Dally M Awards 2026: Cleary and Upton favourites as Jai Arrow's MND journey takes centre stage
The NRL's Dally M Awards ceremony was held in Sydney on Wednesday, honouring the 2026 season's best players, with Nathan Cleary and Tamika Upton tipped as medal favourites while South Sydney's Jai Arrow was celebrated for his fight against motor neurone disease.
Night of nights in Sydney
The National Rugby League (NRL) held its annual Dally M Awards ceremony in Sydney on Wednesday, September 30, celebrating the season's best players and standout moments. According to NRL.com, the event took place at The Cutaway in Barangaroo.
The night features numerous awards, including the NRL and NRLW Player of the Year medals, Team of the Year, Try of the Year, Tackle of the Year, and the Ken Stephen and Veronica White medals for Man and Woman of the Year.
Medal frontrunners
Voting for the NRL Dally M Medal closed after Round 12, with Panthers halfback Nathan Cleary leading on 38 votes, ahead of Warriors forward Jackson Ford on 35 and Cleary's teammate Dylan Edwards on 32. NRL.com notes that Ford played only four more games after suffering a pectoral injury in Round 16, while Cleary and Edwards each played 10 of a possible 13 games.
In the NRLW race, voting closed after Round 4 with Broncos fullback Tamika Upton leading on 12 votes, followed by Raiders' Sheridan Gallagher and Roosters' Tarryn Aiken, both on 11. Upton has already won the medal twice, in 2023 and 2025, and a win this year would make her the first three-time winner.
Tribute to Jai Arrow
The Peter Frilingos Headline Moment of the Year went to South Sydney's Jai Arrow for his milestone 100th NRL game. He played his 99th game in Round 26, then in Round 27 against the Roosters took the field for game number 100 before leaving straight after kick-off for the sideline, where coach Wayne Bennett was holding the interchange card. As ABC News reports, Arrow is battling motor neurone disease (MND), and unconfirmed reports suggest he may take part in a pre-game tribute lap ahead of Sunday's grand final, set to a rendition of "You'll Never Walk Alone". Arrow neither confirmed nor denied the plan, saying only that it would be "interesting" and that "it won't just be for me, it'll be for everyone fighting MND." NRL boss Peter V'Landys promised a special pre-grand-final performance, stressing it would be dedicated to Arrow.
Sunday's grand final at Accor Stadium will see the Newcastle Knights face the Sydney Roosters. Knights captain Kalyn Ponga praised coach Justin Holbrook, a contender for the Dally M Coach of the Year award.
