The 2016 NRL season returns to action this weekend after clubs took a break from action for the representative round.
Round 10 kicks off on Thursday night as the Dragons host the Raiders and it will be interesting to see which players from that match will acquire points towards the Dally M medal.
The Dally M is awarded to the player who is voted as the best player of the year over the entire NRL season.
All eyes will be on the Green Machine’s Josh Hodgson who is currently a surprise leader of the voting and sits on 13-points with his nearest two rivals on 10-points each.
2016 Dally M - Leaderboard After Round 9
Josh Hodgson – 13
Andrew Fifita – 10
Michael Ennis – 10
Corey Norman – 9
Anthony Milford – 8
Jason Tuamalolo – 8
Apisai Koroisau – 8
Josh Dugan – 8
Bryce Cartwright – 8
Jesse Bromwich – 8
As you can see from the ladder above, Hodgson is sitting in a good position but it wouldn’t take long for the players behind to leapfrog him.
Despite leading, Hodgson is equal third favourite to claim the medal at seasons end and is paying a hefty $9 with Sportsbet.
It isn’t a bad bet to place on him as he is a vocal point of the Raiders attack and is a constant threat out of dummy half.
He picks up a lot of line breaks, line break assists and try assists when the Canberra side is close to the line.
The current favourite to claim the medal is the Brisbane Broncos Anthony Milford who is currently on 8 points.
The young five eighth is at the odds of $3.50 with Sportsbet and it is largely due to the bookmaker believing he will continue to have a break out year.
To add to his chances of picking up points, he is playing for a team that is likely to be winning a lot of games as well as he is ineligible to play Origin this year and his chances of gaining points with key players out of the team increases.
However, we believe he is at far too short odds to back as there is a lot of brilliant players in the Broncos side that could steal Dally M points from Milford throughout the season and despite his brilliant start to the year over the opening nine rounds, he only has 8 points.
Andrew Fifita is an outsider that could have a chance of earning the medal at the end of the season and he would become the first forward to win the award since Gavin Miller in 1989.
Fifita is an x-factor forward that has a lot of skill and when he is at his best he can turn a match on its head and in the favour of his team.
However, he is currently in contention to be selected for New South Wales which could impact his chances of earning Dally M points at club level but at the odds of $26 with Sportsbet and just three points behind the current leader he is worth backing for the great value.
The two-time defending champion Johnathan Thurston is at $5 with Sportsbet to win the title for a third straight season despite only being on six-points and registering in voting just twice.
There is no doubt the North Queensland captain is one of the best players to ever take the field but it is apparent he is taking a back seat with the side this season and it is also likely that coach Paul Green will rest the superstar throughout the Origin period
We suggest this price is far too short to be backing and it would be a good option to place a lay bet on Thurston.
The Dally M voting goes behind closed doors at the end of round 16 as the voting over the last 10 rounds will be left in private until the night of the awards.
To keep up to date with all of our NRL coverage, check out our full NRL Round 10 Preview and Betting tips article.
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