Jillaroos co-captain Ali Brigginshaw says Australia’s World Cup squad could come together at some stage to discuss the merits of changing the name of the game’s most prestigious medal to reflect the contributions of women in rugby league.
Her comments come a week after Roosters NRLW star Raecene McGregor said female players should receive a different medal after she took out the Dally M.
There has been talk of changing it to the Maggie Moloney Medal to honour her exploits from 100 years ago, while McGregor wants it to be named after a more modern player like Brigginshaw.
“I think it’s something we as a playing group should chat about,” Brigginshaw told the NCA NewsWire.
“It might even start with this group that we’ve got for the World Cup.
“It’s not something that we’ve really thought about because we never used to have these awards until recently.
“To have received one, it’s pretty crazy to have that medal around your neck. It’s something that will change in the future, but for now, I think everyone is happy to be included with the Dally M Medal.”
The medal was brought in for female players in 2015 based on their performances on the world stage before it became a lot more streamlined when the NRLW was introduced in 2018.
Brigginshaw won the medal in 2020 after the Broncos won their third title in a row, and teammate Julia Robinson says she’d be the perfect choice for the game’s greatest accolade.
“I could definitely see that happening,” the winger said.
“Ali has been such an amazing player and a role medal for her whole career. I’ve definitely looked up to her since I started playing.
“I think the Ali B Medal has a nice ring to it, but she wouldn’t say that because she’s the most humble person I’ve ever met.”
While a name change is on the horizon and would be supported by the playing group, there are some who have no issue with the award remaining as is given the prestige the Dally M Medal holds.
“We don’t always have to have a boy and a girl thing,” Jillaroos legend Sam Bremner said.
“There’s such a significance around the Dally M, and I think someone getting the Dally M – whether you’re a male or female – everyone knows the significance of it.
“If they change the name and put it to a female player who everyone knew what a star they were, I’m sure that would be fine. But I quite like the thought of a female being able to win the Dally M.”
Jillaroos coach Brad Donald can see positives in both choices.
“It’s one of those questions where we need to decide what should be the same for the men and the women and what needs to be different,” he said.
“It’s a conversation about everything in the game. It’s just like the curtain-raiser vs double-header debate, and it shows that we have to change our language around a lot of things.
“But I don’t think we have to change everything.
“I would leave the medal name for the group to decide if they see the Dally M as something they want to maintain or whether they look to bring in the Maggie Moloney Medal or one of the other trailblazers for the women’s game.
“The game has done a great recognition with Tarsha Gale, Karyn Murphy, Tahnee Norris and Nat Dwyer having competitions or medals named after them, so I’m comfortable with whatever direction they take.”
