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Nathan Cleary is the favorite to win his first Dally M Medal on Wednesday night, but the NRL and Penrith will wait until Wednesday morning to decide if he can appear live from his hospital bed. Tamika Upton is favored to win her third women's award in four years.
Nathan Cleary is the hot favorite to win his first Dally M Medal on Wednesday night, but the NRL and Penrith Panthers will wait until Wednesday morning to decide if he is well enough to appear live on camera from his hospital bed should he win.
Cleary is recovering at Royal North Shore Hospital after undergoing surgery late on Sunday following a hip-drop tackle by Newcastle's Phoenix Crossland. He posted a photo from his hospital bed on Monday afternoon. The NRL and Cleary's club will be guided by the player over what level of involvement he is prepared to have should he prevail.
Sources with knowledge of the situation not authorised to speak publicly confirmed other options being discussed included Panthers coach Ivan Cleary accepting the award on his son's behalf, or even asking Nathan to pre-record an acceptance speech. The Dally M Awards ceremony will start at 6:30pm AEST at The Cutaway in Barangaroo on Sydney Harbour. For all those out there wondering what the Dally M awards are, they are the NRL and NRLW end of year awards.
How Dally M Voting Works
The big one is the Dally M medal, awarded to the best men's and women's player of the year as voted by a judging panel throughout the regular season. Voting is made public until round 12 for the men and round four for the women before it goes behind closed doors, making the awards that little bit more exciting. The medal winners are usually announced at about 9:30pm.
There will be NRL and NRLW Team of the Year named, highlighting the leagues' best in each position. The night also has other awards such as coach of the year and try of the year. The Ken Stephen Medal and Veronica White Medal will also be awarded to the men's and women's players who made the biggest contribution to their rugby league communities.
This year was the first time the NRL did not even make public the finalists for the different awards, including captain, coach and rookie of the year. The Rugby League Players Association on Monday announced Cleary as their Players' Champion, the award he won in 2020. His partner, Matildas forward Mary Fowler, took to social media to congratulate Cleary, posting on Instagram: As proud as one can be. So well deserved darling.
Cleary Overtook Wighton For Lead
Cleary has never won the Dally M, and was pipped by Jack Wighton in 2020 when most fans expected him to win. That night was hijacked by The Daily Telegraph's decision to publish the Wighton story hours before it was made official, which led to the NRL clamping down on publishing embargoes. Cleary was in front by three votes when polling went behind closed doors after round 12. He led with 38 points after round 12.
Canterbury's Jackson Ford was second on 35, but suffered a ruptured pectoral injury in round 16 and missed the rest of the regular season. Cleary's next closest competitors are a trio of fullbacks - Penrith's Dylan Edwards (32), North Queensland's Scott Drinkwater (29) and defending winner James Tedesco (27) of the Roosters.
Cronulla's Will Kennedy and even Newcastle's Kalyn Ponga, who caused a boilover in 2023 to pinch the Dally M by one vote from Shaun Johnson, are also expected to be in the race. Ponga, however, on Tuesday thought the award was Cleary's to lose. He said: He's been the best player a number of years, although he hasn't won the award, he's been the best - he definitely deserves it, and just keeps getting better, which is scary.
Cleary was instrumental in NSW beating Queensland in the Origin series, and won the Wally Lewis Medal for being the best player in the series. Brad Fittler, the Penrith and Roosters legend, and a close friend of the Cleary family, was heartbroken to see Nathan in pain on the weekend, not to mention witness the raw emotion shown by his parents, Ivan and Bec, the latter who was seated just behind him at Accor Stadium.
Fittler said: I thought he was going to clean up everything this year, he looked strong early, then dominated Origin, I thought he was unbeatable - it took a broken foot and broken leg to stop him. Brisbane Broncos fullback Tamika Upton is favoured to win her third women's award in four years.
Upton Favored For Women's Award
Upton had 12 points from four NRLW games when voting became secret and faces tough competition from Roosters playmaker Tarryn Aiken (11), Raiders fullback Sheridan Gallagher (11), Brisbane halfback Jesse Southwell (10) and rugby sevens star turned Titans five-eighth Teagan Levi (9). Before the start of the NRLW in 2018 the best female player was awarded the game's top international women's player.
Jahrome Hughes beat James Tedesco by one point in 2024, before Teddy won his second medal in 2025, having previously won in 2019 when the Roosters last won the premiership. Newcastle fans in their thousands are descending on McDonald Jones Stadium this morning for the Knights' open training session.
Newcastle Fans Paint House Red
It's a big day for the Newcastle players because many of them will be in attendance tonight for the 2026 Dally M awards, including captain Kalyn Ponga who was in the top 10 when voting went behind closed doors. They have literally painted the town red (and blue). For proof, look no further than James street in New Lambton. Here, Teigan and Sam Jobbins, with a bit of help from their mate Aiden Kelaher, have Knight-washed their kingdom.
After painting their fences for the semi-finals series a few years ago, they went the extra step this week and decked out the house in team colours. We've always wanted to do this, Teigan said as passing cars toot their horns in approval. As he applies the finishing brushstrokes to his masterpiece, Sam reveals he has taken all of next week off work, in anticipation of a week-long celebration.
We will be bringing you coverage of the awards red carpet tonight from 5pm, before the ceremony gets under way at 6:30pm.
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brisbanetimes:Cleary is the favourite to win the Dally M. Here’s how NRL plans to handle the award 
smh:Dally M awards 2026 LIVE updates: Nathan Cleary tipped to claim first-ever Dally M Medal from hospital bed; Newcastle Knights’ open training session set to be swamped by fans 
theage:Dally M awards 2026 LIVE updates: Nathan Cleary tipped to claim first-ever Dally M Medal from hospital bed; Newcastle Knights’ open training session set to be swamped by fansThis story was compiled and edited by the HeadTopics newsroom and HT AI from the reports above.
NRL NRLW Dally M Awards Nathan Cleary Tamika Upton Dally M Medal NRL Awards Kalyn Ponga Penrith Panthers Newcastle Knights
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