James Fisher-Harris has vaulted himself into Dally M contention after earning three points in Penrith's win over Newcastle.
The Kiwi now sits outright third and one point clear of teammate Nathan Cleary, while Ryan Papenhuyzen missed his opportunity to distance himself in the lead after missing Melbourne's ANZAC Day win over New Zealand with injury.
Storm coach Craig Bellamy confirmed that the chasing pack will have a chance to catch Papenhuyzen in the coming weeks as he continues to recover from his shoulder issue.
“No, we don’t think (he’ll be back next week), we’ll go with Nicho (Hynes) again,” Bellamy said.
“I don’t even know if ‘Paps’ will be back the week after so we’re obviously not going to risk him.
“With the severity of the injury he won’t be ready for two or three weeks at least.”
Titans superstar David Fifita earned two points in a losing side to keep himself in the top six while the rest of the top ten remained relatively unchanged.
Latrell Mitchell currently holds an outright lead with 13 votes but is ineligible to win the award due to suspension. He will be docked points for his four-week ban at the end of the season.
Check out the updated Dally M leaderboard below.
Dally M Top 10 after Round 7
13 - Latrell Mitchell (Rabbitohs - ineligible)
12 - Ryan Papenhuyzen (Storm)
11 – James Fisher-Harris (Panthers)
10 - Nathan Cleary (Panthers)
10 - Roger Tuivasa-Sheck (Warriors)
9 - David Fifita (Titans)
8 - Reed Mahoney (Eels)
7 – Tino Fa’asuamaleaui (Titans)
7 – William Kennedy (Sharks)
6 – Brett Morris (Roosters)