Dally M awards 2026 LIVE updates: Nathan Cleary tipped to claim first-ever Dally M Medal from hospital bed; thousands of fans swamp Newcastle Knights’ open training session at McDonald Jones Stadium

For proof, look no further than James street in New Lambton. Here, Teigan and Sam Jobbins, with a bit of help from their mate Aiden Kelaher, have Knight-washed their kingdom. After painting their fences for the semi-finals series a few years ago, they went the extra step this week and decked out the house in team colours.

“We’ve always wanted to do this,” Teigan said as passing cars toot their horns in approval.

As he applies the finishing brushstrokes to his masterpiece, Sam reveals he has taken all of next week off work, in anticipation of a week-long celebration.

“Mad Monday will be just the start!” Teigan says.

For all those out there wondering what the Dally M awards are, they are the NRL and NRLW end of year awards.

The ‘big one’ is the Dally M medal, which is awarded to the best men’s and women’s player of the year as voted by a judging panel throughout the regular season.

Voting is made public until round 12 for the men and round four for the women before it goes ‘behind closed doors’, making the awards that little bit more exciting.

We’ve had some close counts in recent years – Jahrome Hughes beat James Tedesco by one point in 2024, before ‘Teddy’ won his second medal in 2025, having previously won in 2019 when the Roosters last won the premiership.

The night also has other awards such as team of the year, coach of the year and try of the year.

We will be bringing you coverage of the awards red carpet tonight from 5pm, before the ceremony gets under way at 6.30pm. The medal winners are usually announced at about 9.30pm.

Good morning rugby league fans.

The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and Newcastle fans in their thousands are descending on McDonald Jones Stadium this morning for the Knights’ open training session.

It’s a big day for the Newcastle players because you’d assume many of them will be in attendance tonight for the 2026 Dally M awards, including captain Kalyn Ponga who was in the top 10 when voting went behind closed doors.

We’ll be bringing you more Dally M news this morning (including what the NRL plan to do if Nathan Cleary’s wins from his hospital bed) along with all the colour and chaos of the Newcastle fan day.