Manly Sea Eagles captain Matt Orford, was leading the tally before voting went into secret before NRL Round 17, is the street corner tip to take out the big prize – but unlike previous seasons where the result was guessed successfully beyond doubt, Orford has some stiff competition for the award.
Prior to the Dally M voting going secret; the following players were in the mix:
Matt Orford 19 Points
Feleti Mateo 16 Points
Billy Slater 15 Points
Braith Anasta 15 Points
Camera Smith 14 Points
Danny Buderus 14 Points
Other leading NRL Rugby League stars threatening to derail Orfords campaing after strong final season rounds are Storm gurus Inglis, Slater and captain Smith – however, each of the Storm stars are obviously at a disadvantage because they are sharing the points with each other after every win.
Inglis has been a success at pivot in 2008 and certainly throws his hat into the ring for the honours.
The Storm superstar has bagged a try scoring hat trick 3 times along with 2 doubles for a total of 16 touchdowns this season.
“I think Greg realises how important pivot is,” Cameron Smith said. “He’s now a dominant five eighth.
“He’s in a predicament like Billy Slater. The players in question could win a game but some of the things they did could probably lose a game for us as well a couple of years ago.”
Sea Eagle Matt Orford played down his chances of snaring the big prize, wanting to keep his mind on Manly’s NRL semis campaign. “It would be special, something that you’d really appreciate and feel honoured to be a part of, but I’m not getting too carried away or crossing my fingers too tight,” Orford said.
The NRL Dally M awards are televised live on Foxtel tonight and will also feature awards for each individual position on the Rugby League field.