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St George Illawarra fullback Emma Tonegato has added the RLPA's player of the year award to her Dally M Medal, cementing her status as an NRLW star.
Emma Tonegato's status has been validated by her peers with the St George Illawarra fullback voted the NRLW's Players' Champion.
Tonegato has sole ownership of the latest accolade, announced at halftime of Sunday's grand final in Redcliffe, after sharing in her debut season the Dally M Medal with Millie Boyle.
She beat teammate Elsie Albert, Broncos prop Boyle, Eels fullback Botille Vette-Welsh and Evania Pelite, who Tonegato won rugby sevens Olympic gold alongside in 2016, to take out the player-voted award.
The Players' Champion voting used a 3-2-1 system based on regular season games, Tonegato starring to lead the Dragons into the decider against the Sydney Roosters.
RLPA boss Clint Newton described Tonegato's chase down tackle of Roosters star Jess Sergis as a "an NRLW classic moment" in lauding her achievements.
"It left all rugby league fans wanting more; that moment and many others made her an incredibly worthy winner and the RLPA is proud to call her the 2021 Players' Champion," he said.
"They may battle it out on the field in Australia's hardest, most physical and skilful sport, but the players also have huge respect for each other, and every one of the players are essential to the competition's success."
Gold Coast Titans lock Destiny Brill emerged from a stacked field of contenders to be named rookie of the year.
"There were 75 rookies contracted to the competition this season out of 144 players," Newton said.
"To be voted as rookie of the year in such a large field is an amazing honour for a player who has a huge future in rugby league."
RLPA NRLW AWARDS
* The Players' Champion: Emma Tonegato (Dragons)
* The Players' Rookie of the Season: Destiny Brill (Titans)
* The Players' Dream Team: 1. Emma Tonegato (Dragons), 2. Karina Brown (Titans), 3. Jaime Chapman (Dragons), 4. Shenae Ciesiolka (Broncos), 5. Teagan Berry (Dragons), 6. Taliah Fuimaono (Dragons), 7. Rachael Pearson (Dragons), 8. Elsie Albert (Dragons), 9. Lauren Brown (Broncos), 10. Millie Boyle (Broncos), 11. Amber Hall (Broncos), 12. Shaniah Power (Titans), 13. Destiny Brill (Titans).