Wally Lewis Medal judge Laurie Daley has defended his decision to controversially award Maroons fullback Billy Slater the player of the series following last night's Origin game three.
The Melbourne Storm star was awarded the Wally Lewis Medal after the Maroons' 18-12 win over New South Wales at Suncorp Stadium, despite Queensland losing the series and Slater missing game one.
But Daley affirms that he and fellow judges, Mal Meninga and Darren Lockyer, went through a systematic process to decide that Slater was deserving of the award, hitting back at critics for questioning his integrity.
“One thing I do know, and Mal Meninga knows, and Darren Lockyer knows — don’t ever question my integrity, don’t ever question (why) I’m voting because of whatever reason,” Daley told the Big Sports Breakfast on Thursday morning.
“I always vote because I believe they’re the man of the match.”
Daley conceded that he understands why Blues fans feel hard done by considering that their team won the series, but noted that judging is based off a fair 4,3,2,1 system in each game, where the player with the most votes is crowned the Wally Lewis Medallist.
“I can understand why people are disappointed and blowing up this morning over Billy Slater receiving the Wally Lewis Medal.
“He’s been very good in games two and three and I believe he is the player of the series.
“I can understand the frustration from NSW supporters because we want a NSW player to win.
“But that’s why rugby league is so good, it’s all about opinions and it’s all about following and supporting your team. Some people thought Damien Cook could have been player of the series, some people thought James Tedesco could have been player of the series.
“It’s opinion-based and everyone has their opinion about who should be player of the series.
“I’m happy with my selections.”
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