Jack Bird, Jackson Hastings: Who are the contenders for Dally M Rookie of the Year?

JACK Bird, Kane Elgey and Tuimoala Lolohea have all enjoyed excellent first seasons in the NRL. But who should take out rookie of the year?

Dally M Countdown: Rookie of the Year

ONE of the most heavily debated awards at the Dally M night is always rookie of the year.

With a host of young talent coming through the ranks, there’s a series of young guns with the chance to join past winners Daly Cherry-Evans, Adam Reynolds and Jarryd Hayne with the title of the best debutant for the 2015 season.

We’ve come up with seven candidates who could take out the award at the Dally M Awards night next Monday.

JACK BIRD

The Sharks desperately needed a little bit of spark in attack after the Ben Barba experiment crashed and burned and they found just what they were looking for in Jack Bird.

An off-season recruit from the Dragons, Bird was pitched into the halves ahead of the Round 5 match against the Roosters after coming off the bench in his debut the week before. Bird was an immediate hit, scoring two tries and winning man-of-the-match honours in an incredible 20-12 upset victory.

The incoming recruitment of James Maloney means that Bird will shift back to his favoured position of centre next season but his quick footwork, clever ball skills and outstanding rugby league instincts make him the sort of player who will contribute no matter where he lines up.

Cameron Munster has taken giant steps in recent weeks.

CAMERON MUNSTER

Doom and gloom were prophesied when Billy Slater was shut down after Origin II but the rise of Cameron Munster put paid to those fears.

A prodigious metre-eater from the back with excellent speed, a wild right-foot step and a rapidly growing combination with Cooper Cronk, Munster has improved with every outing and has stamped himself as the long-term replacement for the ageing Slater.

After building gradually since his elevation to the fulltime fullback job in the Round 16 defeat to Canterbury, Munster truly broke out with a scintillating treble in the Storm’s 52-10 gutting of the Titans in Round 19.

He has since gone from strength to strength with every passing week. Munster’s expected to shift to left centre or right wing to accommodate for the return of Slater in 2016.

NICE AND EASY: Simplicity the key for Hastings success

RUN ROGER RUN: RTS set to smash record

REAGAN CAMPBELL-GILLARD

Winning rookie of the year from the forwards is a very tall order. Since the award was introduced in 1980 just nine forwards have taken home the award — and George Burgess in 2013 and Michael Vella in 1999 are the only front-rowers to take out the honour.

With Jake Trbojevic and Sio Suaia Taukeiaho ineligible due to making their debuts in 2013, the best of the rookie big men is Panthers giant Reagan Campbell-Gillard.

Campbell-Gillard might not have the highlight reel plays of Munster or the swagger of Bird, but he’s played all 24 matches for the Panthers this season and was their leading front-rower by the end of the year.

Rangy and powerful, Campbell-Gillard has not looked out of place in the trenches and has exceeded every expectation.

SOLOMONE KATA

One of just two rookies on this list to play every game this season, Kata backed up a man-of-the-match display in the 2014 Holden Cup grand final and a superb showing at the Auckland Nines with a very solid rookie season.

Kata really got off to a scintillating start, scoring 11 tries in his first 13 matches and showing his excellent power, footwork and speed out in the centres.

However, like many rookies before him, Kata began to slow down as the rigours of a long season wore down the Tongan-born flyer.

The tries dried up, his defence began to dissolve and an ill-fated switch from the left side of the field to the right by coach Andrew McFadden failed to spark a revival.

He did manage to break his 10-match try-scoring drought in the final match of the season against Canterbury and was the Warriors’ leading try-scorer with 12.

Solomone Kata had a fast start to the season.

KANE ELGEY

Somewhat lost in the haze of the Daly Cherry-Evans backflip was the Titans unearthing a home-grown star in Kane Elgey.

Fresh off a stellar season in the under-20s which saw him named player of the year, Elgey’s composure and skills made him an instant hit for the Titans.

The silver lining of losing Cherry-Evans might be that the club can now build around Elgey.

A measure of Elgey’s importance to the Titans is the fact that the Gold Coast were 8-8 with him in the team and 1-6 without him.

The likes of Luke Brooks might get all the hype, but Elgey is as talented as any of the young playmaking brigade.

DOWN DOWN: Behind the scenes of Sharks big loss

BUNKER DOWN: NRL investigating new video ref tech

TUIMOALA LOLOHEA

After playing three matches towards the end of 2014, Lolohea really came into his own this season as a backline utility for the battling Warriors.

He spent the early part of the season in the centres before switching to fullback when Sam Tomkins was injured and impressed with his speed and excellent footwork.

Lolohea then switched back to the wing when Tomkins returned before jumping into the halves after Shaun Johnson’s season ended prematurely following an ankle injury.

By the end of the year, Lolohea was second only to fellow rookie Solomone Kata on the Warriors’ try-scoring list after bagging his 11th four-pointer of the year in the season finale against the Bulldogs.

The 20-year old will push to partner Johnson in the halves next season and is in line to make his Test debut on New Zealand’s end-of-season tour to England.

Tuimoala Lolohea played all over for the backline for the Warriors this season.

JACKSON HASTINGS

Jackson Hastings made his first-grade debut in 2014 and played two matches — one of which was the epic 19-18 loss to the Panthers in the first week of the finals — but was a bit-part player until the latter part of this season.

Trent Robinson had carried Hastings in his squad for much of the season, often only giving him a handful of minutes off the bench each week, but following an injury to Mitchell Pearce in the final weeks of the season the youngster was thrust into the halves.

Despite the small sample size, Hastings has looked right at home alongside James Maloney and helped steer the Roosters to wins over the Bulldogs, Knights, Broncos, Sea Eagles and Rabbitohs and managed to help create one of the tries of the season in the finals loss to the Storm.

With big wraps attached to Hastings from an early age, he’s beginning to show why he’ll replace Maloney in the halves on a fulltime basis next season.