The ultimate Dally M guide: Expert tips, contenders, leaderboard and rookie of the year
IT’S rugby league’s night of nights. The glitz, the glamour, the intrigue, the Dally M Awards have it all. Here’s all you need to know about the NRL’s top individual honour.
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HAS Cam Smith produced the most dominant single season in the NRL era?
Smith is a near certainty to claim his second Dally M medal at the annual awards at the Star on Wednesday night after the Rugby League Players Association (RLPA) confirmed their support for the night.
LIVE BLOG: Follow the Dally M countdown and check out all the winners
TEAM OF THE YEAR: Who makes the final cut?
COACH OF THE YEAR: Why Green won’t win top gong?
No one is expected to come close to the Storm skipper, who was five points clear on 20 points when voting went behind closed doors at the end of round 14.
From there the most capped player in NRL history did not play in a losing side and is a $1.06 chance with the TAB.
Smith played a key role in the Storm’s march towards the minor premiership including a 22-point haul in Melbourne’s round 25 clash against South Sydney.
Sixteen of our 17 experts have picked Smith to win the medal.
Smith’s nearest rivals when public polling stopped were Mitchell Pearce and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck (15 each). Smith was on 20. Pearce and Tuivasa-Sheck had quiet back ends of the year as did Paul Vaughan (14). St George Illawarra skipper Gareth Widdop (13) and Cronulla’s Paul Gallen (14) are expected to finish towards the top.
So will Manly captain Daly Cherry-Evans, who is likely to pick up a swag of man of the match performances after a strong second half of the season.
But Cherry-Evans will leave his charge too late after a slow start saw him poll just eight votes in the opening 14 games.
Smith will become the ninth person to win two or more Dally M medals.
Meanwhile, players backed down boycotting the awards as the impasse between the NRL and the RLPA is nearing a close after months of negotiations.
The NRL had made contingency plans to still stage the event even if the players went through with boycotting the Dally Ms and next week’s grand final fan day.
But RLPA boss Ian Prendergast said both will go ahead with talks between the parties progressing. Prendergast also reaffirmed the players commitment to the end of season World Cup despite the tournament being in no real danger of being skipped.
“The commitment from the NRL to finalising the CBA over the past few weeks means that players are comfortable in supporting the event,” Prendergast said.
“The RLPA firmly believes that the parties are close to delivering a deal that will help take Rugby League forward, so it’s important that we continue on this path in good faith.”
TEAM OF THE YEAR
For the first time, the overall leaderboard will play a role in the selection of the Dally M team of the year.
The players who finish in the top 10 in overall voting will automatically win spots in the team of the year.
If two players finish on equal votes there can be co-winners of the positional awards.
For all the expert tips for the team of the year, check out our predictions.
HOW CAN I WATCH?
The awards show will be televised from 8:30pm on Wednesday night on Fox League.
THE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR CONTENDERS
Nick Cotric
The Raiders winger is the favourite to take home the award after a superb rookie year where he played every minute of every game for Canberra, scoring 16 tries.
Still only 18, Cotric looked comfortable from his debut in round one. He was sixth in the league for line breaks with 21, second in the league for tackle busts with 121 and averaged 101 run metres per game.
Despite being targeted by opponents throughout the season, Cotric was safe as a bank with ball in hand — he only made seven errors all season.
Cotric is the best prospect to come through the Raiders system since Anthony Milford and would be the club’s second rookie of the year after Mark McLinden won the award in 1998.
Sixteen of our 18 experts have picked Cotric to win the prize.
Dylan Edwards
A star of underage football, Edwards played one NRL match in 2016 but secured his place in Penrith’s side midway through the season and never looked back.
An industrious fullback, Edwards gave the Panthers far more punch on their kick returns and played a big role in the club’s finals charge after their forgettable start to the season.
The 21-year old only crossed for two tries but always made an impact, averaging 168 metres gained per match, breaking the line 12 times and recording 79 tackle busts.
If Edwards had been the Panthers fullback from the season opener he’d be the red-hot favourite to win, but his delayed inclusion may cost him.
Corey Harawira-Naera
A mobile, towering backrower, Harawira-Naera was not expected to play a huge role in Penrith’s NRL campaign this year but was picked to debut in round four against Newcastle and never looked back, playing 22 matches, scoring seven tries and becoming a fixture on the right edge.
Harawira-Naera averaged 85 metres per game, made 13 line breaks and broke 47 tackles, forcing Bryce Cartwright to return from injury via the bench.
Jayden Brailey
Brailey replaced Michael Ennis at hooker and did a stellar job, never looking out of place in his 20 matches.
A broken jaw kept him on the sideline for several weeks in the middle part of the season and likely cost him a chance at winning this award.
However, the 2016 Under 20s player of the year is a real player of the future and his emergence was a highlight of Cronulla’s unsuccessful title defence.
Brock Lamb
Lamb played three matches in 2016 but was a fixture in the Knights halves this season.
He scored five tries had 15 try assists and nine line break assists in 21 matches, growing in stature as the season went on and playing a major role in Newcastle’s late season revival.
Lamb shapes as a player the Knights can build their future around and he’s anticipated to partner Connor Watson in the halves for the Novocastrians next year.
COACH OF THE YEAR CONTENDERS
Craig Bellamy
Bellamy has steered Melbourne to their most dominant regular season since 2007 and crafted the club into one of the best sides in NRL history.
The Melbourne coach has won the award three times before, in 2006, 2007 and 2011.
Trent Robinson
After a season from hell in 2016, Robinson remodelled his team and took them to second on the ladder at the end of the regular season.
Robinson previously won the award in 2013 when he steered the Roosters to a premiership in his first season as an NRL coach.
Brad Arthur
The Eels finals drought came to an end this season as they made the playoffs for the first time since 2009 and the coaching of Arthur played a large role in the revival.
After a horror season in 2016, Parramatta surged into the top four in 2017 and despite their meek exit from the finals their regular season form was always impressive. Arthur can be considered the favourite to take this one.
Paul Green
Part of what has made the Cowboys season so impressive is the way they managed to adapt despite losing key players to injury.
Losing Matt Scott and Johnathan Thurston and a host of other players would have been enough to cripple most clubs, but the Cowboys have just kept on keeping on.
The award is judged on the regular season only, but 2017 forced Green to make some creative roster decisions and the veteran mentor made all the right moves.
FEMALE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Ruan Sims is our experts pick to join Kezie Apps and Jenni-Sue Hoepper as winners of the Female Player of the year award with 10 selecting the Jillaroos skipper to take out the prize.
PREDICTIONS
DAVID RICCIO, THE DAILY TELEGRAPH
Dally M Player of the Year: Cameron Smith
Coach of the Year: Paul Green
Rookie of the Year: Nick Cotric
Female Player: Ruan Sims
MICHAEL CARAYANNIS, THE DAILY TELEGRAPH
Dally M Player of the Year: Cameron Smith
Coach of the Year: Craig Bellamy
Rookie of the Year: Nick Cotric
Female Player: Ruan Sims
NICK CAMPTON, THE DAILY TELEGRAPH
Dally M Player of the Year: Cameron Smith
Rookie of the Year: Nick Cotric
Coach of the Year: Trent Robinson
Female Player: Ruan Sims
FATIMA KDOUH, THE DAILY TELEGRAPH
Dally M Player of the Year: Cameron Smith
Rookie of the Year: Nick Cotric
Coach of the Year: Brad Arthur
Female Player: Maddie Studdon
NICK WALSHAW, THE DAILY TELEGRAPH
Dally M Player of the Year: Cameron Smith
Rookie of the Year: Nick Cotric
Coach of the Year: Paul Green
Female Player: Ruan Sims
PHIL ROTHFIELD, THE DAILY TELEGRAPH
Dally M Player of the Year: Cameron Smith
Coach of the Year: Paul Green
Rookie of the Year: Jayden Brailey
Female Player: Ruan Sims
DEAN RITCHIE, THE DAILY TELEGRAPH
Dally M Player of the Year: Cameron Smith
Coach of the Year: Paul Green
Rookie of the Year: Nick Cotric
Female Player: Ruan Sims
TOM SANGSTER, THE DAILY TELEGRAPH
Dally M Player of the Yea r: Cameron Smith
Coach of the Year: Craig Bellamy
Rookie of the Year: Nick Cotric
Female Player: Ruan Sims
MATT LOGUE, THE DAILY TELEGRAPH
Dally M Player of the Year: Cameron Smith
Coach of the Year: Brad Arthur
Rookie of the Year: Nick Cotric
Female Player: Kezie Apps
PAUL CRAWLEY, THE DAILY TELEGRAPH
Dally M Player of the Year: Cameron Smith
Coach of the Year: Brad Arthur
Rookie of the Year: Nick Cotric
Female Player: Ruan Sims
RIKKI-LEE ARNOLD, THE COURIER-MAIL
Dally M Player of the Year: Cameron Smith
Coach of the Year: Paul Green
Rookie of the Year: Nick Cotric
Female Player: Simaima Taufa
LUKE TURGEON, THE COURIER-MAIL
Dally M Player of the Year: Cameron Smith
Coach of the Year: Brad Arthur
Rookie of the Year: Nick Cotric
Female Player: Ruan Sims
TRAVIS MEYN, THE COURIER-MAIL
Dally M Player of the Year: Cameron Smith
Coach of the Year: Craig Bellamy
Rookie of the Year: Nick Cotric
Female Player: Ruan Sims
ROBERT CRADDOCK, THE COURIER-MAIL
Dally M Player of the Year: Cameron Smith
Coach of the Year: Craig Bellamy
Rookie of the Year: Brock Lamb
Female Player: Renae Kunst
PAUL MALONE, THE COURIER-MAIL
Dally M Player of the Year: Cameron Smith
Coach of the Year: Craig Bellamy
Rookie of the Year: Nick Cotric
Female Player: Sam Bremner
PETER BADEL, THE COURIER-MAIL
Dally M Player of the Year: Cameron Smith
Coach of the Year: Craig Bellamy
Rookie of the Year: Nick Cotric
Female Player: Steph Hancock
MARIA TSIALIS, BIG LEAGUE
Dally M Player of the Year: Cameron Smith
Coach of the Year: Brad Arthur
Rookie of the Year: Nick Cotric
Female Player: Maddie Studdon
PAM WHALEY, BIG LEAGUE
Dally M Player of the Year: Paul Gallen
Coach of the Year: Brad Arthur
Rookie of the Year: Nick Cotric
Female Player: Kezie Apps
TOTALS
Dally M Player of the Year: Cameron Smith (17), Paul Gallen (1)
Coach of the Year: Craig Bellamy (6), Brad Arthur (6), Paul Green (5), Trent Robinson (1)
Rookie of the Year: Nick Cotric (17), Jayden Brailey (1)
Female Player: Ruan Sims (10), Kezie Apps (2), Maddie Studdon (2), Sam Bremner (1), Renae Kunst (1)
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