Blake Ferguson's rehabilitation from being a rugby league outcast has taken another forward step with the Sydney Roosters star awarded the Harry Sunderland Medal by his Australian teammates.
Ferguson received the award, given to the Kangaroos' best player on tour, after the 34-8 win over New Zealand at Anfield to win the Four Nations on Monday morning (AEDT).
He opened the scoring after two minutes with his sixth try in five games for his country and has played every minute of a tournament where he was initially pencilled in to be a squad player by coach Mal Meninga.
A tour-ending injury to Josh Mansour opened the door for Ferguson to keep his spot in the team after the win over Scotland and he responded with a man-of-the-match performance against New Zealand at Coventry and subsequently gone from strength to strength.
It's a remarkable turnaround for the 26-year-old, who has endured a chequered career due to several off-field incidents that saw him walk out on Canberra and hit with a one-year suspension by the NRL after being charged with indecent assault in 2014.
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He returned to play for the Roosters after undergoing a rehabilitation plan formulated by the club and the NRL and his performances in England are almost certain to lead him back into the NSW side for next year's State of Origin.
"I have to pay compliment to Blake," said Cooper Cronk, who was named man of the series.
"The Australian Kangaroos know just how highly that medal is regarded and when you consider his past, and this is his first year of international football it's a great achievement.
"He has been phenomenal out of the back field and congratulations to him it's so well deserved."
