The Dally M Medal is an award given each year to the player voted for as the Player of the year over the National Rugby League regular season. The awards are named in honor of Australian former rugby league great Herbert Henry "Dally" Messenger. The Dally M Medal was originally established in 1979 by The Daily Mirror newspaper and was awarded each year between 1979 and 1996. The Dally M Awards are the official annual player awards for the National Rugby League competition, and as well as honoring the player of the year, awards are also given to the premier player in each position, the best coach, the best captain, representative player of the year, and the most outstanding rookie of the season. The Dally M Medal recognizes the games best player on a 3-2-1 voting basis throughout the regular season, and the player who polls the highest number of votes over the regular season is crowned the winner of the Dally M Medal. The Dally M Team of the Year recognizes the best player(s) in each position across all rounds of the regular season, and the judges vote on the best player(s) in each position at regular intervals throughout the season. The NRL collates the votes and maintains the leaderboard, both of which are made public up to and including Round 12. From Round 13, voting goes ‘behind closed doors’ for the remainder of the regular season with anticipation building towards the announcement of the winner at the Dally M Awards.