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2026 Clive Churchill Medal Betting Tips - Walker & Ponga Favourites for a Reason

Jeremy Darke

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Last updated: Tue 29 Sep 2026 18:44

Jeremy Darke 1 hour ago

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Sam Walker & Kalyn Ponga tipped as Clive Churchill Medal favourites.
Recent winners are often attacking playmakers from the Grand Final victors.
Their season stats and impact make them top bets for Sunday’s decider.

2026 Clive Churchill Medal Betting Tips

2026 Clive Churchill Medal Betting Tips - Sam Walker & Kalyn Ponga Rightful Favourites

Sam Walker and Kalyn Ponga are our two selections for the 2026 Clive Churchill Medal, with the Roosters and Knights playmakers capable of producing the decisive moments in Sunday's NRL Grand Final.

2026 Clive Churchill Medal Betting Tips – Sam Walker & Kalyn Ponga Rightful Favourites
Sam Walker - Clive Churchill Medal
Kalyn Ponga -Clive Churchill Medal

The Clive Churchill Medal is awarded to the player judged best on ground in the NRL Grand Final, and recent history suggests looking towards the key attacking players from the winning side is a pretty good place to start.

Reece Walsh produced three try assists to claim the medal for Brisbane in 2025, while Penrith supplied the previous four winners: Liam Martin in 2024, Nathan Cleary in 2023 and 2021, and Dylan Edwards in 2022.

That means each of the past five winners has come from the premiership-winning team, with four of those five medals going to either a halfback or fullback.

That trend immediately puts two players firmly on the radar for Sunday's decider.

Sam Walker - Clive Churchill Medal

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We looked around for a clever alternative to the favourite, but sometimes the obvious names are obvious for a reason.

Walker has been at the centre of the Roosters attack throughout 2026, recording 11 tries, 22 try assists and 22 line-break assists in 22 appearances, along with eight line breaks.

The Roosters have plenty of potential match-winners around him, including James Tedesco and Daly Cherry-Evans, but Walker has the attacking numbers to take control of the biggest game of the season.

Newcastle have shown throughout their finals run that they aren't going to be easy to break down, so this may come down to which player can find the small openings that simply aren't there for most of the game.

If the Roosters get the result and Walker is the man creating those openings, history suggests he'll be right in the conversation when the medal is awarded.

Kalyn Ponga - Clive Churchill Medal

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On the other side of the field, Ponga is the player we want if Newcastle complete their remarkable run from wooden spooners in 2025 to premiers in 2026.

The Knights fullback has played only 18 games this season but has still produced five tries, 14 try assists and 15 line breaks, while our match-by-match tally has him at 22 line-break assists.

His ability with the ball has been particularly impressive. Ponga has also produced 97 tackle breaks and averaged 167 running metres per game, giving Newcastle a genuine threat whenever he gets the ball with some space.

The challenge on Sunday is finding a way through a Roosters defence that has helped carry them all the way to the Grand Final.

That is exactly why we keep coming back to Ponga.

Give him enough opportunities around a retreating defensive line and there aren't many players in the competition better equipped to turn half a chance into something decisive.

Verdict

NRL 2026 Grand Final

We tried to find someone outside the obvious names, but this Grand Final keeps bringing us back to Sam Walker and Kalyn Ponga.

Sam Walker

Clive Churchill Medal

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Kalyn Ponga

Clive Churchill Medal

$7.00 - 1 Unit

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