Source :- THE AGE NEWS
Nathan Cleary could never have imagined collecting his first Dally M Medal while seated in a wheelchair at home.
Cleary has been at the centre of some brilliant moments on the field this season, but the image of him being crowned the game’s best player last night while recovering at home from a badly broken leg will not be forgotten any time soon.
The 28-year-old capped a whirlwind 72 hours by collecting the award that had so far eluded him during his brilliant career.
Brisbane’s Tamika Upton took out her third Dally M as the game’s best female player, and can cap an outstanding season with another premiership on Sunday.
Upton finished on 31 points, polled a full six points in the penultimate round, then one in the last round to beat Wests Tigers’ Raecene McGregor (29 points).
Cleary was the red-hot favourite to take out the Dally M in 2020, only to be pipped by Canberra’s Jack Wighton. But nothing was going to stop him as he polled 67 votes, 14 clear of Cronulla’s Braydon Trindall, with Dylan Edwards a further vote back in third.
The game’s best player suffered a double compound fracture of his leg in Sunday’s preliminary final loss to Newcastle as a result of a tackle that led to Newcastle’s Phoenix Crossland being handed a four-match ban. If Cleary wearing the Dally M Medal around his neck in his lounge room was a lovely touch, so was Crossland’s heartfelt teary apology a night earlier when he received his ban, and told those at the judiciary hearing he felt guilty for taking the gloss off the grand final.
The Penrith halfback was earlier this week handed the Rugby League Players Association’s Players’ Champion, which complemented the Brad Fittler Medal he won for being NSW’s best player and the Wally Lewis Medal, which is awarded to the standout player in the Origin series.
Cleary was also one of three Panthers included in the Dally M team of the year with Edwards and winger Tom Jenkins.
Andrew Webster was crowned coach of the year, fellow New Zealand Warrior James Fisher-Harris the captain of the year and Canberra halfback Ethan Sanders the best rookie.
Sunday’s grand finalists, the Sydney Roosters, had centre Rob Toia and prop Naufahu Whyte named in the team of the year. Newcastle, however, failed to have a player included in that side.
South Sydney’s Jai Arrow was forced to medically retire after being diagnosed with motor neurone diseases this season, and the heart-warming scenes he was involved in on several occasions, including being allowed to bring up his 100th game for the club in the final round before being brought from the field, earned him two awards, the Provan-Summons Medal, and the Peter Frilingos Headline Moment.
NRL Team of the Year
Fullback: Dylan Edwards (Panthers)
Wingers: Tom Jenkins (Panthers), Selwyn Cobbo (Dolphins)
Centres: Herbie Farnworth (Dolphins), Robert Toia (Roosters)
Five-eighth: Braydon Trindall (Sharks)
Halfback: Nathan Cleary (Panthers)
Props: James Fisher-Harris (Warriors), Naufahu Whyte (Roosters)
Hooker: Wayde Egan (Warriors)
Second-rowers: Haumole Olakau’atu (Sea Eagles), Hamish Stewart (Dragons)
Lock: Erin Clark (Warriors)
NRLW Team of the Year
Fullback: Tamika Upton (Broncos)
Wingers: Julia Robinson (Broncos), Brydie Parker (Roosters)
Centres: Isabelle Kelly (Roosters), Jessica Sergis (Roosters)
Five-eighth: Teagan Levi (Titans)
Halfback: Raecene McGregor (Wests Tigers)
Props: Millie Elliott (Roosters), Sarah Togatuki (Wests Tigers)
Hooker: Keeley Nizza (Roosters)
Second-rowers: Evania Isa’ako (Titans), Shaylee Bent (Wests Tigers)
Lock: Olivia Kernick (Roosters)
Now for the Dally M Medal winner. Will Braydon Trindall steal it in the final few rounds, will Dylan Edwards storm home late, or will Nathan Cleary end a horror week with a nice honour?
Trindall’s injury with three rounds to go rules him out of contention. Another man-of-the-match performance from Cleary ends the race, and the favourite has done it.
Cleary has recorded a message from home after being released from hospital today.
“I want to start off by saying how grateful I am for all the support I’ve received over the last few days, given my injury. The support from the rugby league community has been absolutely amazing. I can’t thank everyone enough for all the messages they’ve sent through and the support I’ve felt.
“In terms of winning the Dally M award, I want to thank all my teammates. This wouldn’t be possible without them. They definitely make me 10,000 times the better that I am. No individual award is achievable without teammates. I want to extend that to the coaching staff and the whole staff as well …
Tamika Upton. It’s the third Dally M medal for the Broncos fullback, who finishes on 31 points to pip Wests Tigers’ Raecene McGregor on 29.
Dally Messenger III hands the award to Upton, who also won the award last year at Brisbane and in 2023 at the Knights.
“I still remember when I was a seven-year-old, I thought I would play in the NRL, there was no NRLW, so to be standing up here right now it’s pretty surreal, to be honest,” Upton says.
“It feels pretty crazy to be accepting this individual award in a team sport, so I couldn’t be up here without my teammates. I’m surrounded by some of the best people, and they always push you to be the best on the field, and off the field as well.”
Here’s the NRL Team of the Year. The Dally M medal is up next. Looks like that will be Nathan Cleary versus Braydon Trindall.
2026 NRL Team of the Year
Fullback: Dylan Edwards (Panthers)
Wingers: Tom Jenkins (Panthers), Selwyn Cobbo (Dolphins)
Centres: Herbie Farnworth (Dolphins), Robert Toia (Roosters)
Back-to-back man-of-the-match performances from Nathan Cleary in rounds 21 and 22 put him back on top of the NRL Dally M leaderboard on 56 points after round 23, ahead of Braydon Trindall (53) and Dylan Edwards (46). Can Sharks playmaker Trindall cause a boilover with a late charge?
Meanwhile, the NRLW Team of the Year is now being announced. Here it is:
Fullback: Tamika Upton (Broncos)
Wingers: Julia Robinson (Broncos), Brydie Parker (Roosters)
Centres: Isabelle Kelly (Roosters), Jessica Sergis (Roosters)
James Fisher-Harris (Warriors), Nathan Cleary (Panthers) and Kalyn Ponga (Knights) are nominated for the NRL captain of the year award, and Fisher-Harris takes out the prize.
That’s a captain-coach double for the Warriors, who surpassed expectations this season to finish second on the ladder – even if their year ended in disappointment with a straight sets finals exit.
The Wests Tigers’ Kezie Apps wins the NRLW captain of the year gong.
It’s NRL Coach of the Year time, and the nominees are the Warriors’ Andrew Webster, the Dolphins’ Kristian Woolf, and Newcastle’s Justin Holbrook.
In the first real surprise of the night, considering Holbrook’s Knights went from the wooden spoon to the grand final in his first season in charge, the award goes to Webster – who guided the Warriors to a second-place finish on the regular season ladder.
In fairness the Dally M awards generally cover the regular season only – so Newcastle’s heroics in the finals, including knocking out the Warriors, were not a factor – but this is still a bit of a shock result.
“The way our boys play, I think they do the whole country so proud,” Webster says.
The NRLW Coach of the Year goes to the Gold Coast Titans’ Karyn Murphy, who pips the Roosters’ John Strange and the Wests Tigers’ Craig Sandercock.
Millie Elliott wins the 2026 Veronica White Medal for her work with her Trainer Group Foundation, which delivers free disability and wellbeing programs, plus her role as a Goanna Academy Stick With It ambassador.
So here’s the winners we have so far, with the captains, coaches, players and team of the year gongs still to come.
