Warriors front-rower Jackson Ford is shaping as one of the great Dally M Medal stories, racing to a shock lead with 28 votes after seven rounds – six more than any player has managed since the two-judge system was introduced in 2023.
The relatively unheralded workhorse has collected the maximum six votes in three of the Warriors’ wins, and nabbed five votes in their other two victories.
Whether Ford can maintain his lead remains to be seen – megastar Nathan Cleary lurks four votes behind in second place – but at this point a top-five finish is well within the NSW Origin hopeful’s sights.
We’re looking back at some of the shocker Player of the Year award performers from down the years, some taking out the grand prizes and others landing just adrift of the game’s biggest names.
Terry Hughes (1968)
Cronulla halfback Terry Hughes set the benchmark for awards bolters in the inaugural Rothmans Medal count in 1968.
The Sharks won just six games in their second campaign in the NSWRL premiership, but the low-profile Hughes edged legendary St George lock Johnny Raper by a point to carry off the prize.
Cronulla’s acquisition of star British halfback Tommy Bishop hampered Hughes’ progress and he played just 14 first-grade games after his famous award victory.
Geoff Bugden (1980)
Newtown prop Geoff Bugden turned 20 just days before receiving the 1980 Rothmans Medal at the end of his second season in first grade – the youngest-ever winner in the award’s 29-season history.
Bugden came off the bench in the Jets’ 1981 grand final loss to Parramatta, won deciders with the Eels in ’82 and ’86, and played for NSW in 1983, but his career was significantly disrupted by injuries before retiring in 1989.
Mick Potter and Neil Baker (1984)
Michael Potter debuted with a solitary first-grade appearance for Canterbury in 1983, but the 20-year-old cemented the Bulldogs’ No.1 jersey the following season and went on to win the Dally M Player of the Year prize.
Neil Baker, who linked with Souths in 1984 after three seasons as a fringe utility-back at Canterbury, finished third – a feat he repeated in ’85.
Clayton Friend (1987)
New Zealand and North Sydney halfback Clayton Friend became the first overseas player to snare a top-three Dally M Medal finish in 1987 – his second season with the Bears – by landing third behind perennial contenders Peter Sterling and Terry Lamb.
Friend was a hero of the Kiwis’ upsets of Australia in 1985 and 1991.
Barry Russell (1988)
Livewire halfback Barry Russell had started just 10 first-grade matches for Cronulla before Round 5 of the 1988 season.
But his stellar performances for the minor premiers after securing a run-on role – scoring 11 tries in the space of 15 games – saw Russell surge to an unlikely Rothmans Medal triumph, 20 years after fellow Sharks No.7 Hughes’ similarly improbable win in the award’s inaugural year.
Unwanted by Cronulla and unable to pique the interest of a Winfield Cup rival, Russell’s premiership career ended in 1991.
Mark Sargent and Cameron Blair (1989)
Newcastle’s Mark Sargent was a shock co-winner of the 1989 Rothmans Medal alongside Cronulla star and NSW captain Gavin Miller. The front-rower had played just 19 first-grade games for Canterbury prior to joining the Knights after missing out on the Bulldogs’ 1988 grand final squad.
The 1988 Dally M Rookie of the Year, back-rower Cameron Blair landed outright third in the ’89 Rothmans Medal count behind Sargent and Miller playing for a Western Suburbs side that finished 14th.
Sargent backed up to finish equal-fifth in the 1990 Rothmans Medal count, as well as debuting for NSW and touring with the Kangaroos.
Jason Martin and Steve Fulmer (1990)
North Sydney half Jason Martin was 1990’s Dally M Rookie of the Year, but he also came close to snaring the game’s top overall individual honours.
The 19-year-old was the Rothmans Medal runner-up to the legendary Sterling, while he finished third in the Dally M count behind soon-to-be Ashes heroes Cliff Lyons and Ricky Stuart. An unlucky omission from the 1990 Kangaroo Tour party, Martin’s career foundered thereafter.
Newcastle No.7 Steve Fulmer finished third in the 1990 Rothmans Medal count – just two points behind winner Sterling. Usurped by ex-St George playmaker Steve Linnane for the halfback spot in 1991, Fulmer played just six more games in first grade after his career-best campaign.
Ian Russell (1990-91)
Illawarra lock Ian Russell came fourth in the 1990 Rothmans Medal count and third the following season, just three votes behind the winner on both occasions.
Interestingly, despite claiming Dally M Lock of the Year honours, the Indigenous ball-player did not poll a single Rothmans Medal vote in 1992.
John Jones and Robbie McCormack (1992)
Brisbane’s superstar halfback and captain Allan Langer dominated the 1992 premiership and duly won the Rothmans Medal with 25 votes.
But just two points behind were a surprising duo: Manly back-row toiler John Jones and Newcastle hooker Robbie McCormack, who had never played the position in first grade prior to that season.
Mitch Healey (1993)
Mitch Healey debuted for Cronulla in 1989 but did not cement a regular spot in the struggling Sharks’ halves until 1992.
A superb kicker, Healey had a stellar ’93 campaign despite the Sharks winning just nine games, finishing third in the Dally M Medal count and fourth in the Rothmans Medal. He went on to feature in four finals series as Cronulla returned to respectability during the second half of the decade.
The upper reaches of the 1993 Rothmans Medal count featured two other lower-profile players from also-ran clubs. Eastern Suburbs lock Nigel Gaffey came outright third, while Parramatta fullback Scott Mahon finished equal-fifth. Ricky Stuart took out a rare Rothmans-Dally M double that year.
Steve Menzies and Paul Green (1994)
Rookies Steve Menzies and Paul Green finished second and third respectively in the 1994 Rothmans Medal. Manly’s back-row tryscoring freak Menzies polled 31 points, which would have been enough to win in 25 of the previous 26 years.
Cronulla halfback Green took out the honour in 1995, becoming the first player to win the Rothmans Medal in both the Brisbane and Sydney competitions, having been named the BRL’s best and fairest in ’92 as an Easts Tigers teenager.
Five of the top six finishers in the ’94 Rothmans Medal were yet to represent Australia. Wests hooker Jim Serdaris finished fourth with Illawarra halfback John Simon fifth and Manly workhorse Owen Cunningham sixth.
Menzies and Serdaris accompanied Rothmans Medal winner David Fairleigh – who made his Test debut against France mid-season – on the Kangaroo Tour at the end of the year, however.
Eddie Fallins (1994-95)
Gold Coast hooker/second-rower Eddie Fallins’ overachieving Rothmans Medal performances are among the less-known but more remarkable in the award’s history.
Fallins played only 13 games for the battling Seagulls in 1994 – his first appearances in the top grade in three years, having fallen foul of club officials as a fringe player in ’91 – but finished equal-18th with 12 votes.
He turned out just 12 times in 1995 (for just two wins) yet came equal-12th with 14 votes. Fallins did not play first grade again post-’95 and he died in 2008, aged just 39.
ARL bolters (1997)
The sole Nokia Provan-Summons Medal, awarded for the best player in the 1997 ARL premiership, featured high-profile rep stars Brad Fittler, John Simon, Jason Taylor and Robbie O’Davis as the top four finishers, but the chasing pack was a ragtag bunch of overachievers.
A rejuvenated Jason Bell came fifth after returning to Parramatta, diminutive Gold Coast half Wes Patten landed sixth, and Chargers teammate Brendan Hurst and unassuming St George prop Colin Ward were equal-seventh.
Brent Sherwin and Craig Wing (2002)
Bulldogs half Brent Sherwin made his NRL debut in 1999 but spent the second half of the 2001 season coming off the bench, stuck in a playmaking queue behind Braith Anasta and Darrell Trindall.
Sherwin became recognised as one of the premiership’s dominant No.7s in 2002, however, and finished runner-up to Andrew Johns in the Dally M Medal count.
Another long-time interchange regular who assumed starting halfback duties in ’02, Sydney Roosters’ Craig Wing, finished just one vote back in equal-third.
Paul Rauhihi and Michael Monaghan (2004)
Front-rowers traditionally have a tough time polling in the Dally M Medal, which made Cowboys big man Paul Rauhihi’s 2004 achievement in finishing outright sixth with 19 votes – just eight shy of winner Danny Buderus – particularly notable.
The Kiwi international, who had previous stints with the Knights and Bulldogs, only became a regular NRL starting prop with the Cowboys in 2003.
Michael Monaghan had started just five NRL games at halfback before joining Manly in 2004, making 20 of his 32 appearances for Canberra off the bench. But he slotted in as the Sea Eagles’ No.7 and finished equal-ninth in the Dally M Medal count– despite enduring a seven-week injury layoff.
Terry Campese (2008)
Terry Campese had played just 21 NRL games in four years prior to his breakout 2008 season, which saw the Canberra five-eighth finish equal-fourth on the Dally M leaderboard – just three points adrift of winner Matt Orford – and win a place in Australia’s World Cup squad.
Josh Reynolds (2012)
Coming into 2012 with just 10 NRL games under his belt, Canterbury five-eighth Josh Reynolds finished equal-fifth in the Dally M Medal count with 20 votes – despite competing with teammate and eventual winner Ben Barba (32 votes) for the judges’ attention on a weekly basis.
Sam Burgess (2014) and Aaron Woods (2015)
In 2014, Sam Burgess became the first forward (excluding hookers) to earn a top-three Dally M Medal finish in eight years, while his tally of 29 votes would have been enough for the Souths enforcer to win or jointly win in three of the previous four seasons.
Wests Tigers prop Aaron Woods came equal-second in 2015, albeit with a comparatively modest 21 votes – 11 behind winner Johnathan Thurston.
Ryan James (2016)
Ryan James’ top-five Dally M Medal finish with 19 votes would have been difficult to predict at the start of 2016. The Gold Coast forward had amassed a grand total of 12 votes in six previous seasons in the NRL. James scored 12 tries in 2016 – a premiership record for a prop.
Kalyn Ponga (2018)
Kalyn Ponga arrived at Newcastle in 2018 amid much hype but with just nine NRL games for North Queensland to his name. The 20-year-old racked up 27 votes playing for the 11th-placed Knights to land second in the Dally M Medal count behind fellow fullback Roger Tuivasa-Sheck.
Payne Haas (2019)
Nineteen-year-old Brisbane Broncos powerhouse Payne Haas had played just three NRL games coming into 2019 but picked up 27 votes for a fourth-place finish in the Dally M Medal – one of the few props in the award’s history to make an impression in the upper reaches of the count.
Luke Metcalf (2025)
Injury prone Cronulla junior Luke Metcalf had played just 26 NRL games leading into the 2025 season and had never started at halfback. But he was a shock Dally M leader when voting went secret after a blistering start to the year with the overachieving Warriors.
Despite succumbing to an ACL injury with 10 rounds to go, his tally of 40 votes was still enough to finish outright eighth in the count.