The Dally M Medal is the most prestigious individual award in the National Rugby League (NRL), named in honour of rugby league pioneer Herbert Henry “Dally” Messenger — widely considered one of the founding legends of the sport in Australia.
🏅 Quick Overview of the Dally M Medal
| First awarded | 1980 |
|---|---|
| Named after | Dally Messenger |
| Awarded to | The best and fairest player in the NRL regular season |
| Organised by | Originally Daily Mirror (hence “Dally M”), now managed by the NRL |
📜 History Timeline
🔹 1980s – The Beginning
- The award was created by the Daily Mirror newspaper.
- First winner: Robert Laurie (South Sydney) in 1980.
- The award quickly became the most respected honour for individual performance, overtaking other similar awards like the Rothmans Medal.
🔹 1997 – Super League Split
- During the split season (ARL vs Super League), no Dally M Medal was awarded.
- The two leagues each had separate awards.
🔹 2003 – Controversy
- The medal was not awarded in 2003 due to a pay dispute between the NRL and the Rugby League Players Association (RLPA).
- At the time, Craig Gower was reportedly leading before the awards were cancelled.
🔹 2000s–Present – Growth and Prestige
- Dally M Awards Night became a full ceremony, like the Brownlow Medal in AFL.
- Introduced Team of the Year, positional awards, rookie of the year, coach of the year, etc.
- Voting system was revised in 2019 to include a second judge per game (to reduce bias).
🗳️ How Voting Works
- After each game, two judges (usually former players or experts) award:
- 3 points to best player
- 2 points to second-best
- 1 point to third-best
- Votes are tallied through the season.
- After Round 12, votes are kept secret until awards night.
- Suspended players are ineligible to win the medal.
🏆 Notable Multiple Winners
| Player | Dally M Wins | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Johnathan Thurston | 4 | Most wins ever (2005, 2007, 2014, 2015) |
| Andrew Johns | 3 | Immortal halfback |
| Cameron Smith | 2 | Legendary Storm hooker |
| Jarryd Hayne | 2 | Won jointly in 2014 with Thurston |
💡 Fun Fact
- Ben Barba won in 2012, but later had his medal stripped due to off-field issues — though this was never officially ratified in the same way as stripped team titles.
