Hugh McGahan: Dally M ignoring grafters

Johnathan Thurston. Photo / Getty Images

Why do playmakers always win the Dally M? Players in other positions also deserve recognition.

League's highest individual accolade is invariably awarded to the halves. Since 1980, when known as the Best and Fairest, names such as Sterling, Lyons, Alexander, Freeman, Daley, Langer and Johns have been lauded. In recent years, it's been Johnathan Thurston, Matt Orford, Todd Carney and Cooper Cronk.

In 34 years of this award, a halfback or five-eighth has won it 21 times, a fullback five times, a back-rower four times and a hooker twice.

And those hookers - Danny Buderus and Cameron Smith - won it only after redefining their role and becoming an extra playmaker. The same can be said of fullbacks Jarryd Hayne, Billy Slater and Ben Barba.

Gone is the age of the ball-playing forward, when Gavin Miller won in consecutive years.

The Dally M may as well be the Playmaker of the Year Award - grafters and hard workers need not apply.

No one in such a pivotal position can operate effectively without his forwards creating time and space for him to excel. Props create this platform but, because they don't run in the open spaces with their hair blowing in the wind, their contribution is ignored.

Are we obsessed with seeing only long cut-out passes, short deft passes, tactical kicking or maybe the show-and-go leading to slicing runs through a defence? If a halfback is a weak tackler, he's hidden in the defensive line between two team-mates who have to work overtime to compensate for his frailties.

The halfbacks receive the accolades but, no matter how big the occasion or important the last play, a halfback relies heavily on other men to do their job but rarely is this acknowledged.

The hope one day is that when judges decide on these awards, they look at the role of each position and not just the glamour of it.