As the NRL prepares to recognise its standout players from the 2022 season and crown the Telstra Premiership’s best and fairest on Wednesday night, there are a number of intriguing storylines surrounding the contenders for this year’s Dally M Medal.
When voting went behind closed doors after Round 12 everything was pointing towards there being a first-time winner, while a couple of forwards will be aiming to enter a select group of big men who have claimed the game’s highest honour since it was introduced in 1979.
Here are the major storylines surrounding the race for the 2022 Dally M Medal.
The main contenders
Perhaps the most burning question is can Ben Hunt defy recent history and win the game’s top honour after playing in a team who didn’t make the finals? The St George Illawarra halfback was the leader when voting went behind closed doors after Round 12, and from that point on he led the Dragons to six victories, as well as a handful of narrow losses in which he could have snagged points.
Ben Hunt at the top of his game
If his name is called out on Wednesday night, he will be the first player in eight seasons to claim the Dally M while playing for a team who finished outside of the top eight.
Panthers forward Isaah Yeo should feature in the final countdown, after he finished Round 12 sitting just two points back from Hunt in voting.
Leaning in Yeo’s favour is that the Panthers won plenty of games in the back half of the season, and in the final month he was often taking the field without some of his big-name teammates next to him, as Nathan Cleary, Jarome Luai and James Fisher-Harris all missed game time. That reduced competition for Dally M points in the Penrith side could be good news for the 27-year-old, who has been the Dally M Lock of the Year in each of the last two seasons.
Isaah Yeo punches through to score
Yeo’s Panthers teammate Dylan Edwards could be right in the mix too, having been the sixth-ranked player in voting when it went private. In saying that, the reliable fullback is too often an unsung hero in that star-studded side, which doesn’t bode well for his chances.
Of the expected leading contenders for the gong, none had a better winning percentage in games they played after Round 12 than Sharks halfback Nicho Hynes. Cronulla’s star off-season recruit won nine of the 10 games he played in between rounds 13-25 as he helped the Sharks to a second-placed finish.
Hynes shines in local derby
With a number of changes to the Cronulla side throughout 2022, there's an argument to be made too that Hynes also had less competition for points in his team than a player from say the Panthers or Storm. The 26-year-old missed just one game in the second half of the season which came in Round 17 against his old club.
The other halfback among the favourites is Mitchell Moses, who sat equal-fourth when votes went private. From there, he helped the Eels to seven win more wins in a season in which he led the competition in try assists.
He missed Round 21 and 22 through injury and will have lost some votes to teammate Clint Gutherson, who is listed below as an outside chance to claim the honour after a standout back half of the year.
The 2019 winner, Roosters fullback James Tedesco, had a stellar season once again, leading the competition at the end of the regular season in tackle breaks and sitting in the top three for runs, run metres and kick return metres.
Tedesco domination
But you get the sense that superstar fullback could be a victim of his own record of consistent brilliance, and his form probably gets taken a little for granted when it comes to garnering Dally M votes.
The dark horses
There are a few players who weren’t on the radar at the point voting went private, but who could still be genuine contenders for the Dally M Medal.
Eels skipper Clinton Gutherson was a way off the pace back in Round 12, but really hit form in the second half of the season. He was instrumental in Parramatta finishing in the top four and played in every game in 2022, coming up with some stunning attacking plays, as well as his fair share of eye-catching try-savers.
Gutherson burns them from his own half
Raiders prop Joseph Tapine finished the year as arguably the competition’s best front-rower, and he starred in Canberra’s late run to the finals, which should have seen him pick up plenty of votes.
A point which is relevant for both Tapine and Yeo, is that forwards rarely win the Dally M. While Cameron Smith and Danny Buderus have claimed the honour in the NRL era, Jason Taumalolo’s 2016 medal he shared with Cooper Cronk saw him become the first non-hooker forward to win it since Gavin Miller in 1989.
Tapine was also nowhere to be seen on the leaderboard at the end of Round 12, leaving him with substantial ground to make up on the other contenders.
Tapine massive in defeat
A late-season switch to fullback may have reignited Cameron Munster’s Dally M hopes too, with the Queenslander likely to have received a glut of points during the Storm’s four-game winning streak between round 20-23. Munster sat seventh in voting after Round 12 and was well placed for a late run.
It's certainly an intriguing race for the 2022 NRL Dally M Medal which will be announced on Wednesday, September 28 in Sydney as part of Grand Final Week festivities.
You can catch all the action live on Fox League and Kayo Sports — coverage of the red carpet will begin from 7.30pm AEST before the main event begins at 8.00pm AEST.