Dally M 2020: History on the line for Cameron Munster in five-eighth of the year race
There’s more than just another accolade on the line in the race for Dally M five-eighth of the year - Melbourne star Cameron Munster has a chance to make history.
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Cameron Munster has won Dally M five-eighth of the year each of the last two years, and he’ll join a very exclusive club if he can make a three-peat in 2020.
The Melbourne superstar could join Terry Lmab as the only player to claim the award three years in a row.
But even if Munster does replicate his stellar form from years past, it won’t be easy - it’s a stacked field, with a host of Origin and Test stars nipping at the 25-year olds heels.
Could Jack Wighton take things to a new level after his incredible first season in the halves? Or will Shaun Johnson wind back the clock and find the magic one more time?
Even if Munster does win it all, it’ll take some doing for him to catch Lamb - the Magpies and Bulldogs legend took top honours seven times from 1983 to 1993.
Check out the top contenders to be named the NRL’s best centre and vote in our poll.
LUKE KEARY
Three NRL premiership rings, a Clive Churchill Medal and two Australian Test appearances – there’s no doubting the pint-sized Ipswich product’s talent.
Now 28-years-old and with 134 NRL games under his belt, Keary is one of the leaders at the powerhouse Sydney Roosters club and one of the toughest players in the league.
2019 stats: 22 games, 2 tries, 29 run metres per game, 17 tackle busts, 8 linebreaks, 28 try assists.
JACK WIGHTON
He started out as a winger, then shifted to centre, then fullback and but now Wighton has claimed the No.6 jersey at the Raiders in a testament to his skill and versatility.
It’s backed up by the fact he is the current Kangaroos centre, was a bench utility in Game 1 of last year’s Origin clash and steered his Canberra side to a grand final berth as their star five-eighth.
2019 stats: 26 games, 9 tries, 91 run metres per game, 72 tackle busts, 10 linebreaks, 10 try assists.
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CAMERON MUNSTER
Big, powerful and fast. Munster boasts all the dangerous qualities of a star playmaker and has learnt from the best down in Melbourne.
The Queensland State of Origin mainstay has developed into one of the game’s premier playmakers and looks set for another big season.
2019 stats: 24 games, 8 tries, 70 run metres per game, 61 tackle busts, 11 linebreaks, 20 try assists.
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CODY WALKER
He’s the dynamic Rabbitoh that’s one of the most dangerous ballrunners in the game – just rewind back to Round 5 2019 at Sunshine Coast Stadium when he ran rampant against the Warriors to notch up a four-try haul, including the matchwinner in the dying moments of the game.
His Blues Origin debut in Game 1 last year was testament to his incredible form at South Sydney.
2019 stats: 25 games, 16 tries, 47 run metres per game, 76 tackle busts, 17 linebreaks, 21 try assists.
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SHAUN JOHNSON
The flash-footed Kiwi international can leave any defender clutching at open air with his incredible sidestep and turn of pace. You only have to look at his highlights reel to see that he’s the best in the business for getting through a seemingly impenetrable defensive line.
A pinpoint bullet pass is also in Johnson’s repertoire of rugby league skills which inevitably leaves any opposition side on edge every time he gets his hands on the ball.
2019 stats: 18 games, 3 tries, 38 run metres per game, 33 tackle busts, 6 linebreaks, 18 try assists.
Originally published as Dally M 2020: History on the line for Cameron Munster in five-eighth of the year race