Roger Tuivasa-Sheck wins NRL’s Dally M Medal, teammates pay tribute with impromptu haka
Warriors captain Roger Tuivasa-Sheck has taken out the Dally M Medal, before an impromptu haka performed in his honour stole the show at the gala event in Sydney.
Dally M Awards 2018
- Dally M Medal: Roger Tuivasa-Sheck (Warriors)
- Female Player of the Year: Brittany Breayley (Broncos)
- Provan Summons Medal: Damien Cook (Rabbitohs)
- NRL Captain of the Year: Cameron Smith (Storm)
- NRL Coach of the Year: Anthony Seibold (Rabbitohs)
- NRL Rookie of the Year: Jamayne Isaako (Broncos)
- Ken Irvine Medal: David Fusitu'a (Warriors)
Tuivasa-Sheck, who also won the full-back of the year award, polled 29 votes to win the NRL's player of the season gong by two points from Newcastle's Kalyn Ponga, with Cronulla's Valentine Holmes in third.
In a sign of the changing times, none of the top five — which also included Luke Brooks and Mitchell Pearce — have previously polled in the top five positions at the Dally Ms during their careers.
Tuivasa-Sheck, the Warriors full-back, trailed by one vote with a round to go, but polled three points in the final round against Canberra while Ponga remained on the sideline injured.
In doing so, he became the first full-back to win the award since Ben Barba in 2012, as he averaged 167 metres a match and busted through a total of 92 tackles.
He was presented the award by Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Johnathan Thurston, before Warriors teammates Issac Luke and Jazz Tevaga – who were joined by Brisbane's Jamayne Isaako and Canberra's Jordan Rapana – performed a haka in front of an emotional Tuivasa-Sheck.
External Link: @NRL That's what respect looks like!
"I'm just blown away to be up here holding this award," Tuivasa-Sheck said.
"It's crazy the generation that is coming through. Damien Cook, Valentine Holmes, Kalyn Ponga and Luke Brooks still real young and being mentioned up there.
"It's an exciting year for rugby league and exciting for what's yet to come."
Brisbane's Brittany Breayley was the NRL female player of the year, Melbourne skipper Cameron Smith won captain of the year, and South Sydney's Anthony Seibold and Isaako claimed the respective coach and rookie of the year awards.
Symbolic of the closest competition in the NRL's history, no club had more than one starting player in the Dally M team of the year.
Sunday's grand finalists Melbourne and the Sydney Roosters both had one pick, with Cameron Munster at five-eighth and Blake Ferguson as winger.
Meanwhile, South Sydney's Damien Cook picked up both the Dally M hooker of the year award and the Provan Summons people's choice medal, while Gold Coast captain Ryan James won the Ken Stephen Medal for his community work.
The other team of the year members included Canberra's Joseph Leilua (centre), Brooks (half-back), North Queensland's Jason Taumalolo (lock), Canterbury's Josh Jackson (second row), Cronulla's Andrew Fifita (prop) and Tevaga (interchange).
Dragons premiership player Steve Morris was retrospectively awarded the 1979 Dally M Medal, after it was never officially awarded.
AAP
[contf]
[contfnew]
ABC .net
[contfnewc]
[contfnewc]
