Dally M Medal 2018 preview

The 2018 Dally M Medal ceremony is upon us, and we could have a rookie winner of the top individual honour in the game.

While Newcastle Knights fullback Kalyn Ponga is young and inexperienced, he was flying when voting went behind closed doors, and you’d be hard-pressed to name more than a handful of players who might beat him for the gong.

Given how the Dally M is scored – with points from each game – and the relative weakness of Newcastle, it’s almost a given Ponga has polled points each time his side won, and even when they lost.

Injuries during the back half of the season might come back to bite Ponga though, who was a vote behind James Maloney when voting went behind closed doors after 12 rounds.

Maloney had a strong finish to the season, as did Luke Brooks and Andrew Fifita, who were tied with Ponga.

Kalyn Ponga of the Knights. (Photo by Tony Feder/Getty Images)

Before we go any further, here is what the leaderboard looked like after 12 rounds.

Dally M count after 12 rounds

James Maloney (Panthers) – 17 votes
Kalyn Ponga (Knights) – 16 votes
Luke Brooks (Tigers) – 16 votes
Andrew Fifita (Sharks) – 16 votes
Gareth Widdop (Dragons) – 14 votes
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck (Warriors) – 12 votes
Jai Arrow (Titans) – 12 votes
Damien Cook (Rabbitohs) – 12 votes
Mitchell Pearce (Knights) – 11 votes
Benji Marshall (Tigers) – 11 points
Ashley Taylor (Titans) – 11 points

Normally, teams play a maximum of nine games between the time the count goes behind closed doors and the end of the season – this year, it’s up to 12, with things moved back a few rounds.

That will suit Ponga, who continued to grow before sitting out with injury, while Maloney also had some great games taking Penrith to the top of the table.

Gareth Widdop, Jai Arrow, Mitchell Pearce and Ashley Taylor won’t get close, while Damien Cook will rise up the leaderboard and make a challenge for it, given his strong finish to the season.

Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and Fifita will be the two who could throw a spanner in the works with their finish to the season, while none of Billy Slater, James Tedesco, Valentine Holmes or Cameron Smith appear on that list. All four had strong seasons and will be heavy movers over the final 12 rounds of the competition.

Outside of those players, it’s hard to see anyone throwing a cat amongst the pigeons.

Tuivasa-Sheck, only being five points off the pace, will be the most danger to those ahead of him. He wasn’t consistent (much the same as the Warriors), but his side found a way to make the eight and it’s almost a guarantee he got points every time they played well. Not being injured over the second half of the year will help rather than hinder as well.

Roger Tuivasa-Sheck of the Warriors. (AAP Image/David Rowland)

Prediction
Tuivasa-Sheck and Ponga will probably end up being the top two with Maloney right in the mix. I’ll take Ponga as the winner though, which would be an amazing story for the youngster.

Rookie of the year
Because Ponga played more than four games in 2017, he is ineligible to be named rookie of the year and as a result, it throws the race for the award wide open.

The one who immediately comes to mind is Brisbane Broncos winger Jamayne Isaako. After playing one game in 2017, he has locked a spot down at the club this season, his game going from strength to strength. Safe as a house under the high ball, he has found ways to strengthen the Broncos attack and also taken over the goal-kicking.

It won’t be all easy for Isaako to take out the award though, with the Titans AJ Brimson also putting on quite the display, particularly over the back half of the year.

Brandon Smith and Rhys Martin will be another two in the picture, while Jesse Ramien has been a dominant force for the Sharks before he heads off to join the Knights next year.

Lachlan Lewis may be the only other player worthy of a mention here, but the chance of him taking it out seems slim given the fewer amount of games he played compared to a player like Isaako or Ramien.

Captain of the year
Captain of the year is always a tricky award to judge, given it’s nearly impossible to know the impact of different captains across the competition from the outside looking in.

Last year, it was Jarrod Croker who got the gong.

This year, it would appear Bunnies captain Greg Inglis could be in line after South Sydney’s strong season. On an individual level, he has been sensational as well. He will come under heavy pressure from Cameron Smith at the Storm and Paul Gallen of the Sharks though, while Roosters captain Boyd Cordner has also had a good season.

Gareth Widdop and James Maloney are another two who should be in the mix to receive the honour.

Coach of the year
When you think about coach of the year, it’s important to remember where pre-season expectations were. Coaching is about getting a team to hit expectations and then over-achieve.

No club has done that more this year than the Rabbitohs, with Anthony Seibold the sure-fire favourite to take out the gong. South Sydney weren’t given a snowball’s chance in hell of making the eight this year, but did more than that, leading the competition for a significant period before going on to make the preliminary finals.

Those teams making the grand final, the Roosters and Storm, under the control of Craig Bellamy and Wayne Bennett respectively, must also be in the conversation.

Penrith are another side who over-achieved, but with Anthony Griffin getting the boot, it’s fair to say he won’t be the one receiving the award.

Representative player of the year
The representative season saw the Blues take out the crown for the first time in years, and without a mid-year Test to join on, it’s likely representative player of the year will come from the Blues.

Damien Cook had a great Origin series, but it’s James Tedesco who has to be favourite for this award after stringing together three outstanding performances on the trot for the Blues.

Billy Slater won the Wally Lewis Medal, but he won’t be winning this.

James Tedesco of the Blues (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

Women’s player of the year
It’s been a monumental year in women’s footy. From the launch of NRLW to the first women’s State of Origin game, to the Jillaroos having a new 40-player elite squad named. The game has gone from strength to strength.

There are plenty of candidates for the award. Usual suspect Sam Bremner and the last two winners of the award Kezie Apps and Simaima Taufa will be sniffing around again, while others to watch out for include Isabelle Kelly, Ruan Sims, Honey Hireme, Ali Brigginshaw, Chelsea Baker and Laura Mariu from the Warriors.

Kelly may be the favourite for the award on the back of her barnstorming runs for the Warriors, but she will receive tough competition from my tip – Brigginshaw – who has barely had a bad game this year.

Be sure to join The Roar from 8:30pm (AEST) tomorrow night for all the awards and news in our live blog.