Dally M Medal Dally M Medal The Dally M Medal is awarded each year (annually) to the player voted for as the 'Player of the year' over the entire National Rugby League (NRL) regular season. The awards are named in honour of former Australian rugby league great Herbert Henry "Dally" Messenger. The award has existed since 1979, but has only been adopted as the official award for the Player of the Year in the NRL since 1998. Prior to that the official Player of the Year, in both the New South Wales and the Brisbane Rugby Leagues, received the Rothmans Medal whilst the
Dally M Awards NRL met their demands, the NRL cancelled the Dally M awards two days prior to the ceremony. Craig Gower would have been named player of the year had the awards not been cancelled. Gower was subsequently awarded the inaugural RLPA Players Player Medal in recognition of his 2003 NRL season exploits, and his central role in the dispute that saw the creation of the games first overarching workplace agreement 8 months after the boycott. The 2014 Dally M Medal was held on 29 September 2014 and was won jointly by Jarryd Hayne and Johnathan Thurston of the North Queensland Cowboys.