Dally M medal glory for Warriors skipper
WARRIORS captain Roger Tuivasa-Sheck has won the 2018 Dally M medal — but only after injury cruelled the hopes of rising Newcastle talent Kalyn Ponga.
Rugby league’s biggest names gathered in Sydney last night for a Dally M count that wasn’t decided until the final round of competition.
Once a premiership winner with Sydney Roosters, Tuivasa-Sheck overcame two seasons of trouble in Auckland, which included an anterior cruciate ligament injury and then threatening to quit rugby league for the All Blacks, to win rugby league’s most prestigious award.
Despite starting the year as a $41 outsider for the gong, Tuivasa-Sheck polled three votes in the final round of the year to pass Ponga and finish on 29 points.
The Knights fullback polled 27 votes, followed by Wests Tigers halfback Luke Brooks (26) and Cronulla fullback Valentine Holmes (25). None of the top four had ever won the Dally M previously.
Incredibly, Ponga was leading the vote count by a point with a fortnight of the NRL competition to play. However, the Knights young gun was ruled out of the final two rounds after suffering an ankle injury, which killed off his hopes of becoming the youngest medallist in history.
Another big winner on the night was South Sydney hooker Damien Cook, who won both the Dally M Hooker gong and Provan Summons People’s Choice award.
The trophies capped off a remarkable rise for Cook, who wasn’t even guaranteed a start with the Bunnies this year ahead of veteran Robbie Farah. However, the livewire not only revolutionised South’s attack, but also found himself part of the successful NSW Origin side and now looms as the likely replacement for retiring Kangaroo great Cameron Smith.
Storm’s five-eighth Cameron Munster finished tied for sixth on 19 and was named five-eighth of the year.
South Sydney coach Anthony Seibold won Dally M Coach of the Year.
And Melbourne, which arrived in Sydney late yesterday, also won only one Dally M positional award — with Cameron Munster talking out the five-eighth gong.
Cameron Smith was named captain of the year.
While the Roosters may have made it to yet another grand final, winger Blake Ferguson was the only player to make the Dally M team — with centre Latrell Mitchell surprisingly beaten by Canberra rival Joseph Leilua.
The Dally M female player of the year was Brisbane star Brittany Breayley.