Melbourne captain Cameron Smith looks an unbeatable frontrunner for this year's Dally M medal after starring in his 350th NRL game in a big 40-6 win over the Sea Eagles at AAMI Park on Sunday afternoon.
Smith set up four tries in the milestone match to earn three unofficial votes from NRL.com journalist Joel Moss.
It was a miraculous recovery for Smith who was injured during Round 20 and looked certain to miss a few matches with a pectoral strain before proving his match fitness and then starring in his side's massive win over Manly.
The three votes give him a six-point lead in NRL.com's unofficial Dally M leaderboard ahead of the chasing pack of Daly Cherry-Evans, Gareth Widdop and Paul Gallen.
Gallen registered three points of his own in the Sharks 26-12 win over the Warriors at Mt Smart Stadium to move into equal second place.
Eels halfback Corey Norman scored three points as he continues to lead the Eels up the NRL Telstra Premiership ladder towards Parramatta's first finals appearance since 2009, while Paul Vaughan and Luke Keary each registered one point during Round 21.
NRL.com's unofficial leaderboard:
Player | Points |
Cameron Smith | 25 |
Daly Cherry-Evans | 19 |
Gareth Widdop | 19 |
Paul Gallen | 19 |
Clinton Gutherson | 17 |
Mitchell Pearce | 17 |
Michael Morgan | 16 |
Paul Vaughan | 16 |
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck | 15 |
Wade Graham | 15 |
Luke Keary | 15 |
Corey Norman | 15 |
NRL.com's unofficial rankings are based on ratings attributed to players in each game by nrl.com staff following the official Dally M points going behind closed doors after Round 14. The rankings are in no way based on official Dally M points after Round 14, which will not be released until the official announcement of the Dally M winner in Grand Final Week.
