Brisbane halfback Ben Hunt is the bolter in this year’s Dally M Player of the year award, with the 24 year old in a share of the lead with Johnathan Thurston as voting gets set to go behind closed doors.

Thurston is a $3.50 favourite with online bookmaker sportsbet.com.au, but Hunt’s price has fluctuated dramatically over the season. After opening at $52, a slow start to the season saw him drift to $111 by the start of round 3, before a consistent run of votes saw him come in dramatically to his current quote of $4.50!

It’s a star-studded leaderboard – Jarryd Hayne ($4.00) and Sam Burgess ($6.00) are just one point behind the frontrunners.

Others right in contention include Manly’s Daly Cherry-Evans at $8.00 and Dragons recruit Gareth Widdop at $11.

“Ben Hunt has been the most improved player in the NRL and a Dally M would cap off a brilliant year. One punter was smart enough to have $10 on him at $111,” said sportsbet.com.au’s Christian Jantzen.

Market courtesy of sportsbet.com.au

Dally M Winner

$3.50   Johnathan Thurston (19)

$4.00   Jarryd Hayne (18)

$4.50   Ben Hunt (19)

$6.00   Sam Burgess (18)

$8.00   Daly Cherry-Evans (16)

$11      Gareth Widdop (18)

$17      Josh Reynolds (15)

$41      Robbie Farah (12)

$101    Cameron Smith (10)

$101    Greg Inglis (9)

$101    Matt Gillett (11)

$101    Trent Hodkinson (11)