Robert ‘Rocky’ Laurie, the first Dally M Medal winner, dies aged 66
Former Souths and Roosters playmaker Robert “Rocky” Laurie, who won the first Dally M Medal, has died.
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Rugby league is mourning the death of the game’s first Dally M medal winner Robert “Rocky” Laurie.
Laurie played 122 top grade games split between stints at South Sydney and the Roosters.
He rose to fame by claiming the player of the year award in his final season for the Rabbitohs in 1980. Steve Morris was retrospectively handed the 1979 Dally M Medal.
A year later, when Laurie returned to the Roosters, he played his only game for NSW.
Laurie was a naturally gifted five-eighth who also played for City and Country. He was 66.
Sad day for rugby league with the death of former Easts, Souths and NSW five-eighth Robert ‘Rocky’ Laurie this morning in Wauchope after a long battle with mental illness. He was the first Dally M Medal winner back in 1980.
— Barry Toohey (@BarryToohey) June 4, 2022
RIP former Souths and Roosters star Robert ‘Rocky’ Laurie - the first Dally M Medal winner in 1980. pic.twitter.com/umH2lOVkk5
— The Mole (@9_Moley) June 4, 2022
Originally published as Robert ‘Rocky’ Laurie, the first Dally M Medal winner, dies aged 66
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