in seventh place.

She then got down to business, using her exceptional shooting and running skills to close a whopping 45-second gap between her and first place to claim the gold.

Absolutely love my family! HOME BABY ???? #oneteam A photo posted by Chloe Esposito (@chloeesposito) on Aug 23, 2016 at 5:16pm PDT

“I have never thought this ever, but I thought: You know what? I think I am going to win,” Esposito said.

“I just had this gut feeling that I can do this….and it happened.”

Dan Kelly

Dan Kelly turned 39 this year. At the age of 39 most professional athletes are either starting their new career or enjoying early retirement. Not Dan Kelly.

The veteran of four Olympic Games continued his rise in the UFC ranks. Dan fought twice in 2016; in March in Brisbane and in November in Melbourne. On both occasions he was the rank outsider, on both occasions he kicked ass.

Kelly dedicated his UFC Melbourne win in November to his son Erik.

“I spoke to Erik this morning and it’s no secret that my eldest son has some health issues, so this is extra special today,” Daniel said.

“He’s an inspiration. He just goes about his business. We give him injections every day and he’s medicated about 20 times a day and he takes it in his stride.”

We can’t wait to see ‘old man” Dan take some more big UFC scalps in 2017.

Who is your Aussie sporting legend for 2016? Like, share, and get involved in the comments section below.

by Michael T. Lynch – contributor