In an unprecedented four way tie, Josh Papalii, Elliott Whitehead, Jack Wighton and George Williams have shared the Canberra Raiders Fans' Choice Award for 2020.
All four contenders remaining after Round 19 were rested in the final game of the regular season. Two players have previously shared the award, but never more than two. It is the third year in a row that Josh Papalii has been a winner of the major award, and he will now have four trophies in the cabinet. In the past five years, he has only missed out once, in 2017. Since the inception of the award, no other player has won three times, let alone four. It is the first time that the other three players have won the Fans' Choice Player of the Year.
Josh Papalii and Elliott Whitehead share the award for Fans' Choice Forward of the Year, while Jack Wighton and George Williams share the title of Fans' Choice Back of the Year.
Josh Papalii took out man of the match honours in three matches. He earned three points in the Round 4 clash with the Tigers. He then put in big performances against two of the competition heavyweights - taking three points from the Round 9 loss to the Storm and the Round 10 Grand Final re-match at the SCG against the Roosters. The Roosters "poked the bear" in that game at the SCG and would go on to regret it.
In his 19 appearances in 2020, he has scored four tries and produced 32 tackle breaks and 17 offloads. He's averaged 150 running metres, 56 post contact metres and 31 tackles per match. His tackle efficiency rate is an incredible 97 per cent, while he barely records an error. He topped 200 running metres in three matches - the Round 7 golden point match against the Eels, the Round 10 Grand Final re-match and the Round 16 clash with the Bulldogs.
Papalii signed a contract extension in September, keeping him in green until at least the end of 2024, with a further option for the 2025 season. It will likely make Big Papa a Raider for life. Papalii pulled off what will surely be the NRL tackle of the year, when he chased down Titans half Jamal Fogarty. The biggest challenger for tackle of the year is probably one his own efforts, when he clashed with Dragons lock Cameron McInnes. After the Titans game, Raiders coach Ricky Stuart said Papalii will go down as one of the greats of the club.
"Josh Papalii showed you today with that chase on the young half and his ankle tap on what should have been a try, he showed you what this jumper is all about and what character these boys have inside them," Stuart said.
"Papa will go down one of our greatest players ever when he retires. He is one of the boys' favourites, they love playing with him. I don't underestimate anything Josh has got, he's got a wonderful motor and he's very skillful for his size."
"I don't say that lightly, he will go down as the greats of this club. And it's a very deserving accolade or piece of commentary because we’ve had some greats here."
Elliott Whitehead was man of the match in three games - the Round 6 loss to the Sea Eagles, the Round 8 win over the Dragons and the recent victory over the Warriors. Along with Papalii, Whitehead has stepped up to lead an injury stricken forward pack this season. In his 19 games so far this year, he has scored four tries and delivered seven line breaks, four try assists, five line break assists and eight offloads. He has averaged 77 running metres and 32 tackles per game, while posting a 90 per cent tackle efficiency rate.
Whitehead is a tough forward who is often among the top tacklers, but he also has some serious skills. In Round 19 against the Warriors, he slotted into the halves when George Williams left the field early, due to a head knock. He seemingly did it with ease, despite having to soldier on after being dumped heavily in a tackle. He set up tries in both of his final games of the regular season. In the Round 8 win over the Dragons, he was great in both attack and defence, and returned to the field after passing a head injury assessment.
"He's the most underrated footballer in the competition," coach Ricky Stuart said after that match. "He went back on, he's a tough player. I have all the admiration in the world for Elliot.
"A lot of the stuff he does goes unnoticed but it doesn't go unnoticed by myself. That was my message to him at halftime. He doesn't like compliments but I told him I don't miss what he does."
Jack Wighton picked up man of the match honours in four matches - the Round 1 and Round 15 clashes with the Titans, the Round 5 win over the Tigers and the Round 16 victory over the Bulldogs. In his 19 games, Wighton has scored 10 tries - second only to winger Nick Cotric at the club. No five eighth in the NRL has more tries and no Raider has more total try involvements (25). Wighton has also posted seven try assists, seven line break assists, four offloads and eight forced line drop outs. He's averaged 103 running metres, 277 kicking metres and 20 tackles per game.
Jack Wighton re-signed with the Raiders in February this year, a four year deal keeping him with the Green Machine until the end of 2024. By the time that deal runs out, he'll be aged 31. Wighton almost had his contract torn up over an off field incident in 2018. But in 2019, he went on to win the Clive Churchill Medal and represent the Blues and Kangaroos. He reportedly turned down bigger offers from other clubs to stay in green.
Wighton's a brilliant runner and powerful in defence. He's also developed a good long kicking game. Ricky Stuart's decision to shift him from fullback to five eighth has certainly paid off.
"He's one of our most consistent footballers," Stuart said after Wighton's re-signing.
When you’ve got one of your best players consistently playing well each week, it’s a massive part of the plan because your consistency in this competition is so important. Jack plays well every week, and if he makes an error, makes a mistake, it's because he's always trying something. He's a wonderful Raider."
"He put a lot of hard work in going from fullback to five-eighth. It's a really big move for a player who hasn't played a lot in the halves. Jack's got his own strengths and we had to make his game out of his own strengths."
New English recruit, George Williams, has made a big impression in his first year in the NRL. He was man of the match in two games - the Round 3 victory over the Storm and the Round 14 win against the Broncos - but earned points in more matches than any other player (eight).
Williams made 19 appearances in 2020, scoring four tries while producing six line breaks, 11 offloads, 12 try assists and four line break assists. He forced a remarkable 15 line drop outs on the opposition, and averaged 234 kicking metres per match. His short kicking game was outstanding, with many of his try assists coming from cross field kicks to the try line. He averaged 70 running metres and 21 tackles per match - while posting an 88 per cent tackle efficiency rate.
"George and Jack's (Wighton) combination is something that... is a big part of our team," coach Ricky Stuart said after the win over the Storm.
"They're a big cog in our whole game plan and George, for his third game and a big break since his last two, the way he took on the game was a great example of the player he is. And he will only improve on that - he's a wonderful footballer."
The Canberra Raiders Fans' Choice Player of the Year has been awarded since 2004, with the inaugural winner being Ruben Wiki. Other winners have included Alan Tongue, Terry Campese, Shaun Fensom, Jarrod Croker, Josh Hodgson, Jordan Rapana and Nick Cotric. The award, sponsored by The Greenhouse Canberra Raiders supporters site (www.TheGH.com.au), is voted on by the fans on line, who give 3-2-1 points to the best players each week. The Player of the Year receives a crystal trophy from The Greenhouse.
2020 Canberra Raiders Fans' Choice
Fans' Choice Player of the Year: Josh Papalii, Elliott Whitehead and Jack Wighton
Best Forwards: Josh Papalii and Elliott Whitehead
Best Back: Jack Wighton
Final leader board:
15 - Josh Papalii
15 - Elliott Whitehead
15 - Jack Wighton
15 - George Williams
9 - Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad
7 - Joe Tapine
6 - Dunamis Lui
5 - Jordan Rapana
5 - Tom Starling
5 - Hudson Young
4 - John Bateman
4 - Nick Cotric
4 - Ryan Sutton
2 - Emre Guler
2 - Siliva Havili
2 - Josh Hodgson
1 - Jarrod Croker
1 - Curtis Scott
1 - Semi Valemei
1 - Sam Williams
Previous winners:
2019 Josh Papalii
2018 Josh Papalii
2017 Jordan Rapana, Nick Cotric
2016 Josh Papalii
2015 Josh Hodgson
2014 Jarrod Croker
2013 Jarrod Croker
2012 Shaun Fensom, Blake Ferguson
2011 Shaun Fensom
2010 Josh Dugan
2009 Josh Dugan
2008 Terry Campese
2007 Alan Tongue
2006 Alan Tongue
2005 Jason Smith (Clinton Schifcofske finished on equal points, with Jason Smith declared winner on countback)
2004 Ruben Wiki
