Connor Watson has criticised the NRL for making a mid-season rule change that bars his Sydney Roosters teammate Mark Nawaqanitawase from winning Dally M Rookie of the Year award.
But NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo has defended the league, saying the coveted prize must be reserved for "genuine rookies".
Rugby convert Nawaqanitawase has been a human highlights reel in his first full NRL season with his sparkling attacking play for top-eight hopefuls the Roosters.
The winger also showcased his defensive muscle in a 20-4 win over Manly on Saturday that boosted his side's finals chances ahead of Saturday's vital clash with the Dolphins.
But hopes of recognition on the NRL's awards night came crashing down on Friday when the Australian Rugby League Commission made a subtle tweak to its rules.
Players who have played five professional matches in any sporting code, as determined by the NRL, are now ineligible for the Dally M Rookie of the Year.
Nawaqanitawase falls into that category, having played for Super Rugby's Waratahs between 2020 and 2024 and represented Australia in rugby union and sevens.
The winger's omission has left Roosters centre Robert Toia, Warriors forward Leka Halasima and Parramatta fullback Isaiah Iongi as leading candidates for the award.
"Mark would probably be the favourite to win it," said Roosters hooker Watson at the launch of the NRL's Indigenous Round.
"So I feel like it's hard to make that call halfway through the year when he's played so well.
"If you're going to make a decision like that, you probably do it at the start of the year."
But Abdo said the mid-season change was "really simple".
"The (ARL) Commission has made a policy change decision around the eligibility for rookie of the year, and I think it's contemporary. (The rule) hasn't been looked at for a while," Abdo said.
"The decision was really simple. It is meant for genuine rookies, so players that are coming through pathways systems, and not for players that have got significant experience, even if it's in other sports."
Nawaqanitawase's 13 tries make him the NRL's equal fifth-highest scorer for the season, with the 24-year-old even floated as an outside chance for a State of Origin debut earlier in the year.
But the softly spoken Renaissance man has made a greater impression on his teammates off the field during the Roosters' hot-and-cold campaign.
"That's probably been the best part of having him in the team," Watson said.
"His energy every day and the positivity that he has around the group is good because sometimes when your season is inconsistent as it has been this year, everyone can get a bit down in the dumps.
"Mark comes in with a smile on his face every day and lifts the boys up."
Watson applauded the NRL for expanding Indigenous Round across two weekends for the first time this season.
"Now every team gets to host a home game and host their own Indigenous Round and involve their own community and the mobs in the area," the Gamilaroi man said.
