James Tedesco looks destined to become one of only a few rugby league players to win more than one Dally M Medals in their career, with the veteran Sydney Roosters superstar the red-hot favourite.
All the Dally M medallists will be revealed at a glitzy invite-only event on Wednesday, October 1, in what has become a nailed-on tradition in the build-up to the NRL grand final the following Sunday.
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While we haven’t been privy to the Dally M voting since it went behind closed doors after Round 12, there’s every chance Tedesco has kept the lead through the following fifteen ‘secret’ rounds, considering how scintillating his form has been – a career resurgence that has seen many calling for “Teddy” to return to the Kangaroos for the Ashes too.
Should he win on Wednesday, we would have another two-time winner for the first time since way back in 2017, when Cameron Smith (arguably the greatest to have ever played rugby league) took home his second top gong.
Alongside Smith, two-time winners include Peter Sterling, Michael Potter, Cliff Lyons, Joey Johns (who won three), Johnathan Thurston (who retired with four top Dally M medals), and Cooper Cronk.
Very, very elite company, this Sporting Base writer must say; we’d be surprised if anyone disagreed.
When you tally the count, it makes sense that Teddy is sitting as a heavy fave before Wednesday; he was already in the mix before voting went behind closed doors, and his lead would have only benefited after his then-top gong rivals either fell away as the season ran on or suffered cruel injuries that has left them sitting on the sidelines.
Luke Metcalf had led the standings with 31 points then, but he was ruled out just five weeks later when he suffered a knee injury. He hasn’t played for the New Zealand Warriors again since and is expected back in 2026.
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Cronulla fullback Will Kennedy (29) had been next on the list, but many were already surprised he had been that high through the opening dozen rounds, and he would have quickly dropped away as the year ticked on. Considering many rank him among the worst fullbacks in the NRL, he had done well to even fight into the mix in those early weeks.
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In the end, Kennedy didn’t even score a fullback medal nomination: Teddy, Reece Walsh, and Kaeo Weekes will be the three battling it out for that positional award when the game’s best gather on Wednesday.
One of the Sharks’ fullback’s teammates, Blayke Brailey, may stage the biggest challenge to Tedesco, considering how much he lit up the competition in the second half of the year – and many credit him for taking Cronulla all the way to the preliminary finals. He had collected just seven points in the first 12 weeks, though, so he had a long way to climb.
Isaiya Katoa, who has been a revelation at the Dolphins, may be a smokey, but that’s a little unlikely.
The Roosters captain last won in 2019, then beating Cameron Smith by just three votes.
