The Mal Meninga Medal is the name of the award that goes to the Canberra Raiders' Player of the Year. The award was named after former Raiders captain and coach, Mal Meninga and was first awarded in 2008. [1] Before this there was no name for the award but was still awarded. The medal is awarded to the player that received the most votes during the season, players after each match vote for the best player in the team for the match with the player with the most votes getting 3 points, the next best gets 2, and third gets 1. [2] If the votes are tied at the end of the season the medal is awarded to both players, this has happened only four times, 2005, 2009, 2016 and 2020.
Players who have received the medal more than once:
The Canberra Raiders are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the national capital city of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. They have competed in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership since 1982. Over this period the club has won three premierships out of six Grand Finals, the last one played being the 2019 NRL Grand Final, resulting in a 14-8 controversial loss to the Sydney Roosters. Canberra currently have the second longest active premiership drought in the NRL totalling 30 years. The Raiders' current home ground is Canberra Stadium in Bruce. Previously, the team played home matches at Seiffert Oval in Queanbeyan, New South Wales, with the move to the Canberra Stadium in Bruce taking place in 1990. The official symbol for the Canberra Raiders is the Viking. The Viking, also a mascot at Raiders' games, is known as Victor the Viking.
Malcolm Norman Meninga is an Australian professional rugby league coach who is the head coach of the Australian national team and a former professional rugby league footballer. Meninga is widely regarded as one of the finest players in the game's history. He enjoyed a long career in both Australia and England, playing mainly as a goal-kicking centre. After retiring, Meninga has enjoyed success as a coach, and is currently the head coach of Australia.
Terry Campese is a former professional rugby league footballer. A former Australia, Italy and New South Wales State of Origin representative five-eighth, he is also the nephew of rugby union player David Campese. He previously played for the Canberra Raiders in the National Rugby League and Hull Kingston Rovers in the Super League.
David Shillington is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who last played for the Gold Coast Titans in the National Rugby League. A Queensland State of Origin and Australian international representative prop forward, he previously played for the Sydney Roosters and Canberra Raiders. Shillington also works as a columnist for The Canberra Times.
Gary Belcher is an Australian rugby league football commentator and former player. An Australian international and Queensland State of Origin representative, he played club football in the Brisbane Rugby League premiership for the Souths Magpies and in the NSWRL Premiership for the Canberra Raiders. He also played in England for Castleford. Belcher's position of choice was fullback, though he began his career in the centres.
The 1994 NSWRL season was the eighty-seventh season of professional rugby league football in Australia. Sixteen clubs, including 14 from within the borders of New South Wales plus two from Queensland, competed for the J J Giltinan Shield during the season, which culminated in a grand final match for the Winfield Cup trophy between the Canberra Raiders and the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs.
The 1991 NSWRL season was the eighty-fourth season of professional rugby league football in Australia. This year the New South Wales Rugby League experimented with a draft system for the first time. Sixteen clubs competed for the J J Giltinan Shield and Winfield Cup premiership during the season, which culminated in a replay of the previous year's grand final between the Canberra Raiders and the Penrith Panthers.
The 1990 New South Wales Rugby League season was the eighty-third season of professional rugby league football in Australia. Sixteen clubs competed for the J J Giltinan Shield and Winfield Cup during the premiership season, which culminated in a grand final between the previous season's premiers, the Canberra Raiders and the Penrith Panthers, who were making their grand final debut.
The 1989 NSWRL season was the 82nd season of professional rugby league football in Australia. Sixteen clubs competed for the New South Wales Rugby League's J.J. Giltinan Shield and Winfield Cup Premiership during the season, which culminated in a grand final between Balmain and Canberra. This season NSWRL teams also competed for the 1989 Panasonic Cup. This would be the last time a mid-season competition was played concurrent with the regular season. From 1990 it would become a pre-season competition.
Jarrod Keith Croker is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played as a goal-kicking centre and captained the Canberra Raiders in the National Rugby League (NRL).
Joshua Dugan is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who last played as a fullback and centre for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in the NRL and Australia at international level.
The History of the Canberra Raiders Rugby League Football Club began with their establishment in 1982. Along with the Illawarra Steelers, they became the first clubs from outside the Sydney area in over half a century to compete in the New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership. The Raiders have competed in every season of top-level rugby league in Australia since then and have won a total of three premierships: 1989, 1990 and 1994.
Joel Edwards is an Australian professional rugby league footballer for the Newcastle Thunder in the Betfred League 1 competition. He plays as a lock, second-row and prop. He previously played for the Wests Tigers, Newcastle Knights and the Canberra Raiders in the NRL, the Limoux Grizzlies in the Elite One Championship and York City Knights in the RFL Championship.
Shaun Fensom is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played as a lock and second-row forward in the 2000s and 2010s.
Josh Papali'i is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a prop for the Canberra Raiders in the National Rugby League (NRL). He has played for both Australia and Samoa at international level.
Jack Wighton is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays for the South Sydney Rabbitohs in the National Rugby League (NRL). Wighton has spent most of his club career as a five-eighth and has played centre at the interstate and international level.
Junior Paulo is a Samoan international rugby league footballer who plays as a prop for the Parramatta Eels in the National Rugby League (NRL).
Shannon Boyd is a former Australian professional rugby league footballer who last played as a prop for the Gold Coast Titans in the NRL, and has played for Australia at international level.
The 2016 Canberra Raiders season is the 35th in the club's history. Coached by Ricky Stuart and captained by Jarrod Croker, the Raiders are currently competing in the NRL's 2016 Telstra Premiership. They also competed in the 2016 NRL Auckland Nines pre-season tournament.
