Who will win the Ken Irvine Medal in 2021?

Embed from Getty Images

While wingers and outside backs aren't ever likely to win the NRL's most prestigious award, the Dally M medal, many have the objective of taking the Ken Irvine Medal each year, awarded to the player who scores the most tries in a season.

Named after the prolific Ken Irvine, who had 212 first grade tries, the medal is an enormous honour for the men who score the most tries.

In 2021, the race is heating up as the second half of the season rolls along, and while last year's champion Alex Johnston had shot to the equal lead at the end of Round 16, the stats and odds indicate there is still plenty of water to pass under the bridge and ladbrokes bonus codes will allow you to find the best value on the winner.

Here are the favourites:

Alex Johnston (South Sydney Rabbitohs)
Between Round 12 and 16, Johnston ran on ten tries in four weeks to rocket to the top of the leaderboard alongside Melbourne flier Josh Addo-Carr.

Johnston is the defending champion, having scored 23 tries last year, but with new NRL rules increasing the pace of play, and with it the scorelines, it's clear 23 isn't going to be enough this year. The lead is already at 19 after just 16 rounds.

Playing on a lethal left-hand side at the Rabbitohs outside Latrell Mitchell and Greg Inglis, it wouldn't be a surprise to see Johnston go back-to-back.

Josh Addo-Carr (Melbourne Storm)
Like Johnston, Addo-Carr is at the top of the pops when it comes to try-scorers. One of the most consistent wingers in the competition across the board, the Bulldogs-bound outside back will look to finish his time in Melbourne with a bang.

He earlier had six tries in a game this season as Melbourne ran on a cricket score against the South Sydney Rabbitohs, before backing that up with a hat-trick the following week against the St George Illawarra Dragons despite nursing an injury during the contest.

It's hard to see him slowing down at any point with his Storm averaging in excess of 30 points per game even at this later point of the season.

Jason Saab (Manly Sea Eagles)
You could have got good odds for Saab to be in this discussion at the start of the year. While he has height and speed as major advantages, the Manly winger was barely holding down a spot in first grade after the first month as he fumbled and bumbled his way through the opening to the season.

But then, key fullback Tom Trbojevic returned on the northern beaches and the rest, as they say is history. Saab hasn't looked back, scoring 10 tries in 6 games directly after Trbojevic's return.

Maika Sivo (Parramatta Eels)
One man who can never be discounted is Sivo. The Eels' winger has an unreal ability to find the tryline, his size and strength providing him with an enormous advantage over many other wingers in the competition.

Add to that, he is playing at a side bound for the finals and likely to be at the very least in the fight for the top four, and it's no surprise to see Sivo as high on the list as he is. His ball running takes it to the extreme, and while he is a few tries behind early in the second half of the season, performances like his hat-trick against the Broncos, and doubles against the Knights and Storm suggest he is still very much in the running.