The NRL’s night of nights is almost upon us for another year with the Dally M set to be awarded to a first-time winner in 2023.
Warriors gun Shaun Johnson is one of the frontrunners after a stellar season, marking a remarkable comeback after question marks surrounding his future last season.
However, Broncos enforcer Payne Haas led the count with 30 votes when the leaderboard went behind closed doors after Round 12.
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Meanwhile, several big-name stars, including Nathan Cleary, Harry Grant, Ben Hunt and Dylan Edwards are also in the running.
Unfortunately for young gun Reece Walsh, who sat on 24 votes after Round 12, he will be ineligible to win the award after he was handed a three-game suspension.
The winner for the 2023 season could also tally a never-before-seen amount of votes, with the maximum amount which can be earned per game increasing to six from three last year.
The NRL also announced candidates for the Team of the Year, with each position being voted on by a panel at various points throughout the season.
Here, foxsports.com.au breaks down the leaders after Round 12 and the contenders to take out each position!
DALLY M TEAM OF THE YEAR STATE OF PLAY
FULLBACK: James Tedesco (Roosters), Dylan Edwards (Panthers), Kalyn Ponga (Knights)
Broncos recruit Reece Walsh lit the competition on fire in 2023 and was almost a shoe-in for the fullback of the year spot.
That was before a three-game suspension for abusing a referee put an end to his Dally M aspirations.
Cowboys gun Scott Drinkwater is also ineligible after he was handed a three-game suspension for an ugly hit on Corey Oates.
That leaves the fullback spot to come down to a three-way shootout.
James Tedesco had a disappointing season by his own standards but did come to life at the back-end of the year. Ultimately though it will be hard to see him overcome the remaining duo of reliable Panthers star Dylan Edwards and Knights talisman Kalyn Ponga.
Edwards had yet another consistent season at fullback for the reigning premiers, seeing him rewarded with a monster new deal to remain at the foot of the mountains.
He has recorded the most running metres of any player this season, beating out his teammate Brian To’o.
But how can you go past Ponga. Quite simply the best player in the competition for the second half of the year.
His stunning form propelled the Knights into the finals off the back of a 10-game unbeaten streak. That would not have been possible without the electric No.1 firing on all cylinders.
Verdict: Kalyn Ponga
WINGERS: Dallin Watene-Zelezniak (Warriors), Jamayne Isaako (Dolphins), Brian To’o (Panthers), Dominic Young (Knights), Selwyn Cobbo (Broncos), Ronaldo Mulitalo (Sharks)
These blokes know how to find the try line with a staggering 10 wingers scoring 20 tries or more in 2023.
Newcastle’s English flyer Dominic Young is the frontrunner to win one spot on the wing after a stellar season in the Hunter (cue Roosters rubbing their hands in glee).
Young finished his season with 25 tries as a key part of the Knights’ finals surge, overcoming regular season leader Jamayne Isaako during the postseason.
Selwyn Cobbo and Ronaldo Mulitalo were both solid this season, but the remaining spot looks like a red-hot race between Warrior Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, Brian To’o and Isaako.
The Dolphins flyer led the try-scoring leaderboard and points totals at the end of the regular season, rejuvenating his career under Wayne Bennett.
However, the former Broncos and Titans gun could get pipped at the post by players who were integral to their respective team’s finals charge.
Brian To’o started his season slow but was firing come the back-end of the year, scoring 13 tries in his final 10 games.
Watene-Zelezniak meanwhile scored 24 tries, was seventh in the competition for line breaks and 25th for tackle breaks across a mighty campaign.
Verdict: Dominic Young and Brian To’o
CENTRES: Stephen Crichton (Panthers), Bradman Best (Knights), Kotoni Staggs (Broncos), Campbell Graham (Rabbitohs), Herbie Farnworth (Broncos), Izack Tago (Panthers)
The centre positions are two of the most hotly contested this year with all six players delivering huge campaigns for their respective teams.
Izack Tago spent an extended period sidelined for the Panthers and as such is unlikely to be named.
Kotoni Staggs, meanwhile, was also excellent across 2023 but his Broncos teammate (see below) in the centres had arguably the better season.
South Sydney’s Campbell Graham was one of the form players of the competition to start the season and as such came desperately close to earning selection in the first Origin game.
However, he and the Rabbitohs faded badly at the back end of the season as Jason Demetriou’s side missed the top eight in sensational fashion.
Knights young gun Bradman Best also had a brilliant campaign, but his season was kickstarted after his Origin selection in Game III.
The 22-year-old will undoubtedly earn selection in the Dally M Team of the Year in years to come, but he may have left his run too late.
That leaves Stephen Crichton and Herbie Farnworth to battle it out for the remaining spot, with the pair going head to head in this year’s grand final.
Farnworth scored one more try than Crichton, recording 15, while his running metres tally also minnowed that of his opponent.
The Broncos gun also broke the 10th most tackles in the competition, but Crichton delivered when his team needed it most on several occasions.
He also showed he is the competition’s best defensive outside back and as such earns selection in this team.
Verdict: Stephen Crichton and Herbie Farnworth
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FIVE-EIGHTH: Ezra Mam (Broncos), Cameron Munster (Storm), Cody Walker (Rabbitohs)
It’s a three-horse race for the five-eighth spot this season between Cameron Munster, Ezra Mam and Cody Walker.
Walker had a quiet year by his own standards but did play a crucial role in the Blues’ only win in the 2023 Origin series.
With the Rabbitohs fading severely at the back-end of the season, it remains unlikely he will be named in this team.
Mam has been one of the Broncos’ success stories this season and is in line to earn himself a bumper contract upgrade. After years of searching for their ideal halves combination Brisbane have found theirs in Mam and Adam Reynolds.
But playing alongside the conductor in Reynolds means often taking a back seat and being out of the spotlight, something that may count against Mam here.
He still boasts an impressive stat line with nine try assists to go with 13 line breaks and 15 tries.
Which means all roads lead to Cameron Munster. The Storm talisman remained the competition’s premier five-eighth this season, scoring eight tries to go with 15 try assists and 12 line breaks.
He led the Storm to the preliminary final against the Panthers proving once again he is one of best in the competition.
Verdict: Cameron Munster
HALFBACK: Nathan Cleary (Panthers), Daly Cherry-Evans (Sea Eagles), Shaun Johnson (Warriors)
The winner of this position could well decide who is awarded the Dally M Medal this season.
Daly Cherry-Evans had an impressive campaign and stepped up in the absence of Tom Trbojevic who was ruled out for season after tearing his pectoral in Origin.
It’s impossible, however, to go past Nathan Cleary and Shaun Johnson.
Cleary missed a chunk of the season with a hamstring injury, but was excellent to close out the season.
However, this year the halfback spot belongs to Johnson after he surged back into form and the upper echelons of NRL playmaking stars under rookie coach Andrew Webster.
There were calls for the veteran to retire last season, but Johnson has looked like a new man for the Warriors.
Alongside Tohu Harris and Addin Fonua-Blake, he led them all the way to an unlikely preliminary finals appearance.
He recorded a competition-high 32 try assists to go with the most try contributions of any player, whilst also scoring eight tries.
Johnson’s resurgence has been a sight to behold for rugby league fans across Australia and New Zealand and as such, he wins his spot in this team.
Verdict: Shaun Johnson
PROPS: Lindsay Collins (Roosters), Payne Haas (Broncos), James Fisher-Harris (Panthers), Nelson Asofa-Solomona (Storm), Jake Trbojevic (Sea Eagles), Addin Fonua-Blake (Warriors)
Can we name four?
The 2023 season was dominated by dominant big men meaning culling the shortlist down to two is no easy task.
Nelson Asofa-Solomona and Jake Trbojevic were both impressive but the remaining four candidates were on another level.
Payne Haas is one of the leading candidates to take out the Dally M Medal and is almost a shoe-in to be named in the Team of the Year.
That leaves Addin Fonua-Blake, Lindsay Collins and James Fisher-Harris to fight it out for the last spot.
Collins was immense for the Roosters this year and also had a huge series for the Maroons, with his try to outjump Tedesco a career highlight.
Fisher-Harris spearheaded Penrith’s forward pack and is an ever-present figure under Ivan Cleary, however will be an unlucky omission from this team.
Fonua-Blake had a career-best year and led the NRL’s forwards for running metres across the 2023 campaign as the Warriors surged into the prelims as one of the stories of the season.
He was labelled “the best prop in the competition” by league legend Corey Parker, and he also scored the third-most tries of any Warrior this year.
Verdict: Payne Haas and Addin Fonua-Blake
HOOKER: Wayde Egan (Warriors), Apisai Koroisau (Wests Tigers), Harry Grant (Storm)
Apisai Koroisau knew he was walking into a very different situation to what he was used to at Penrith when he joined the Tigers in the offseason.
But he couldn’t have been prepared for just how tumultuous it was.
The Tigers may have sacked Tim Sheens and claimed another wooden spoon but the No.9 was a shining light.
As much as he battled, time on the sidelines with a broken jaw will count against him, as will the form of the next two candidates.
Harry Grant burst out of the gates this season and was excellent to start the year, sitting third in the total points leaderboard after 12 rounds.
Grant is a consistently elite performer, but one man played as crucial a role as any in his team’s success — Wayde Egan.
The 26-year-old former Panther was simply excellent this season and earned lofty praise and a comparison to a future Immortal.
“I want to ask Cameron Smith if (Egan) reminds him of himself, I’ve never seen a player play as close to Cameron (with) the way he engages the markers,” League great Bryan Fletcher said.
Egan missed two games this season due to head knocks, but he was a crucial figure in the Warriors charge and would be a deserving winner if named in the Team of the Year.
He also made 734 tackles, the 24th most of any player in the NRL this season.
Verdict: Wayde Egan
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BACK ROWERS: Liam Martin (Panthers), Briton Nikora (Sharks), Tyson Frizell (Knights), Haumole Olakau’atu (Sea Eagles), David Fifita (Titans), Hudson Young (Raiders)
A tough one to call
Tyson Frizell and Briton Nikora were solid in 2023, but likely didn’t match the remaining four candidates’ output.
Titans wrecking ball David Fifita returned to the damaging attacking threat Gold Coast fans know and love, earning him an Origin recall under Maroons coach Billy Slater.
Meanwhile, Hudson Young was rewarded with his first appearance for the Blues and was a pivotal part of Ricky Stuart’s side that gatecrashed the NRL finals.
Ultimately, however, Haumole Olakau’atu and Liam Martin are just too hard to ignore.
Olakau’atu was incredibly unlucky not to earn an Origin debut in 2023 and closed out the year with a bang, against the Bulldogs and Tigers.
Martin, meanwhile, was a consistent figure throughout the season for the Panthers and also ended the year strongly.
Verdict: Haumole Olakau’atu and Liam Martin
LOCK: Tohu Harris (Warriors), Isaah Yeo (Panthers), Patrick Carrigan (Broncos)
All three of these players would be deserving selections in the 2023 Team of the Year.
However only one of these superstars will be named, and it could be Pat Carrigan’s year.
The Broncos gun has been an excellent performer under Kevin Walters this season, combining with Payne Haas to create one of the most formidable partnerships in the NRL.
Both Isaah Yeo and Tohu Harris have been excellent but, with the emergence of the Brisbane side, Carrigan should have his nose in front.
Verdict: Pat Carrigan
OVERALL
Leader after Round 12: Payne Haas (30)
Contenders: Nathan Cleary (27), Harry Grant (25), Nicho Hynes (25), Ben Hunt (22), Shaun Johnson (22), Dylan Edwards (22), Adam Reynolds (19), Cameron Munster (19)
Payne Haas had an incredible campaign for the Broncos this season and would have come close to taking out the top gong.
However, he will be hampered by a six-point deduction after he earned himself a one-game suspension, bringing him back to the pack.
Nathan Cleary, meanwhile, spent an extended period sidelined with a hamstring injury while Ben Hunt will likely fall victim to the Dragons’ poor season.
Nicho Hynes also lost his confidence after being dropped from the NSW side after only one game and only rediscovered his form in the final few rounds of the season.
While the Sharks form dipped, he would have found it very difficult to record points.
Broncos gun Adam Reynolds has been superb as his side charged into the grand final, but he is unlikely to have tallied more votes than this year’s potential winner.
Meanwhile, Cameron Munster also had a good season and could find himself in the mix at the business end
However, this year belongs to Warriors gun Shaun Johnson.
The veteran halfback’s resurgence has been the story of the season, stealing the hearts of a nation in the process.
‘Up the Wahs’ chants have rung out worldwide and New Zealand’s success comes in a large part down to Johnson’s revitalised form.
He has recorded the most try assists of any player this season to go with the most kicking metres.
Johnson also leads the competition for total try involvements and would be a deserving winner of this year’s top going.
2023 Dally M Medallist: Shaun Johnson
