THE NRL's night of nights went down to the wire in what was an incredibly tight count between three young stars.

In the end, it was New Zealand Warriors skipper Roger Tuivasa-Sheck who walked away victorious and became the first Warriors player to claim the top prize.

And it was the response of his teammates that stole the night, leaving him fighting back tears and giving everyone watching goosebumps.

Young star Kalyn Ponga held the lead heading into the final round but was overrun as he missed the last two games through injury.

A stellar season from the Warriors leader was capped with not only the Dally M award, but also the Fullback of the Year award.

In a sign of the changing times, none of the top five - which also included Luke Brooks and Mitchell Pearce - have previously polled in the top five positions at the Dally Ms during their career.

Tuivasa-Sheck became the first fullback to win the award since Ben Barba in 2012, as he averaged 167 metres a match and busted through a total of 92 tackles.

The highlight of the night, however, came after Tuivasa-Sheck had collected his Dally M trophy and lined up alongside the team of the year.

As a round of applause broke out for the players on the podium, Tuivasa-Sheck's teammates Issac Luke, Jazz Tevaga and David Fusitu'a stood in the middle of the room and pulled out an impromptu haka.

The incredible moment had the skipper fighting back tears and left every person in attendance and watching on with goosebumps.

DALLY M FINAL LEADERBOARD

Roger Tuivasa-Sheck (Warriors) - 29 votes

Kalyn Ponga (Knights) - 27 votes

Luke Brooks (Tigers) - 26 votes

Valentine Holmes (Sharks) - 25 votes

Mitchell Pearce (Knights) - 23 votes

Full list of awards

Dally M - Roger Tuivasa-Sheck

Female Player of the Year - Brittany Breayley

Captain of the Year - Cameron Smith

Coach of the Year - Anthony Seibold

Rookie of the Year - Jamayne Isaako

Ken Stephen Award - Ryan James

Provan-Summons Medal - Damien Cook

Peter Frilingos Memorial Award - Women's State of Origin match

Ken Irvine Top Tryscorer Award - David Fusitu'a

TEAM OF THE YEAR

Fullback - Roger Tuivasa-Sheck (New Zealand Warriors)

Winger - Blake Ferguson (Sydney Roosters)

Centre - Joseph Leilua (Canberra Raiders)

Five-eighth - Cameron Munster (Melbourne Storm)

Halfback - Luke Brooks (Wests Tigers)

Prop - Andrew Fifita (Cronulla Sharks)

Second-rower - Josh Jackson (Canterbury Bulldogs)

Lock - Jason Taumalolo (North Queensland Cowboys)

Hooker - Damien Cook (South Sydney Rabbitohs)

Interchange - Jazz Tevaga (New Zealand Warriors)