Nathan Cleary wins first Dally M medal after dominant NRL season
Penrith halfback Nathan Cleary has won his maiden Dally M medal, completing a collection of major individual honours after a season in which he set career highs for try assists, line breaks and tackle busts. The result followed his first State of Origin player-of-the-series award.
Nathan Cleary has won the Dally M medal for the first time, adding the National Rugby League’s individual award to an already extensive list of achievements. The Penrith halfback secured the honour on Wednesday night while recovering between surgeries, according to the supplied report. He had already won four consecutive premierships, made five grand final appearances and claimed two Clive Churchill Medals.
Cleary is also the only halfback in NRL history, and one of three players, to win multiple grand-final man-of-the-match awards. His record for Australia is perfect, with the Kangaroos winning all eight matches in which he has played. His State of Origin record had previously been identified as the remaining area open to criticism.
That changed during this year’s series, when he became the third player, after Cameron Smith and Wally Lewis, to win two man-of-the-match awards in one series. He also helped New South Wales win the deciding match at Lang Park and received his first player-of-the-series award. Cleary’s club statistics this season included a career-high 29 try assists and 14 line breaks.
He also made 62 tackle busts, another personal best, and led the league in goal-kicking percentage among full-time kickers. Those performances helped Penrith secure the minor premiership and made Cleary the leading favourite for the Dally M for much of the season. The result gives him the major individual NRL awards described in the report.
Cleary had previously come closest to winning the medal in 2020, when he finished third behind winner Jack Wighton and Clint Gutherson. The Dally M uses a 3-2-1 voting system, with anonymous judges awarding points in each match. The report notes that the voting system can produce narrow outcomes and that several celebrated players, including Darren Lockyer, Brad Fittler, Allan Langer and Benji Marshall, never won the award.
Cleary’s latest honour nonetheless completes a season widely described as the best of his NRL career.
This independently written report is based on information supplied by the named publisher. Vertrix News has not independently verified the source report.