Wests Tigers assistant coach Benji Marshall has revealed he believes Shaun Johnson will win this year's, Dally M Medal.
Johnson has been in a rich run of form throughout the 2023 season, with the Warriors sitting inside the top four a month out from the end of the regular season.
Becoming this season's surprise packet, the Warriors have swatted away all pre-season predictions, and a lot of it has been down to the exceptional form of Johnson in the number seven jersey.
While Johnson and the Warriors will be far more interested in a run to the finals, Marshall said he would be surprised if Johnson doesn't take out the game's top gong at the end of the season ahead of the Tigers clash with the Warriors in Hamilton on Saturday afternoon.
“It's no secret we tried to lure Shaun Johnson over the ditch… the way he is playing inside that team, I'll be very surprised if he doesn't win the Dally M,” Marshall said per NRL.com.
“Shaun has always been one of my favourite players to watch and when he gets criticised, at times I find it hard to hear, because it's unfair a lot of the time.
“If you watch his game closely this year he is putting his body on the line defensively – I think he's got 92 percent tackle efficiency – for a half that is phenomenal.
"He is doing the tough things, he's running the footy, taking the line on, all the things people love to see Shaun Johnson do.
“He is definitely their go-to guy and that's why we tried to sign him.
“The way he is going, and given the Warriors results, he will be a big chance [to win the Dally M Medal]. He would be the second Warrior ever to do it, it'd be awesome.”
The widely held consensus is that Brisbane Broncos prop Payne Haas will be difficult to stop when it comes to taking out this year's Dally M Medal, and in Zero Tackle's MVP race, he has a commanding lead over Scott Drinkwater, who sits second, and Johnson, who sits third.
