{"id":115707,"date":"2025-09-03T13:07:07","date_gmt":"2025-09-03T13:07:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/115707\/"},"modified":"2025-09-03T13:07:07","modified_gmt":"2025-09-03T13:07:07","slug":"which-nrl-players-look-most-likely-to-be-up-for-a-chance-of-winning-the-dally-m-medal-lucius-boehms-expert-insights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/115707\/","title":{"rendered":"Which NRL Players Look Most Likely to Be Up for a Chance of Winning the Dally M Medal? Lucius Boehm’s Expert Insights"},"content":{"rendered":"

As we approach the end of the NRL 2025 season, the race for the men\u2019s Dally M Medal is harder to call than ever. While the Roosters\u2019 Isabelle Kelly looks to be running away with it in the women\u2019s competition<\/a>, the men\u2019s is super hotly contested.<\/p>\n

In a season where the Raiders could claim their first title since 1994 but also have six teams hot on their heels, all within 10 points of them, the Dally M is equally up in the air. The uniquely awarded medal (more on that later), which crowns the league\u2019s player of the year, is likely to go to either the Roosters\u2019 Tedesco or Wests Tigers\u2019 Terrell May. There are outsiders like Payne Haas, as well, that I could still see stealing the show. So, who is most likely to come out on top after the 26th round of voting?<\/p>\n

How Does the Dally M Scoring Work?<\/p>\n

The Dally M Medal scoring system is designed to avoid bias and reward consistency, but can be a little confusing at first, so stick with me.<\/p>\n

After each match, two independent judges award a score that goes towards the Dally M leaderboard. They look out for the player who had the biggest impact on the match and award them three points, the second best gets two points, and the third best performer receives one point. Starting this year, if a player is suspended, they\u2019re docked six points per game they miss out on.<\/p>\n

How Many Rounds of Scoring Is There?<\/p>\n

Throughout the season, there are 26 rounds of scoring, reflecting the 26 games each team plays. Now, here\u2019s one of the most unique features of the Dally M: the scores for the first 12 rounds are made public, so we can see who is leading the way until around the end of May. After that, things go \u2018silent\u2019 and judging is done behind closed doors, helping to build up anticipation towards the award.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also worth keeping in mind that although there is only one Dally M winner, since<\/a> 2020<\/a>, the NRL also chooses a full team worth of players who are the top in their position.<\/p>\n

1. James Tedesco (Roosters)<\/p>\n

After absolutely playing out of his skin this season, the Roosters\u2019 fullback James Tedesco is in pole position to claim the medal. He was already looking strong when voting when silent at the end of May, just three points adrift of Metcalf at the top. Since then, I\u2019ve found him to be one of the league\u2019s most impressive players.<\/p>\n

Tedesco was a key component in the crushing win over the Dolphins on August 9, which saw the Roosters fly to a 64-12 victory. Tedesco was plucky (see what I did there?) in all areas, and was without a doubt the top of the flock after scoring two tries, assisting four and contributing to another. Of the incredible 11 tries, Tedesco played a direct part in seven of them , helping lead the Roosters past the Dolphins.<\/p>\n

Why Is Tedesco Such a Strong Contender?<\/p>\n

When it comes to the Dally M, it\u2019s hard for me to overlook the Rooster\u2019s captain because of just how consistently excellent he\u2019s been this season. He\u2019s not just been a strong try scorer, scooping up nine this season, he\u2019s played a vital role in some of the Rooster\u2019s best performances. His assists currently sit at 16 and his line breaks at 18. Even on defense, Tedesco has been rock solid, making 71 tackles with a 76.3% efficiency.<\/p>\n

2. Terrell May (Wests Tigers)<\/p>\n

I think the Wests Tigers\u2019 prop, Terrell May, could push Tedesco all the way for this season\u2019s Dally M Medal. When voting went silent, the powerful player sat in fourth place, just four points behind the leader, but since then, he\u2019s led the way across championship stats, especially defensively.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve had May in your fantasy league team \u2013 firstly, well done \u2013 secondly, you\u2019ll also know he\u2019s been the league\u2019s top scorer scooping up 1,530 points. He\u2019s also led the way when it comes to offloads with 59 and hit-ups with 365. May finds himself in second place for tackles with 890 and runs with 416. If those aren\u2019t quite mind-blowing enough for you, he\u2019s also maintained a 97.8% efficiency rate over those tackles.<\/p>\n

Could the Tigers\u2019 Terrell May Take It?<\/p>\n

Although I\u2019ve got Tedesco at the top of my list, I could just as easily see Terrell May winning the Dally M Medal this year. He\u2019s one of, if not the league\u2019s strongest and hardest-working players, and his stats show just that. May\u2019s peers have been equally impressed, and even picked him as April\u2019s player of the month.<\/p>\n

3. Payne Haas (Broncos)<\/p>\n

Although I think the Medal is more than likely to go to either May or Tedesco, Haas has been putting in some incredible performances recently. Terrell May might lead the way in terms of fantasy points, but Haas actually has the best average (currently 73.2 compared to May\u2019s 72.9); he\u2019s certainly giving the others a run for their money.<\/p>\n

The Broncos prop has similarly stunning stats to May and boasts an even more unreal 98.4% tackle efficiency, although across a lower 617 tackles. He\u2019s third when it comes to offloads with 54, fourth when it comes to tackle breaks with 104, and fourth with 279 hit-ups. Haas is another of the league\u2019s hardest workers, covering an incredible 167 metres on average each match.<\/p>\n

Does Haas Really Have a Chance to Win the Dally M?<\/p>\n

I do have to get a bit realistic about this for a second and remind you that Haas has missed quite a few games this season. He was absent for rounds 18,19 and 20, due to lower back problems, ankle complaints, and quad injuries. Although when he\u2019s played, he\u2019s been unbelievably good \u2013 Haas was already eight points off the lead after round 12 \u2013 his average might not be enough to get him over the line. However, I still don\u2019t feel I can quite rule him out.<\/p>\n

Honorable Mention \u2013 Luke Metcalf (Warriors)<\/p>\n

If you saw the scoring after the round of 12, you might be scratching your head, wondering why the leader, Luke Metcalf, doesn\u2019t appear on my list. It\u2019s a fair question after the talented Warrior\u2019s halfback was sitting top of the leaderboard with 31 points at the end of May. However, Metcalf hasn\u2019t played since he suffered a season-ending injury<\/a> at the end of June.<\/p>\n

The favorite to win the Dally M \u2013 and one of the most crucial players for the Warriors \u2013 was ruled out of the rest for the season after suffering a horrific injury against the Brisbane Broncos. In the second half, Metcalf tore his ACL in his right knee after a crunching tackle from Brendan Pikura. He had to be helped off the pitch, echoing the injury that the Warriors co-captain Mitch Barnett suffered just a month before.<\/p>\n

How Have the Warriors Been Doing Since?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been a rough ride for the Warriors in terms of injuries this season. At the start of the year, they\u2019d won seven of their nine games and were sitting in second place. I had them pegged as strong contenders to win their first championship, and thought Metcalf was also a top challenger for best player of the season.<\/p>\n

Since Metcalf\u2019s injury, things have been a real challenge (the Broncos went on to win that match 26-12). At the time of writing, they\u2019ve lost three of their last four games and slipped down to eight points behind the league leader, the Raiders. Metcalf is also out of contention for the Dally M, leaving things wide open.<\/p>\n

Who Could I See Claiming the Dally M?<\/p>\n

I think this season is looking like a bit of a two-horse race as we enter the final scoring rounds for the Dally M Medal. It looks set to be a tight competition between the Roosters\u2019 James Tedesco and the Wests Tigers\u2019 Terrell May, with both playing at their very best since scoring went silent at the end of May. While May tips it when it comes to fantasy points, we know they don\u2019t always line up with scoring from the judges, making it tough to call.<\/p>\n

There are outsiders still in the running as well, including Broncos prop Payne Haas, but it\u2019s hard to look past my list\u2019s top two. Haas\u2019, as well as Luke Metcalf\u2019s, chances have been hampered by a season plagued with injuries, and I\u2019m just not sure anyone else could make it over the line.<\/p>\n

The Dolphins\u2019 Isaiya Katoa could have a slim chance, but like Payne, he was trailing by eight points after the round of 12, and he hasn\u2019t been quite as prolific. I can only be certain that this year\u2019s Dally M Medal looks to be one of the closest to call.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Lucius Boehm is an expert sports writer with over a decade in the industry under his belt.\u00a0 A very keen player himself \u2013 who graduated from the University of Auckland with a Degree in Sport, Health and Physical Education \u2013 he provides valuable insight to readers around the world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As we approach the end of the NRL 2025 season, the race for the men\u2019s Dally M Medal…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":115708,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,81992,54317,81993,761,762,158,9120,85,81994,81995],"class_list":{"0":"post-115707","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nrl","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-dally-m-medal","11":"tag-isabelle-kelly","12":"tag-lucius-boehm","13":"tag-national-rugby-league","14":"tag-nationalrugbyleague","15":"tag-nrl","16":"tag-roosters","17":"tag-sports","18":"tag-tedesco","19":"tag-womens-competition"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115707","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=115707"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115707\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/115708"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=115707"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=115707"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=115707"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}