Dean Ritchie: The day former Panthers star Craig Gower should have won the Dally M Medal
‘After watching 80 minutes of exhilarating football, I was left in no doubt Craig Gower was best player on the field.’ The push to reward the former Panthers star with a restrospective Dally M is growing.
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Craig Gower, you are finally ready to join the Dally M Medal greats.
Gower, now 42, has endured a 17-year injustice since being cruelly robbed of winning rugby league’s highest individual honour.
NRL players boycotted the Dally M Awards in 2003 over improved wages and conditions when Gower was one point ahead of Sydney Roosters star Brad Fittler and Canberra fullback Clinton Schifcofske entering the final round.
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In Penrith’s round-26 game, the Gower-led Panthers overpowered Parramatta 40-22 at Penrith Football Stadium.
I covered that game on September 7 for The Daily Telegraph and I remember it well.
Penrith claimed the minor premiership on a sunny Sunday afternoon before a ground record crowd of 22,304 when Gower inspired, galvanised and energised his side.
With no Dally M points lodged or recorded in that final round due to the boycott, I was commissioned this week by The Daily Telegraph to watch and judge the game, which I did courtesy of a match replay from Fox Sports boss Steve Crawley.
After watching 80 minutes of exhilarating football, I was left in no doubt Gower was the best player on the field. He passing game was sublime.
I awarded him the maximum three points, meaning Craig Gower should have been the 2003 Dally M Medal winner.
Host broadcaster Channel 9 thought the same thing at the time and also named Gower man of the match.
The Daily Telegraph has run a campaign this week — led by editor-at-large Phil Rothfield — to have Gower awarded the honour he was unfortunately denied.
But I wasn’t going to lose credibility or be railroaded into awarding Gower points just so he could secure the award. He had to earn them — and he did.
In my opinion, Gower earned three points that game, Panthers fullback Rhys Wesser received two and Penrith forward Scott Sattler one. They edged out Penrith prop Joel Clinton and Eels front-rower Daniel Heckenberg.
Whether Gower can claim the award retrospectively is a decision for the NRL.
While Wesser scored three tries, Gower scored a try, made eight runs for 74 metres, completed three tackle busts and kick nine times for 277 metres.
Gower was everywhere that day and legendary Nine commentator Ray Warren described some of his kicking as “magnificent”.
“What a player he is, what a season he has had,” Warren said during his call of the game.
His fellow commentator Peter Sterling said Gower had been in “fantastic form”, while Phil Gould told viewers that Gower was a “real competitor”.
Gower, who was incisive around the ruck, led Penrith despite copping a heavy late shot after a kick which resulted in Eels forward Adam Peek being sent off.
The three-point performance meant Gower could not have been leapfrogged by Fittler or Schifcofske, whose teams played each other in round 26, the Roosters winning 23-16.
Gower was the NRL’s dominant player during a season in which he inspired Penrith to the premiership title.
Despite being aware it was his Dally M to lose, Gower still agreed with his fellow players to boycott the event and was left stranded one point from the game’s most prestigious accolade.
I have no doubt Gower was man of the match that day against Parramatta. It was a thoroughly dominant performance.
It’s time to right that 17-year wrong.
‘Please don’t wait as long as I had to’
- Fatima Kdouh
He was the first Dally M winner but had to wait almost 40 years before he was celebrated among his peers and now Steve ‘Slippery’ Morris is urging Peter V’landys to ensure Craig Gower doesn’t suffer a similar fate.
Penrith halfback Gower was leading the Dally M count ahead of Sydney Roosters superstar Brad Fittler and Canberra Raiders fullback Clinton by one point before players decided to boycott the 2003 ceremony during a dispute with the NRL over pay and conditions.
It meant Gower was never recognised for his stellar on-field performances that year.
But the St George legend, and father of Brett and Josh Morris, has called on ARL Commission chairman V’landys to install Gower as the rightful winner of the 2003 Dally M medal.
“I don’t know why it has taken this long. They need someone strong like V’landys to get in there and do it,” Morris said.
“I remember at the time I thought he was really hard done by because he was sticking up for what thought was right. It was something that he had to do.
“But you look back on the winners and there is that one year with no winner… I remember that year vividly, he was a standout. He was the best player that year. He would have won it.”
In 1979, the Daily Mirror newspaper awarded the first ever Dally M medal to Morris, 63, who went on to claim the Clive Churchill medal as the best player in the grand final between the Dragons and Canterbury that same year.
But his Dally M win never made the record books with the award only officially documented from 1980 onward.
“I was telling people about it for years and years… I would tell Josh, Brett and all their friends ‘hey I won the Dally M medal in 1979’ and they never believed it.. They’d just say ‘yeah, sure you did!’,” Morris said.
After almost 40 years, Morris, who played 246 games for the Dragons and Eastern suburbs, was finally recognised as the first winner during the 2018 ceremony and was awarded a commemorative medal.
“When I used to show Josh and Brett when they were younger and they would say why don’t you do something about it,” Morris said.
“It’s part of the history of rugby league now.
“So to be honoured like that in 2018 was a special moment. It’s a prestigious award. It’s part of our family legacy, and now with what Brett and Josh have achieved in their careers it adds to the history we have in the family.”
The 40-year long wait has also given the former winger a leg-up in the Morris household with the Dally M medal now the only accolade his twin sons are unlikely to surpass him on.
Steve scored 122 tries during his career which both Brett (165 tries) and Josh (146 tries) have now eclipsed.
While, the competitive trio have also amassed three premierships only centre Josh is yet to add a title to his name.
“With my boys being competitive and always trying to beat me with everything... so this is only thing they can’t beat me with now,” Morris said.
“They’ve beaten me in everything and outdone me in everything except that haven’t won a Dally M.
“Josh won positional awards at centre… but I won two winger of the year awards.
“They’ve always wanted to out do me but that’s one area they won’t out do me, they won’t win the Dally M medal.”