Four players in contention for Dally M Women’s player of the year 2018
After a whirlwind three weeks of NRLW competition, four players are nominated for the first Dally M Women’s Player of the Year to be voted on premiership games. These are the contenders.
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THE women’s Dally M Medal has been awarded for the past three years, but for the first time it has been decided from premiership matches, same as the men’s.
With the introduction of the NRLW this season, the 2018 Dally M Women’s Player of the Year will come from the three round games played over the past three weeks.
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Four players are nominated for the award, one representing each NRLW club.
Brisbane have dominated the regular season, going through undefeated, but with each of the Warriors, Sydney Roosters and St George Illawarra having a win each, it’s worked out an even distribution for the nominees.
These are the four battling it out.
BRITTANY BREAYLEY — Brisbane Broncos
Brittany Breayley is hoping it could be third time lucky for her at the Dally M awards.
The star Broncos hooker has been nominated for the women's medal twice before in 2016 and 2017.
She has earned the nod again off the back of her outstanding form this NRLW season.
While she was always one of the most consistent players in the women's game, Breayley said it is the Broncos and the influence of attacking coach Scott Prince that has helped her game develop even more in 2018.
"During my time at the Broncos, I’ve really had the chance to improve my game and that’s happened all thanks to the coaching staff, I believe," she said.
"Princey’s done amazing work with the team and how he simplifies the game has made my job a lot easier. Hooker is a hard position to play so when it’s simplified, it’s helped develop my game. Before I was overcomplicating things. I have really improved my game since I’ve been here."
Given the Broncos were the only team to win all three games of their short season to qualify for Sunday's inaugural NRLW grand final, Breayley is the favourite to take out the Dally M medal on Wednesday night.
She has been one of the standouts for Brisbane each week, but she said she's not expecting anything at the prestigious awards night.
"As most of the girls do, I play rugby league for the love of the sport but to get recognition for such a high award like that, it’s such an amazing feeling," she said.
"You don’t feel worthy of it most times."
KRYSTAL ROTA — Warriors
Krystal Rota has been in a panic ever since Monday night.
Warriors NRLW coach Luisa Avaiki texted Rota that evening to let her know she had been nominated for the women’s Dally M medal.
For the New Zealand-based No.9, the rush began to make sure her kids were going to be alright if she went to Sydney, particularly her four-year-old daughter Nikayla who suffers from a rare kidney disease.
“The biggest thing is my daughter because she’s on a lot of medications and gadget pieces and what not,” Rota said.
“I had to go to the hospital to get more prescriptions for her and make sure all her medical appointments are all organised.
“If it was just me, I would be quickly packing bag and jumping on a plane.”
But the dedicated mother-of-two has managed to pull off everything she needed to do in order to celebrate her first ever Dally M nomination.
Her stepmum will look after her children, including son La-Ricco, while her dad will travel to Sydney with her as her plus one.
She will then be able to stay in Sydney to also attend the grand final on Sunday, which was planned before her nomination.
Rota said she thought her coach was “having her on” when she delivered the good news, as the 32-year-old is her own harshest critic.
She said she wasn’t happy with her NRLW season but sees now it was better than she gave herself credit for.
“I was so surprised because I was having a sulk to my Dad and family that I wasn’t happy with my performances over the campaign,” she said.
“When I was talking to my family, they were saying I have high expectations but I guess that’s normal.
“My Dad pointed out to me it would be my first loss (against the Dragons) because I went through undefeated for my club (Manurewa Marlins).
“I’m not a sore loser but I am very competitive.
“(The nomination) is very humbling and obviously an honour. It brought me back to reality to not criticise myself so much.
“This definitely means a lot to be recognised from the outside.”
JESSICA SERGIS — St George Illawarra Dragons
A talented outside back who first came to the fore in 2017 with a hat-trick of tries on debut for NSW, Sergis had limited football after that because of successive foot injuries.
Determined to be part of the first women’s premiership, she spent more time at the physio than in the gym in the lead-up but had herself ready to go come kick-off.
Ready she was. Sergis was a standout for the Dragons on the wing, copping a brutal head knock in Round 1 against the Broncos, then recovering to cross for a try in her team’s win over the Warriors in Round 2.
The young player let none of go to her head, having to call back to confirm she’d truly been nominated for the award.
“I got the call and I was at work so it kind of caught me off guard a little bit. I wasn’t really expecting it,” Sergis said. “When I was told I was happy and everything but I was still kind of shocked. I hung up and sat there for about 20 minutes to process what had happened. And I called him back straight away and was like ‘wow’. I was over the moon.”
It has made the hard work in her recovery worth it.
“I didn’t know what to expect this year because last year, my first year, was such a success and I felt I had a bit of pressure,” she said.
“I felt like I had to keep that level of football but I got injured and it really upset me for quite some time because I was out pretty much the whole year.
“My first game back was the women’s premiership. When I got there I said, ‘I don’t have any pressure on me’.
“This is the cherry on top. All that hard work trying to get back to the sport has paid off.”
TALEENA SIMON — Sydney Roosters
A blitzing winger who those in the know have been waiting to see unleash, which she finally did when it mattered most.
Simon, a former rugby sevens player, put herself on the rugby league map with a four-try haul in the Roosters’ must-win Round 3 clash that catapulted them into the NRLW decider.
A player who Roosters captain Simaima Taufa called a ‘freak of nature athlete’, Simon has speed and footwork that matches it with the best but showed last week she’s a classy finisher too.
Anyone who has come across Simon is in awe of her talent, from former Australian women’s sevens coach Tim Walsh to NSW coach Ben Cross.
“If she isn’t playing for Australia in the next two years, I’m a pretty poor judge – that’s how good a player she is,” Cross said earlier in the year.
“She’s an absolute handful. The legs just never stop pumping. Defenders need to get a hold of her then all of sudden she’s broken tackles.
“Defensively she’s really aggressive. She’s not just there to make a tackle, she’s there to inflict a little bit of discomfort on the opposition, which is what I really like as well.”