how does the dally m work

The Dally M Medal works by having two unnamed judges, chosen from a panel of former players, independently watch each National Rugby League (NRL) regular season game and award votes on a 3-2-1 basis. Each judge awards three votes to the best player on the field, two votes to the second-best, and one vote to the third-best, meaning a player can receive a maximum of six votes per match. Votes collected from all matches are then tallied to determine the player with the highest number of votes who wins the Dally M Medal for the season. Voting results are made public up to the midpoint of the season (Round 12), after which voting goes behind closed doors until the end of the regular season. Suspensions affect eligibility: any player suspended for two or more matches becomes ineligible for the award, and suspended players have three points deducted per week of suspension. Besides the medal, a Dally M Team of the Year is also selected based on votes for the best player in each position, with the top three medalists automatically included in their positions in the team.