Blayke Brailey has watched on as Storm counterpart Harry Grant won the past two Dally M Hooker of the Year awards, but the Sharks star is in the box seat to claim the prize this season with Melbourne\u2019s skipper ineligible due to suspension.<\/p>\n
It would be a fitting reward for Brailey, who has been one of the most consistent players in the NRL for the past few years and is finally getting the recognition he deserves.<\/p>\n
The Sharks hooker has again recorded more than 1000 tackles this season and has had a career-high 16 try assists, with Cronulla invariably winning when he runs the ball.<\/p>\n
Brailey turns 27 on Tuesday and is at the peak of his powers going into a showdown with the Queensland and Australia dummy-half who can\u2019t win the Dally M positional award following a two-match ban for a shoulder charge.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the start of the year, I wrote down some goals for the season,\u201d Brailey said, with the Sharks hooker a chance of finishing ahead of Grant regardless of the ban.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was definitely one of them and I\u2019m not going to shy away from that. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think the awards are a week or so away but I don\u2019t know where I\u2019m sitting or what people\u2019s thoughts on me are, but it\u2019ll be a nice acknowledgment (if I do win it).<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I could break it up and give it to all of my middles, then I probably would.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brailey has been in awe of Grant for a few seasons now and watched on as the Storm superstar scored three tries to beat the Sharks in week one of the 2024 finals. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe whole team played well that day,\u201d he said, hoping for a different result in Friday\u2019s grand final qualifier.<\/p>\n
\u201cTheir middles got them on the front foot and that allowed him to run and scheme. Close to the line he\u2019s such a threat, so he can run the ball, kick the ball and do whatever he wants (if we give him time).<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll be on high alert as we are every week. I know a lot of teams try to shut him down but he\u2019s a good player so you can\u2019t shut him down for too long.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s obviously been the leading hooker for a lot of seasons now, so I\u2019ve watched him from afar with his running game and what he does in attack.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s pretty cool that he\u2019s a captain as well, so I do sit at home and watch what he does because he\u2019s been outstanding again this year and it\u2019ll be a good battle again between us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brailey is a lifelong Sharks supporter who was at the 2016 grand final when Michael Ennis played a key role in helping the club win its maiden premiership. <\/p>\n
He took down the greatest of all time that night in Cameron Smith, with Brailey hoping to use lessons learnt from Ennis to get one over the current No.1 dummy-half. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe did a lot of work with me as I was coming through,\u201d Brailey said, with Ennis the last Shark to win Hooker of the Year a decade ago. <\/p>\n
\u201cI was in and around training in 2016 when they won, and he stuck around after that season to help me with my mindset.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s an inspiration for me. To see the run he went on that year and how well he performed is something I looked up to and based my game on. Hopefully, I can recreate that.\u201d<\/p>\n