NRL rookie of the year award: Who should punters throw their support behind this year?

NORMALLY one of the easiest and obvious gongs decided on the night of the Dally Ms, the rookie is proving a lottery this season, writes Christian Nicolussi.

WILL the next NRL rookie of the year please stand up?

Normally one of the easiest and obvious gongs decided on the night of the Dally Ms, the rookie is proving a lottery this season.

Just seven weeks of the season remain, yet nobody from Generation Next has truly stamped their authority in 2015.

Daly Cherry-Evans, Adam Reynolds, George Burgess and Luke Brooks were declared winners a long way out from home in the respective seasons they triumphed.

But who would punters throw their support behind this year?

Moses Mbye and Curtis Rona have had brilliant individual seasons for Canterbury, but won’t qualify for the award because they had played at least one game coming into this season.

Could the award be headed across the ditch with Warriors pair Solomone Kata and Tuimoala Lolohea both warm favourites?

A player like Cronulla’s Jack Bird, or Super Jack, is entitled to consider himself one of the real hopes.

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If he can have a big game at Belmore on Sunday, Bird will do his chances no harm.

“This feels like a dream, and it wasn’t that long ago I was playing in the twenties,’’ Bird told The Daily Telegraph.

“You can’t describe how good it feels, to play with the likes of (Paul) Gallen and (Mick) Ennis, blokes who just played for their state. It’s a real honour.

“You have to find your feet when you’re a newcomer. I came here as a centre, and trained at centre all pre-season, so it was a bit of an ask to play five-eighth. But it’s good fun.

“If I was to get chosen as rookie of the year, it would be an honour, but I just have to play my own footy for the Sharks.’’

St George Illawarra’s Euan Aitken and Fijian flyer Eto Nabuli, Manly’s Trbojevic brothers, and South Sydney’s Aaron Gray and Chris Grevsmuhl are other legitimate contenders.

Sydney Roosters’ duo Jackson Hastings and Sio Siua Taukeiaho are also eligible, and won’t have their chances harmed by featuring in an all-star line-up that is favourite to win the competition.

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Kane Elgey has enjoyed a solid year for the Gold Coast, was shown interest by Manly before re-signing with the Titans, but may now struggle as his side looms set for an inevitable fade-out.

Then there is Penrith enforcer Reagan Campbell-Gillard, the local junior who dreamt of becoming a copper before being given the nod by Panthers’ coach Ivan Cleary in the opening round.

Campbell-Gillard even earned a City Origin jumper after just a handful of games for the Panthers, and since been promoted to the starting side.

He’ll do his best to get the better of Canberra’s big pack Sunday.

Campbell-Gillard told The Daily Telegraph he had only set his sights on playing one NRL game in 2015.

“If it was one game, I would have been happy with one game. Even if I was 18th man, that was something I wasn’t all year last year,’’ Campbell-Gillard said.

“To get the call-up in round one was massive. I’ve always had long-term goals to play representative footy, so to then play a few games and get picked for City Origin, I was pretty pumped for that.’’

Originally published as NRL rookie of the year award: Who should punters throw their support behind this year?