BY STAFF WRITERS

We are getting to the pointy end of the season! The sun is out, the smell of spring is in the air and the NRL is about to get a whole lot more serious.

You know it’s happening when the Rugby League Hottest 100 is in countdown and the Beetson Raudonikis Medal is just around the corner.

Let’s take a look at the 2022 #BeetsonRaudonikisMedal.

Click here for history of the award

List of awards include the Beetson Raudonikis Medal, Coach of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Utility MVP, Representative Player of the Year and the third annual Essence Award.

It also includes our Positional Team of the Year and all 16 of our individual Club Player of the Year awards.

SOME FUN FACTS

• The Arthur Beetson Medal has been previously called the Ultimate Sports Memorabilia Medal, Handyman Magazine Medal, Steele Sports Medal and the Arthur Beetson Medal
• Tom Trbojevic won the award on a mammoth 41 votes last year – 14 clear of his closest challenger

• Johnathan Thurston won three consecutive Arthur Beetson Medals: ’14 Thurston and Hayne, ’15 Thurston, ’16 Thurston, Cronk, Taumalolo
• The first ‘Utility MVP’ award was given out in 2017 to Parramatta’s Clint Gutherson
• Cameron Smith’s 2017 was the second largest margin since the award began in 2012. Smith won by 7 votes from Mitchell Pearce

• Kalyn Ponga led the vote in 2018 until the last round until being overtaken by Roger Tuivasa-Sheck
• Shaun Johnson led the 2016 count with two rounds to play but was overrun by Jason Taumalolo, Johnathan Thurston and Cooper Cronk
• Jason Taumalolo has won 12 individual The81stMinute awards including an Arthur Beetson Medal, positional awards in the Team of the Year and the Cowboys Player of the Year on several occasions
• Despite Manly’s horrible 2018 form, Daly Cherry-Evans won the halfback position in the Team of the Year after polling more votes than any other halfback

• The Warriors have been awarded the first and second ‘Essence Award’ for the game’s greatest spirit for their time based in Australia
• Up until 2021, the winner of the Beetson Raudonikis Medal went on to win the Dally M the same year in six consecutive seasons. That was broken in 2021 when Nathan Cleary (Beetson Raudonikis Medal) was upset by Jack Wighton in the Dally M