Canberra Raiders prop Joe Tapine claims back-to-back Meninga Medals

Tapine polled 24 votes to claim the Meninga Medal for the second time in as many seasons, becoming the ninth man to have won the Raiders' player of the year award multiple times.

The New Zealand international finished two votes clear of Sebastian Kris, while Matt Timoko rounded out the top three on 19 votes - five clear of Corey Horsburgh in fourth.

"The biggest compliment I can give Joe is that playing in the middle as a front-rower, after having such a standout season last year, he's been able to produce another wonderful performance with consistency right throughout the season," Stuart said.

"There were a number of players contesting for the Mal Meninga Medal this year, last year 'Taps' blew it away. His consistent performance this year is a great credit to him, being able to back it up again. A lot of that comes down to maturity and growth in Taps' game as he's getting older.

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"It's not about where he can get to, it's about providing that consistency which is the most important thing. He has grown into a real leader in the middle of the field, and to be honest, a very unique type of forward leader."

As humble as they come, you get the feeling Tapine would trade it all in for a win over the Knights in an elimination final in front of a sold-out Newcastle crowd on Sunday.

While Kris fell just short of the Meninga Medal, he wouldn't go home empty handed after being awarded the NRL coaches award after shifting from his preferred position of centre for the bulk of the season.

"The big thing about Sebastian is I've played him out of position all season and he has not been disgruntled, he lives to one of our values as a Raider in regards to being a team person," Stuart said.

"He's played fullback, winger, centre, and most of the year playing out of position because it was best for the team, not so much best for Sebby, but best for the team. Not only that, he has actually shown how valuable he is as a utility player.

"I've really enjoyed coaching Seb this year and I feel like there is so much room for improvement and growth in his game going forward, because still he is such a young boy."

Rising star Ata Mariota claimed the Peter Mulholland NRL rookie of the year prize as the 21-year-old prepares to partner Tapine in the front-row against a Newcastle pack led by the Saifiti twins.

"Ata was always going to be a young NRL player, we sensed that when we recruited him to our junior program. He handled full-time training extremely well with his agility and strength, with his collision, he handled playing against the big boys," Stuart said.

"He adapted to playing and training against the senior players extremely well. It showed, no doubt, he was going to make it. He's another player with so much ahead of him."

The Raiders will wait until the end of the NRLW regular season to name the women's side's player of the year, but officials still pulled the trigger on two NRLW awards.

Janelle Williams claimed the NRLW coaches award, while centre Cheyelle Robins-Reti was named the team's rookie of the year.

In between all of it was an emotional tribute to retiring Raiders captain Jarrod Croker, whose career could come to an end if Canberra fall to the Knights on Sunday afternoon.

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