Most thought Canberra Raiders star Jordan Rapana was a lock for the Dally M's winger of the year award - except the man himself.
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Rapana says it should have gone to Raiders young gun Nick Cotric, who was named the NRL's rookie of the year at the Dally M awards ceremony on Wednesday night.
Rapana made amends for last year's snubbing by claiming the winger of the year gong but insists if anyone should have won it, it was his teenage teammate.
Cotric beat Newcastle five-eighth Brock Lamb, Penrith fullback Dylan Edwards, and Cronulla rake Jayden Brailey to become Canberra's first rookie of the year since Mark McLinden in 1998.
Cotric scored 16 tries and played every game in a stellar debut season - all while still being eligible to play in the under 20s competition.
The 18-year-old took to the top grade like a duck to water, playing every minute of Canberra's season and showing maturity well beyond his years.
Cotric comes off contract at the end of next season but the Raiders have already moved to lock up the exciting youngster on a long-term deal.
Cotric had one of the best wingers in the game to learn off but Rapana refused to take the credit for the Valley Dragons junior's speedy development.
Cotric was literally shaking minutes before his debut but fast became one of the club's best players and Rapana has predicted bigger and better things are on the horizon.
"I wouldn't say surprised. We definitely helped each other and I wasn't surprised," Rapana said.
"He's a freak and I saw him playing in the under 20s and knew he was going to be something special. He really stood up this year.
"For me, I would not have thought, looking at it from an outsider's perspective, you would not have thought that was his first year of NRL.
"He was very composed and I think if anyone should have won winger of the year, it should have been him. He's helped me heaps and I'm sure we both helped each other throughout the year.
"He's very humble. He's like a sponge, he just absorbs everything. You can see that on the field as well. There's some big things in the future that are in store for him.
"He's just a young kid that's very humble. As much as he has accomplished a lot, I still believe there is a lot more that he will achieve in this game."
