One New Zealand Warriors prop Jackson Ford has gone five points clear while teammate Tanah Boyd has climbed to fourth on the 2026 Dally M leaderboard.
The pair couldn’t be split by the judges after the Warriors’ outstanding 38-12 round three victory over the Newcastle Knights with both polling five votes each.
Ford, making his 100th career appearance, now has a total of 17 points following his maximum six-point hauls in the opening two rounds.
He is now five ahead of Penrith duo Nathan Cleary and Dylan Edwards while Boyd has vaulted to 10 points following his masterclass display at halfback.
The remaining two points available from the clash in Newcastle were split between Warriors co-captain James Fisher-Harris and teammate Taine Tuaupiki.
Match: Knights v Warriors
Round 3 -
home Team
Knights
8th Position
away Team
Warriors
1st Position
Venue: McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle
For the second time in three games Ford topped 200 metres with a season-best 238 from 23 runs and 98 post-contact metres (all three stats the best of all players on the field).
In his first 80-minute performance of the campaign, he made two line breaks, two tackle breaks and a team-high 44 tackles to go with his second consecutive try and the first goal of his career to put an exclamation mark on his milestone.
Match Moment #2: Ford celebrates 100th game with try
Boyd was exceptional, too, with his third try in as many games, 14 points in total, 125 metres from 13 runs, two line breaks, one line break assist, two try assists and four tackle breaks while he made 653 metres from 23 kicks and forced five drop outs.
Match Moment #5: Boyd makes in three in three games
In a display highlighted by his superb try backing up Boyd’s break, Fisher-Harris put in another impressive shift with 161 metres from 18 runs with two tackle breaks and 29 tackles while the busy Tuaupiki made 187 metres from 17 runs with a line break, a try assist (when he generously gifted debutant Luke Hanson his try) and a game high seven tackle breaks.
Dally M leaderboard | Round three
17 Jackson Ford (One New Zealand Warriors)
12 Dylan Edwards (Panthers), Nathan Cleary (Panthers)
10 Tanah Boyd (One New Zealand Warriors)
9 Mitch Moses (Eels), Sua Fa'alogo (Storm)
8 Dylan Brown (Knights), Isaah Yeo (Panthers)
7 Harry Grant (Storm). Stephen Crichton (Bulldogs)
17 Jackson Ford (One New Zealand Warriors)
12 Dylan Edwards (Panthers), Nathan Cleary (Panthers)
10 Tanah Boyd (One New Zealand Warriors)
9 Mitch Moses (Eels), Sua Fa'alogo (Storm)
8 Dylan Brown (Knights), Isaah Yeo (Panthers)
7 Harry Grant (Storm). Stephen Crichton (Bulldogs)
Other One New Zealand Warriors:
2 Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, Taine Tuaupiki, James Fisher-Harris
