All the stars of the NRL and NRLW will gather at The Cutaway in Barangaroo on Sydney Harbour on Wednesday night to celebrate the top performers of 2026 at the Dally M Awards.
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DALLY M STATE OF PLAY
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But the recepient of one of the biggest awards of the night may well not be in attendance, with Penrith Panthers halfback Nathan Cleary the raging favourite to be crowned the NRL Dally M Medallist.
If Cleary is to top the voting as expected, he could accept the award via video link from father Ivan’s house, where he is recovering from a nasty compound fracture he suffered in Penrith’s loss to the Newcastle Knights on the weekend.
Otherwise, Ivan — who is in the running for coach of the year — could accept the award on his behalf while a pre-recorded message is another alternative.
Cronulla’s Braydon Trindall is considered the strongest competition to Cleary given his stellar season while Panthers teammate Dylan Edwards is also a contender to poll plenty of votes.
CODE Sports reporter Michael Carayannis also singled out Cowboys star fullback Scott Drinkwater was a “smokie” for the award.
Elsewhere, it looks like it could be a two-way race for the NRLW Dally M Medallist between the two grand finalists with Brisbane’s Tamika Upton and Roosters star Taryn Aiken topping the leaderboard when it went behind closed doors.
LIVE BLOG
Follow along for foxsports.com.au’s live blog of the Dally M Awards on Wednesday night.