Jackson Ford Leads Dally M Polling by Three Points

jackson ford sits three points clear atop Dally M Medal polling, and the NZ Warriors front-rower is trying not to let the noise follow him. He has become an 80-minute player while leading the competition in metres after contact, but the attention has pushed him into State of Origin selection debate.

"I don't like it," Ford said of the attention around his form. His main goal, he said, is simple: "Trying to get my missus to stay off is my main goal... even my mother, she likes to look at it."

Ford's Workload Numbers

The numbers explain why his name keeps surfacing. Ford leads his team with 332 tackles and 1487 run metres, and he also leads the competition with 619 metres after contact. Those figures have turned him from a steady front-rower into one of the early stories of the 2026 campaign.

Over the opening eight weeks, Ford amassed 31 points in the player-of-the-year standings. He picked up maximum six points in three games against the Sydney Roosters, Canberra Raiders and Melbourne Storm, then added five points in two more against the Newcastle Knights and Gold Coast Titans.

Laurie Daly's Phone Calls

Ford said he had not fielded a phone call from NSW Blues coach Laurie Daly, even though fake calls pretending to be Daly have cropped up in the last couple of years. "Thank God those phone calls aren't happening this year," he said. "The fake phone calls have been happening the last couple of years, but nothing this year."

He said he did not picture this run at the start of the season. "Definitely not," Ford said. "Three weeks in, it was a bit of a shock and somehow it just keeps rolling on."

Staying Grounded At Warriors

That leaves Ford balancing award polling, Origin chatter and a workload that has made him central to the Warriors pack. He said the answer is to keep his routine intact: "I've just got to keep playing my game, not get too far ahead of myself and keep giving my best performance for the boys."