Do Warriors and Kiwi players get a fair go?

Former Kiwis and NRL league star Adam Blair says the question has to be asked: Are Warriors and Kiwi players being dudded by the Dally M awards judges?

Blair and co-host Goran Paladin have raised the issue in their weekly NRL discussion for Stuff, on the back of Warriors star Roger Tuivasa-Sheck not being awarded top points from Sunday’s 20-12 win over the Newcastle Knights at Mt Smart Stadium.

Maximum points instead went to Knights fullback Kalyn Ponga, who has Kiwi links having moved to New Zealand when he was 8 but is very much a Queenslander and Australian when it comes to his rugby league.

“If you watched the Warriors-Newcastle game at the weekend, the best player for me was Roger Tuivasa-Sheck,” Blair said.

“Yes he [Ponga] had glimpses, he made a break … but I don’t think he deserve the full points. Maybe 1 or 2. The best player on the ground was Roger Tuivasa-Sheck.

“I’m guessing there are most probably some Queensland former players or anyone with ties to Australian rugby league who are giving him the votes. If they were here they would have seen what Roger did at the weekend and there was no way he was better than him.

“He [Tuivasa-Sheck] also made the NRL team of the week, at fullback!”

Blair and Paladin also believe Shaun Johnson was “robbed” of the overall Dally M Medal last year, won by Ponga, and Paladin noted that of the 47 players who have tallied four or more points so far this season, only three are Kiwis or Warriors.

“Basically a third of all players are born in New Zealand and there are more who have ties to New Zealand, to think that only 3 in your top 47 after 4 rounds are either Warriors or Kiwi-born is utterly absurd,” Paladin said.

Blair asked: “There does have to be a question out there, do these judges have something against our Warriors players or even New Zealand players in general.”