CLANCY OVERELL | Editor | CONTACT

As was expected, Horden Pavillion was chocka-block with glitz, glamour and Gore-Tex implants as the NRL came together to celebrate rugby league’s night of nights.

Also not surprising was the winner of the coveted Dally M Medal, Roosters fullback James Tedesco.

Tedesco recorded 34 votes to edge Melbourne’s Cameron Smith (31) and Eels playmaker Mitchell Moses (29) for the game’s most prestigious individual award. His tally of 34 votes was the highest since Johnathan Thurston polled 36 votes to take out the game’s top honour in 2007.

But last night was not just about high-performance footballers, in fact, the awards ceremony is merely tacked on. The Dally Ms is a night for the long-suffering rugby league wives and girlfriends.

One well-known Western-Sydney NRL player says it brings a tear to his eye when he gets to see the WAGs of the game have their moment.

“We put them through absolute living hell. I’m glad they can finally get something out of it. They’ve had their dresses ready for months”.

While it is true that the Dally Ms is a calendar event for the rugby league misso, it should also be noted that the severe competitiveness doesn’t just extend to the awards and dresses.

As has been the case for the last ten years, the bachelors and bachelorettes of both men and womens football codes also compete with who can bring the hottest missus for the night.

The rise of Instagram modelling has meant that this light-hearted challenge has become so serious that some players have resorted to just flat out DMing the hottest chicks that pop in their explore feed.

Our reporter spoke to one of these plump-lipped trophy dates on the red carpet last night.

“Ummmm hahaha” says Sasha Oakshrie (21), a Gold-Coast based body scrub ambassador.

“I’m with ummm”

“He’s over there drinking crownies with his mates. He’s got the tattoos and the faded haircut”

Sasha briefly checks her phone to refresh on the name of the bloke who invited her to the event.

“Umm. His name starts with a ‘J’ I think. Like Jayden or Jason” she says, not narrowing it down at all.

Sasha ponders for a couple more seconds before eventually telling us the name of the woman who made the dress she’s wearing.