Dragons great Steve Morris presented with 1979 Dally M Medal
IN a surprise presentation at the Dally M Awards, Dragons great Steve “Slippery” Morris has been recognised as the inaugural winner of rugby league’s top going.
NRL
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AFTER a 40-year wait, Dragons great Steve “Slippery” Morris has finally been recognised as the inaugural winner of the Dally M Medal.
In a surprise presentation at the awards at the Overseas Passenger Terminal, the father of NRL stars Brett and Josh Morris was officially presented with the 1979 award and added to the record books as the first recipient of the Dally M.
Until Wednesday night, the Dally M was officially documented to have started in 1980. But it’s a lesser known fact that at the culmination of the 1979 season, Sydney’s Daily Mirror newspaper conducted a player of the year competition, which they named the Dally M Medal and awarded to Morris.
“Steve has never been recognised since,” NRL CEO Todd Greenberg said. “But our records will be updated to show he won the first Dally M Medal.”
Morris, then a speedy halfback in his debut season of first grade, produced an incredible triple in 1979.
He not only won the Dally M, but led the Dragons to the premiership and was also awarded the Dave Brown Medal as man of the match in the grand final (now known as the Clive Churchill Medal).
Morris later switched to the outside backs and was a regular at Dally M events over his career, taking out Winger of the Year three times. The 61-year-old played 180 games for the Dragons, 67 games for the Roosters, six games NSW and one Test for Australia.
Morris is also revered for his chip-and-chase try in the 1985 grand final.
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