THERE are no shortage of candidates but Dragons hooker Mitch Rein looks at short odds to cap a breakout season with the club’s player of the year award on Sunday night.
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The medal recipient is determined by voting from players and coaching staff leaving a host of contenders vying for the club’s highest individual honour.
Rein played in all but one game for the club this year and was in such a rich vein of form mid-season that he was thrust into Origin contention as regular Blues No.9 Robbie Farah battled injury throughout the series.
On the back of much better go-forward from the Dragons big-men Rein’s rediscovered running game proved the his side’s attacking X factor in a season where points proved difficult to come by.
The 25-year-old shared the hooking role for the bulk of the season but finished the season as an 80-minute man, a role he seems likely to keep next season when a reduction in interchanges is introduced.
Rein heads a field of several contenders in a season in which the Dragons surged into the top four over the opening half of the season and made their first finals appearance in four seasons.
Tyson Frizell.
After an injury-riddled 2014 campaign in which he was forced to compensate for the Dragons lack of size in the front row, Frizell enjoyed a career-best season on the right edge.
The club’s undisputed king of the gym proved a powerhouse running off Benji Marshall earning Country Origin selection and a call-up to the NSW squad as 18th man for game one.
A two-week suspension for a high shot on Bulldogs prop Tim Browne in round six was the only blemish in a breakout season.
Benji Marshall
The veteran play-maker was the driving force behind the Dragons run of nine wins from their first 12 games to find themselves joint competition leaders after 12 rounds.
It saw the 30-year-old leading Dally M voting and even as the Dragons struggled over the latter half of the season Marshall remained their chief attacking ace finishing second in the NRL for line break assists (28) and third in try assists (23).
Josh Dugan
Dugan has produced a self-described career-best year in 2015 after returning to fullback.
The 25-year-old inherited the NSW No.1 from Jarryd Hayne and picked up the Brad Fitler Medal as the Blues best player.
His contribution was equally telling at club level leading the Dragons in average run metres (166 metres) and tackle busts (107) to go with his seven tries.
Dugan also made his Test debut for Australia in April.
