Cooper Cronk and Jason Taumalolo share Dally M after thrilling medal count
COOPER Cronk pushed closer to immortality and Cowboys sensation Jason Taumalolo grabbed a slice of history as the pair shared a thrilling tie for the Dally M Medal.
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COOPER Cronk threw his hat into the ring for NRL immortality and Cowboys sensation Jason Taumalolo grabbed a slice of history as the pair shared a thrilling tie for the Dally M Medal as the NRL’s player of the year.
Just two years after Johnathan Thurston and Jarryd Hayne shared the game’s top honour, Taumalolo and Storm halfback Cronk could not be separated in voting for the game’s best.
Cronk, who won his first Dally M in 2013, became just the eighth player to claim the game’s highest honour on multiple occasions.
Cronk joined Peter Sterling, Mick Potter, Gavin Miller, Cliff Lyons and Hayne as two-time winners of the medal.
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Only Thurston (four) and Andrew Johns (three) have won more Dally M Medals.
Taumalolo’s win was a breakthrough, with the Cowboys colossus becoming the first back-rower to claim the award since Cronulla’s Gavin Miller back in 1989.
Taumalolo, 23, was crowned the player of the year by his peers a fortnight ago and his first Dally M Medal is a just reward for an outstanding season.
Crowned lock of the year again, Taumalolo averaged 169m with the ball and busted a stunning 75 tackles in an even more destructive season than 2015 when he helped pilot the Cowboys to the club’s first title.
The New Zealand Test star did not miss a game for the Cowboys, exploding in North Queensland’s semi-final win against the Broncos with a 263m performance regarded as one of the most dominant displays by a forward ever seen.
In a pulsating count at The Star City Casino, Cronk and Taumalolo finished tied on 26 points, four points ahead of previous winners Cameron Smith (2006) and Thurston (2005, 07, 14-15).
Cronk, Smith, Taumalolo and Gold Coast’s Ryan James were tied in voting after round 16 when voting went behind closed doors.
On Sunday, 32-year-old Cronk will aim to put the icing on his accolade by leading Melbourne to a premiership in the grand final against Cronulla.
It will be Cronk’s sixth appearance in an NRL grand final and his 301st match.
Cronk started the season slowly, but went on to produce 29 try-assists in another dominant year.
Thurston collected his fourth Dally M Medal in dominant circumstances last year, winning the count by a record 11 points.
James (19 points) finished fifth in the polling along with Broncos five-eighth Anthony Milford, who started the season in sizzling form.
Canberra hooker Josh Hodgson was a point further back along with Tigers five-eighth Mitchell Moses.
Hodgson was expected to be in contention for the medal, however he received a three-point deduction for suspension and was Canberra’s only player in the top 20.
WHO WON WHAT?
TITANS sensation Ashley Taylor was confirmed as the NRL’s hottest young halfback when he was crowned the Dally M rookie of the year.
Taylor, 21, fought off fast-finishing Panthers No.7 Nathan Cleary and Storm flyer Suliasi Vunivalu to cap a stellar season.
Taylor was not even expecting to play NRL this year after being released by Broncos coach Wayne Bennett to pursue an opportunity at the Gold Coast.
It took a season-ending knee injury to Kane Elgey for Taylor to be given a chance and he did not look back.
Taylor last week re-signed until the end of 2018. He was excellent in 22 games this year, helping the Gold Coast secure their first finals appearance since 2010.
What made his performance even more impressive was the fact Taylor was battling a painful groin injury and he had surgery days after the Gold Coast’s season came to a controversial end against Brisbane.
Titans coach Neil Henry was overlooked for coach of the year honours, which went to Raiders mentor Ricky Stuart.
Henry guided the Titans from wooden spoon favouritism into the play-offs but Stuart’s efforts in taking Canberra to a preliminary final saw him claim the honour.
The Broncos enjoyed some success with Matt Gillett crowned second-rower of the year.
Gillett carried a shoulder injury through the second half of the season but pushed through it and will be available for the Four Nations tour of the UK.
Melbourne’s Cameron Smith collected the representative player of the year and hooker of the year awards while teammate Jesse Bromwich beat Gold Coast’s Ryan James to prop of the year honours.
James could be considered unlucky after breaking a 41-year prop’s tryscoring record with his 12 four-pointers. James also polled 19 Dally M Medal votes compared to Bromwich’s 15.
Brisbane’s Darius Boyd polled 15 votes in the Dally M Medal but missed out on fullback of the year to West Tigers and NSW Origin rival James Tedesco.
Bega’s Kezie Apps rewrote the sporting rules by claiming the Dally M Medal for women’s rugby league, Amanda Lulham reports.
Apps played alongside boys as a youngster and did not even know the Jillaroos existed until four years ago.
She travels five hours to training from her home near the Victorian border and says she was born to play rugby league despite having to switch over to hockey when she became too old to play in boys’ teams at 12.
“I didn’t get back into it until I was 22 and that was only because I heard the Jillaroos had won the 2013 World Cup,’’ she said. “I didn’t even know there was such a competition for women.”
Originally published as Cooper Cronk and Jason Taumalolo share Dally M after thrilling medal count
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