Can Nathan break leader's curse to end Panthers' 41-year Dally M wait

If superstar playmaker Nathan Cleary is to go on and become just the second Panther to claim the Dally M Medal, he will need to do what no player has done since 2017, when Storm great Cameron Smith turned his halfway lead into a runaway triumph.

With Dally M voting going behind closed doors after Round 12, Cleary leads the way on 38 votes, three clear of tearaway Warrior Jackson Ford and six in front of Panthers team-mate Dylan Edwards. 

Should Cleary go on to win he would emulate the deeds of club legend Greg Alexander, who was crowned the 1985 Dally M Medal winner just a year after collecting Dally M Rookie of the Year honours.

If Ford can run down Cleary in the back half of the season he would become just the second Warrior to claim the top gong after Roger Tuivasa-Sheck in 2018.

Smith took home the game’s most coveted individual award twice, in 2006 and 2017, the second of those coming after he led the count on 17 votes at halfway from Paul Gallen (14), who went to finish fourth, and Paul Vaughan (14), who finished 18th.

• Full Round 12 votes and Dally M leaderboard

In the ensuing eight years, no player has managed to hang on and win the medal after leading when votes went behind closed doors, including Edwards in 2024.

The Panthers fullback finished the count in eighth place on 34 votes after sitting on top with 31 votes after Round 12.

Remarkably, Hughes came from 16th place at the midway point on 16 votes to charge home and beat Tedesco by a single vote in a nailbiting finish.

In 2025, Tedesco would not be denied, coming from third in the standings at the halfway mark to bolt home by 22 votes from Cleary, Payne Haas and Isaiya Katoa.

The pacesetter after Round 12 last year was Warriors halfback Luke Metcalf, who was cruelly struck down by an ACL injury in Round 17, eventually finishing the count in eighth place on 40 points.

Back in 2021, Cleary also had the lead when voting went silent, only to be run down by Tom Trbojevic, who received maximum votes in six of his eight matches in the second half of the season.

Cleary finished second, five points shy of Turbo, and was left to rue the five matches he missed due to a shoulder injury after Origin Two.

Among those well and truly in the hunt in 2026 are Cowboys fullback Scott Drinkwater, who sits fourth on 29 points, and Tedesco, who is fifth on 23.

Drinkwater is out to become the third Cowboy to claim the Dally M Medal after four-time winner Johnathan Thurston (2005, 2007, 2014, 2015) and teammate Jason Taumalolo, who saluted in 2016.

Tedesco, meanwhile, is looking to become a three-time winner after his 2019 and 2025 success, while Gary Freeman (1992) and Todd Carney (2010) are the Roosters' other Dally M Medalists.

The weekly Dally M votes and leaderboard now go ‘behind closed doors’ for the remainder of the regular season with anticipation building towards the announcement of the winner at the Dally M Awards in Grand Final week.

Halfway home

How the Round 12 Dally M leaders have fared since 2016

2025

    1. 31 points – Luke Metcalf (Warriors)
    2. 29 points – Will Kennedy (Sharks)
    3. 28 points – James Tedesco (Roosters)

Metcalf played only four games after Round 12 and picked up nine more votes before he suffered an ACL injury in Round 17 against the Broncos. Kennedy polled only eight more votes to finish on 10th on 37 votes while Tedesco surged home with 39 votes in his final 13 games to claim his second Dally M Medal.

2024

1. 31 points – Dylan Edwards (Panthers)
2. 30 points – Nicho Hynes (Sharks)
3. 27 points – Daly Cherry-Evans (Sea Eagles)

Edwards played only six games after Round 12, eventually polling 34 votes to finish eighth in Dally M voting. Hynes polled only three more votes in the second half of the season as Storm halfback Jahrome Hughes came from clouds to poll 62 votes and win the game's most prestigious individual honour.

2023

1. 30 points – Payne Haas (Broncos)
2. 27 points – Nathan Cleary (Panthers)
3. 25 points – Harry Grant (Storm)

Haas went on to finish eighth with 42 votes behind winner Kalyn Ponga, who came from tied for 59th on six points after 12 rounds to claim the top gong.

2022

1. 19 points – Ben Hunt (Dragons)
2. 17 points – Isaah Yeo (Panthers)
3. 16 points – Nicho Hynes (Sharks)

Ben Hunt finished third on 32 points with James Tedesco second on 33 and Nicho Hynes claiming the medal with 38 points.

2021

1. 21 points – Nathan Cleary (Panthers)
2. 17 points – Roger Tuivasa-Sheck (Warriors)
3. 16 points – James Fisher-Harris (Panthers)

Nathan Cleary would go on to finish second on 30 points behind Tom Trbojevic (35) who received maximum votes in six of his eight games in the second half of the season. 

2020

1. 13 points – Harry Grant (Wests Tigers)
2. 12 points – Cameron Smith (Storm), Clint Gutherson (Eels)
3. 11 points – Jason Taumalolo (Cowboys), Shaun Johnson (Sharks), Nathan Cleary (Panthers)

Canberra's Jack Wighton turned at the halfway mark on 10 points and went on to win the Dally M Medal while Harry Grant finished in equal 11th on 15 points and took home Rookie of the Year honours.

2019

1. 15 points – Mitchell Pearce (Knights)
2. 14 points – Cameron Munster (Storm)
3. 14 points – Damien Cook (Rabbitohs)

Pearce would poll just four votes in the second half of the season to finish equal 10th on 18 votes. Roosters star James Tedesco had 12 points after 12 rounds and went on to win with 34 votes.

2018

1. 17 points – James Maloney (Panthers)
2. 16 points – Andrew Fifita (Sharks)
3. 16 points – Kalyn Ponga (Knights)
4. 16 points – Luke Brooks (Wests Tigers)

James Maloney played eight games after Round 12 and the Panthers won five of those but he failed to gather any more votes while Roger Tuivasa-Sheck won the Dally M with 29 votes from Ponga on 27 and Brooks on 26.

2017

1. 17 points – Cameron Smith (Storm)
2. 14 points – Paul Gallen (Sharks)
3. 14 points – Paul Vaughan (Dragons)

Cameron Smith defies the trend by going on to win the 2017 Dally M Medal after leading at Round 12. The Storm skipper polled 33 votes to beat Cowboy Michael Morgan (25) while Gallen would go on to finish fourth on 22 points after sitting second when voting went silent.