Captivated by the stunning groundswell of support for the new Australian club, Santalab couldn't help but be drawn to say to his mates "I'd love to play for these guys one day".

Some 15 months later and Santalab, playing through the pain of the shoulder injury which has kept him sidelined since, raised the Asian Champions League in triumph.

Capping off a stellar year, the Unanderra Hearts junior emerged at the top of the polling for the Illawarra Mercury's Sportsperson of the Year People's Choice award.

With almost 1000 votes lodged on the Mercury website, Santalab emerged on top of the voting, narrowly ahead of Albion Park hockey stars Kieran Govers and Casey Eastham.

"I'm a proud Wollongong boy and always will be, you never forget where you grow up," Santalab told the Mercury.

"It really does mean a lot to win something like this, I've got a lot to be thankful for, firstly through the Unanderra Hearts, my first ever football club.

"You take small steps along the way towards being a professional player, it's a little bit surreal to be part of the squad winning an Asian Champions League.

"I remember coming home in the off-season from China and being in the crowd, telling my mates 'I'd love to play for these guys one day'.

"And it came about, it's been great to be part of their success."

Santalab came on board as a Mercury columnist during the A-League season with Strike Force, but the online voting was tallied independently, with the Wanderers attacker narrowly winning the award.

The 32-year-old said it was worth playing through the pain of the shoulder injury to win the ACL championship.

"It was the biggest game of my career," he said. "We've had a tough month or so since, but the break during the Asian Cup will be good for the team and hopefully we will push towards the finals."

It's been a remarkable year for sport in the Illawarra, with Emma McKeon winning six medals, four of them gold, at the Commonwealth Games.

Eastham and Govers both claimed gold in Glasgow, with the Kookaburras taking gold at the World Cup and the Hockeyroos snaring silver at the same tournament and again at the recent Champions Trophy.

Caitlin Foord returned from a season playing in the US to be part of the Perth Glory's W-League championship-winning team.

Brett and Josh Morris played key roles in breaking the NSW State of Origin series drought, while boxer Mark Lucas completed lifelong dreams of stepping into the ring at the Commonwealth Games, before turning professional.

Josh Minogue claimed the demanding Coolangatta Gold event, while Sally Fitzgibbons and Tyler Wright had the chance to win the world surfing title in the season-ending event in Hawaii.

Completing the Mercury shortlist, US import Rotnei Clarke won the NBL MVP last season.

"It's just such a good breeding ground," Santalab said.

"To be honest, I was just really happy to be nominated among the group, there's so many good athletes there across a lot of sports. It's the icing on the cake for me, so I'm very proud just be mentioned and thankful for everyone who voted for me.

"Hopefully 2015 can be another great year for me and everyone else on the list, I wish them all the best."