| Awarded for | Thebest and fairest player in theNew South Wales Rugby League and theBrisbane Rugby League |
|---|---|
| Country | Australia |
| History | |
| First award | 1968 (Rothmans Medal) 1997 (Provan-Summons Medal) |
| Final award | 1997 |
TheRothmans Medal was the premier individual award in theNew South Wales Rugby League andBrisbane Rugby League competitions, and later in theAustralian Rugby League, which was given to the player voted by referees as the best and fairest in those competitions for the season, first awarded in 1968. With the establishment of theNational Rugby League in 1998, the Rothmans Medal was replaced by theDally M Medal as the official Player of the Year award.
The Rothmans Medal was the first official player-of-the-year award to be established in rugby league in Australia. The medal was sponsored byRothmans International, a tobacco production company. There were two Rothmans Medals awarded each year: one for the best player in theNew South Wales Rugby League, and one for the best player in theBrisbane Rugby League.
The voting for the Rothmans Medal was done by the match-day referee. After each match, he awarded three votes to the best player, two votes to the second-best player, and one vote to the third-best player. This is the same basic format as the modern day Dally M, except that the votes are now determined by the media.
The two Rothmans Medals were first awarded in 1968, and were awarded each year until 1996. In 1997, the Rothmans Medal in New South Wales became known as the Provan-Summons medal, because all tobacco advertising and sponsorship was prohibited in Australia in 1992, under the Tobacco Advertising Prohibition Act 1992; the medal then disappeared altogether in 1998 with the merger of theAustralian Rugby League and theAustralian Super League. The Queensland Rothmans Medal was also last awarded in 1996, as theQueensland Cup superseded theBrisbane Rugby League as Queensland's premier rugby league competition in 1997.
Note: includes Provan-Summons Medal winner in 1997.
