Shaun Johnson reveals what he whispered to Kalyn Ponga after having Dally M 'robbed'

Shaun Johnson has revealed what he whispered to Kalyn Ponga moments after the Knights fullback \.

Johnson sat atop the leaderboard for most of the latter half of the season, and was hot favourite to win the top gong at Wednesday's ceremony in Sydney.

But as Ponga - who led the Knights to a 10-game winning streak at the end of their season - climbed up the leaderboard, even Johnson conceded in an interview on the Fox Sports coverage that he feared he would be overtaken.

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In round 26 - the last game both men played for the regular season - Johnson polled enough to shoot out to a five-vote lead.

But in a thrilling finish, Ponga was handed the maximum six votes for Newcastle's win over Cronulla, pushing him ahead of Johnson by one to clinch the medal.

The pair were standing side by side with the rest of the NRL Team of the Year winners on stage when the Dally M was revealed, and they could be seen sharing a word.

"I said to Kalyn up there, 'did you play the last two rounds?'," Johnson later revealed to The Sydney Morning Herald.

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"He said, 'I didn't play the last one', and I was like, 'neither did I'.

"When they gave me my points [for the last game], I asked him, 'how well did you play? Did you kill it?', (and) he said, 'I played good, but I didn't kill it'. I was like, 'OK'.

"Then six points popped up, and I was like, 'bro, you killed it, you little liar'."

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While no one could argue Ponga's incredible form at the back end of the year, Johnson played five more games throughout the season and was more consistent for the Warriors.

Johnson may also have been a victim of playing in a more rounded team, whereas Ponga stood out in most appearances for the Knights.

Ponga was the only Knights player in the top 20 vote-getters, while Johnson was joined by teammate Addin Fonua-Blake who polled 44.

Johnson's fiery teammate Jazz Tevaga took to Instagram on Wednesday night to blast the Dally M system.

"Congrats Kalyn but everyone knows it. SJ was robbed," the post read.

"This is almost as bad as that forward pass."

Tevaga was referencing a Reece Walsh forward pass that led to a Broncos try in the preliminary final.

While there's a faction who do believe Johnson was robbed of the medal, the man himself could not agree.

"I wasn't [robbed]," Johnson said.

"Kalyn had a great year, he was the centrepiece of the Knights going on their run, and it was a really special run they went on. If there was going to be a person I thought was going to get it, it was him.

"As the night goes on, and they string you along, your heart gets racing, and I was like, 'maybe I am a genuine chance of winning it'.

"At some point in the night I started caring about it."