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Man of Steel Awards

Annual award for Super League's player of the season in rugby league

Field	Value
name	Steve Prescott Man Of Steel
image	Man of Steel Award logo.jpg
imagesize	147
description	Best player of the Super League season
presenter	Rugby Football League
country	United Kingdom
year	1977
firstwinner	ENG David Ward
mostwins	ENG Ellery Hanley (3)
Wigan Warriors (11)
mostrecent	England Jake Connor
( Leeds Rhinos)
(2025)

Wigan Warriors (11) ( Leeds Rhinos) (2025)

The Steve Prescott Man of Steel Awards is an end-of-season awards dinner for the Super League rugby league competition. The event's name is taken from the main award presented, the Man of Steel award for the rugby league footballer of the year. In 2014, it was renamed after Steve Prescott.

Origins

The awards were started in 1977 when David Howes, the Rugby League's public relations officer, organised sponsorship worth £3,000 from Trumanns Steel Limited for awards in six different categories; Trumanns Man of Steel, Division One Player of the Year, Division Two Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, Young Player of the Year and Referee of the Year. The awards were voted on by the members of the rugby league press. The first awards were made at the end of the 1976–77 season with the inaugural award winners being:

Trumanns Man of Steel - David Ward, Leeds
Division One Player of the Year - Malcolm Reilly, Castleford
Division Two Player of the Year - Ged Marsh, Blackpool Borough
Young Player of the Year - David Ward, Leeds
Coach of the Year - Eric Ashton, St Helens
Referee of the Year - Billy Thompson

In 2008, the voting for the award was changed, with the winner being chosen by the players of the Super League instead. In 2019, in response to criticism that some players were not taking the voting seriously, a panel of former rugby league players was chosen to determine the winner of the award. The voting was changed to a system similar to the Australian Dally M Medal, with points being awarded to the best performing players after each game (three points for the man of the match, two points for the runner-up, and one point for the third best player).

Name change

Former England player Steve Prescott died in 2013 aged just 39, clear of cancer after multi visceral transplant complications. He raised many thousands of pounds for charity,. Following a short campaign, a petition with over 12,000 signatures was sent to the Rugby Football League, calling for the Man of Steel award to be renamed in Prescott's honour. In March 2014, the RFL officially announced that the award would be called the "Steve Prescott Man of Steel" from the 2014 season onwards.

Man of Steel

Year	Nat	Winner	Club	Position
1977	England	David Ward	[[Image:rhinoscolours.svg	16x16px]] Leeds
1978	England	George Nicholls	[[Image:saintscolours.svg	16x16px]] St. Helens
1979	England	Doug Laughton	[[Image:Widnes colours.svg	16x16px]] Widnes	Loose forward
1980	Scotland	George Fairbairn	[[Image:wigancolours.svg	16x16px]] Wigan
1981	England	Ken Kelly	[[Image:wolvescolours.svg	16x16px]] Warrington	Scrum-half
1982	England	Mick Morgan	Carlisle
1983	England	Allan Agar	[[Image:Fevcolours.svg	16x16px]] Featherstone Rovers	Coach
1984	England	Joe Lydon	[[Image:Widnes colours.svg	16x16px]] Widnes
1985	England	Ellery Hanley	[[Image:bullscolours.svg	16x16px]] Bradford Northern	Stand-off
1986	Australia	Gavin Miller	[[Image:HKRcolours.svg	16x16px]]Hull Kingston Rovers	Loose forward
1987	England	Ellery Hanley	[[Image:wigancolours.svg	16x16px]] Wigan	Stand-off
1988	England	Martin Offiah	[[Image:Widnes colours.svg	16x16px]] Widnes
1989	England	Ellery Hanley	[[Image:wigancolours.svg	16x16px]] Wigan	Loose forward
1990	England	Shaun Edwards	[[Image:wigancolours.svg	16x16px]] Wigan	Stand-off
1991	England	Garry Schofield	[[Image:rhinoscolours.svg	16x16px]] Leeds	Stand-off
1992	New Zealand	Dean Bell	[[Image:wigancolours.svg	16x16px]] Wigan
1993	England	Andy Platt	[[Image:wigancolours.svg	16x16px]] Wigan
1994	Wales	Jonathan Davies	[[Image:wolvescolours.svg	16x16px]] Warrington
1995	England	Denis Betts	[[Image:wigancolours.svg	16x16px]] Wigan
1996	England	Andy Farrell	[[Image:wigancolours.svg	16x16px]] Wigan	Loose forward
1997	England	James Lowes	[[Image:bullscolours.svg	16x16px]] Bradford
1998	Wales	Iestyn Harris	[[Image:rhinoscolours.svg	16x16px]] Leeds
1999	Australia	Adrian Vowles	[[Image:cascolours.png	16x16px]] Castleford	Loose forward
2000	England	Sean Long	[[Image:saintscolours.svg	16x16px]] St. Helens	Scrum-half
2001	England	Paul Sculthorpe	[[Image:saintscolours.svg	16x16px]] St. Helens	Stand-off
2002	England	Paul Sculthorpe	[[Image:saintscolours.svg	16x16px]] St. Helens	Loose forward
2003	England	Jamie Peacock	[[Image:bullscolours.svg	16x16px]] Bradford
2004	England	Andy Farrell	[[Image:wigancolours.svg	16x16px]] Wigan
2005	Australia	Jamie Lyon	[[Image:saintscolours.svg	16x16px]] St. Helens
2006	England	Paul Wellens	[[Image:saintscolours.svg	16x16px]] St. Helens
2007	England	James Roby	[[Image:saintscolours.svg	16x16px]] St. Helens
2008	England	James Graham	[[Image:saintscolours.svg	16x16px]] St. Helens
2009	Australia	url=http://www.superleague.co.uk/article.php?id=15588	archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120825215346/http://www.superleague.co.uk/article.php?id=15588	url-status=dead	archive-date=2012-08-25	title=Man of Steel on SLTV	date=2009-10-06	publisher=Super League	access-date=2009-10-06}}	[[Image:giantscolours.svg	16x16px]] Huddersfield
2010	Ireland	Pat Richards	[[Image:wigancolours.svg	16x16px]] Wigan
2011	NZL	Rangi Chase	[[Image:cascolours.png	16x16px]] Castleford
2012	ENG	Sam Tomkins	[[Image:wigancolours.svg	16x16px]] Wigan
2013	SCO	Danny Brough	[[Image:giantscolours.svg	16x16px]] Huddersfield
2014	ENG	Daryl Clark	[[Image:cascolours.png	16x16px]] Castleford
2015	ENG	Zak Hardaker	[[Image:rhinoscolours.png	16x16px]] Leeds
2016	ENG	Danny Houghton	[[Image:Hullcolours.svg	16x16px]] Hull
2017	ENG	Luke Gale	[[Image:cascolours.png	16x16px]] Castleford
2018	Australia	Ben Barba	[[Image:saintscolours.svg	16x16px]] St. Helens
2019	Australia	Jackson Hastings	Salford	,
2020	England	Paul McShane	Castleford	,
2021	England	Sam Tomkins	Catalans
2022	Australia	Brodie Croft	Salford
2023	Australia	Bevan French	Wigan
2024	ENG	Mikey Lewis	Hull KR
2025	ENG	Jake Connor	Leeds

Multiple winners

Player	Wins	Winning years
1	ENG Ellery Hanley	3
2	ENG Paul Sculthorpe	2
3	ENG Andy Farrell	2
3	ENG Sam Tomkins	2

Winners by club

Club	Wins
1	Wigan Warriors
2	St. Helens
3	Castleford Tigers
Leeds Rhinos
5	Widnes Vikings
Bradford Bulls
7	Warrington Wolves
Huddersfield Giants
Hull Kingston Rovers
Salford Red Devils
9	Carlisle
Catalans Dragons
Featherstone Rovers
Hull F.C.

Winners by country

Nationality	Wins
1
2
3
4
5

Woman of Steel

Main article: Woman of Steel

In 2018 an additional category for the Woman of Steel from the Women's Super League was inaugurated.

Year	Winner	Club
2018	ENG Georgia Roche	Castleford Tigers
2019	AUS Courtney Hill	Leeds Rhinos
2020	No award
2021	ENG Jodie Cunningham	St. Helens
2022	ENG Tara-Jane Stanley	York Valkyrie
2023	ENG Sinead Peach
2024	England Georgie Hetherington
2025	England Eva Hunter	Wigan Warriors

Wheels of Steel

In 2023 a new category for Wheels of Steel from the RFL Wheelchair Super League was inaugurated.

Year	Winner	Club
2023	ENG Lewis King	London Roosters
2024	ENG Joshua Butler	Leeds Rhinos
2025	ENG Joe Coyd	London Roosters

Other awards

Young Player of the Year

Year	Winner	Club
1996	WAL Keiron Cunningham	St. Helens
1997	WAL Lee Briers	Warrington Wolves
1998	ENG Lee Gilmour	Wigan Warriors
1999	ENG Leon Pryce	Bradford Bulls
2000	ENG Stuart Fielden	Bradford Bulls
2001	ENG Rob Burrow	Leeds Rhinos
2002	ENG Richard Horne	Hull F.C.
2003	ENG Gareth Hock	Wigan Warriors
2004	ENG Shaun Briscoe	Hull F.C.
2005	ENG Richard Whiting	Hull F.C.
2006	ENG James Graham	St. Helens
2007	ENG Sam Burgess	Bradford Bulls
2008	ENG Joe Westerman	Castleford Tigers
2009	ENG Sam Tomkins	Wigan Warriors
2010	ENG Sam Tomkins	Wigan Warriors
2011	ENG Jonny Lomax	St. Helens
2012	ENG Zak Hardaker	Leeds Rhinos
2013	ENG Ben Crooks	Hull F.C.
2014	ENG Daryl Clark	Castleford Tigers
2015	ENG George Williams	Wigan Warriors
2016	ENG Tom Johnstone	Wakefield Trinity
2017	ENG Oliver Gildart	Wigan Warriors
2018	ENG Jake Trueman	Castleford Tigers
2019	ENG Matty Lees	St. Helens
2020	ENG Harry Newman	Leeds Rhinos
2021	ENG Jack Welsby	St. Helens
2022	ENG Jack Welsby	St. Helens
2023	ENG Josh Thewlis	Warrington Wolves
2024	ENG Junior Nsemba	Wigan Warriors

Coach of the Year

Year	Winner	Club
2009	Nathan Brown	Huddersfield Giants
2010	Michael Maguire	Wigan Warriors
2011	Trent Robinson	Catalans Dragons
2012	Mick Potter	Bradford Bulls
2013	Paul Anderson	Huddersfield Giants
2014	Daryl Powell	Castleford Tigers
2015	Brian McDermott	Leeds Rhinos
2016	Lee Radford	Hull F.C.
2017	Daryl Powell	Castleford Tigers
2018	Shaun Wane	Wigan Warriors
2019	Justin Holbrook	St. Helens
2020	Adrian Lam	Wigan Warriors
2021	Steve McNamara	Catalans Dragons
2022	Matt Peet	Wigan Warriors
2023	Adrian Lam	Leigh Leopards
2024	Willie Peters	Hull KR
2025	Willie Peters	Hull KR

Women's Coach of the Year

Year	Nat	Winner	Club
2025		Denis Betts	Wigan Warriors

Top Try Scorer

Year	Winner	Club	Tries
1996	ENG Paul Newlove	St. Helens	28
1997	NZL Nigel Vagana	Warrington Wolves	17
1998	ENG Anthony Sullivan	St. Helens	20
1999	TON Toa Kohe-Love	Warrington Wolves	25
2000	ENG Sean Long
ENG Tommy Martyn	St. Helens	22
2001	ENG Kris Radlinski	Wigan Warriors	27
2002	AUS Dennis Moran	London Broncos	22
2003	AUS Dennis Moran	London Broncos	24
2004	TON Lesley Vainikolo	Bradford Bulls	36
2005	ENG Mark Calderwood	Leeds Rhinos	27
2006	AUS Justin Murphy	Catalans Dragons	25
2007	SAM Henry Fa'afili	Warrington Wolves	21
2008	ENG Ade Gardner	St. Helens	26
2009	ENG Ryan Hall	Leeds Rhinos	29
2010	IRE Pat Richards	Wigan Warriors	29
2011	ENG Ryan Hall
ENG Sam Tomkins	Leeds Rhinos
Wigan Warriors	28
2012	ENG Josh Charnley	Wigan Warriors	31
2013	ENG Josh Charnley	Wigan Warriors	33
2014	AUS Joel Monaghan	Warrington Wolves	28
2015	ENG Jermaine McGillvary	Huddersfield Giants	27
2016	NZL Denny Solomona	Castleford Tigers	40
2017	ENG Greg Eden	Castleford Tigers	38
2018	AUS Ben Barba	St. Helens	28
2019	ENG Tommy Makinson	St. Helens	23
2020	ENG Ash Handley	Leeds Rhinos	14
2021	AUS Ken Sio	Salford Red Devils	19
2022	AUS Bevan French	Wigan Warriors	31
2023	ENG Tom Johnstone
LBN Abbas Miski	Catalans Dragons
Wigan Warriors	27
2024	ENG Liam Marshall	Wigan Warriors	27

Top Points Scorer

Year	Winner	Club	Points
1996	ENG Bobbie Goulding	St. Helens	257
1997	ENG Andrew Farrell	Wigan Warriors	243
1998	WAL Iestyn Harris	Leeds Rhinos	255
1999	WAL Iestyn Harris	Leeds Rhinos	325
2000	ENG Sean Long	St. Helens	390
2001	ENG Andrew Farrell	Wigan Warriors	388
2002	ENG Paul Deacon	Bradford Bulls	301
2003	ENG Paul Deacon	Bradford Bulls	286
2004	ENG Kevin Sinfield	Leeds Rhinos	277
2005	ENG Paul Deacon	Bradford Bulls	322
2006	ENG Jamie Lyon	St. Helens	316
2007	IRE Pat Richards	Wigan Warriors	248
2008	IRE Pat Richards	Wigan Warriors	269
2009	IRE Pat Richards	Wigan Warriors	252
2010	IRE Pat Richards	Wigan Warriors	288
2011	ENG Jamie Foster	St. Helens	330
2012	AUS Scott Dureau	Catalans Dragons	281
2013	SCO Danny Brough	Huddersfield Giants	208
2014	ENG Marc Sneyd	Castleford Tigers	224
2015	ENG Luke Gale	Castleford Tigers	247
2016	ENG Luke Gale	Castleford Tigers	262
2017	ENG Luke Gale	Castleford Tigers	317
2018	ENG Danny Richardson	St Helens	296
2019	SCO Lachlan Coote	St Helens	259
2020	SCO Lachlan Coote	St Helens	152
2021	AUS James Maloney	Catalans Dragons	221
2022	ENG Tommy Makinson & Mark Sneyd	St Helens / Salford	242
2023	ENG Stefan Ratchford	Warrington Wolves	200
2024	ENG Mikey Lewis	Hull KR	216

Top Metre Maker

Year	Winner	Club	Metres
2003	AUS Craig Greenhill	Hull F.C.	3,594
2004	GRE Michael Korkidas	Wakefield Trinity	4,084
2005	ENG Terry O'Connor	Widnes Vikings	4,104
2006	AUS Danny Nutley	Castleford Tigers	3,372
2007	ENG James Roby	St. Helens	3,303
2008	ENG James Graham	St. Helens	3,774
2009	ENG James Graham	St. Helens	4,752
2010	ENG James Graham	St. Helens	4,036
2011	ENG James Roby	St. Helens	5,000
2012	ENG James Roby	St. Helens	3,971
2013	ENG Jamie Peacock	Leeds Rhinos	4,040
2014	ENG Matty Russell	Warrington Wolves	3,546
2015	ENG Alex Walmsley	St. Helens	4,092
2016	ENG Chris Hill	Warrington Wolves	3,983
2017	ENG Alex Walmsley	St. Helens	4,256
2018	TON Bill Tupou	Wakefield Trinity	4,114
2019	ENG Tommy Makinson	St. Helens	3,803
2020	ENG Ash Handley	Leeds Rhinos	2,541
2021	ENG Tom Davies	Catalans Dragons	3,332
2022	ENG Ash Handley	Leeds Rhinos	3,646
2023	AUS Tom Amone	Leigh Leopards	3,467
2024	AUS Matthew Dufty	Warrington Wolves	4,234

Hit Man

The player making most tackles in the regular season.

Year	Winner	Club	Tackles
2009	ENG Malcolm Alker	Salford Red Devils	981
2010	AUS Dallas Johnson	Catalans Dragons	1,106
2011	ENG Danny Houghton	Hull F.C.	1,060
2012	ENG Danny Washbrook	Wakefield Trinity Wildcats	991
2013	ENG Danny Houghton	Hull F.C.	1,179
2015	ENG James Roby	St. Helens	1,054
2016	ENG Danny Houghton	Hull F.C.	1,359
2017	ENG Danny Houghton	Hull F.C.	1,123
2018	ENG Paul McShane	Castleford Tigers	1,160
2019	ENG Danny Houghton	Hull F.C.	1,259
2020	ENG Michael Lawrence	Huddersfield Giants	749
2021	ENG Joe Shorrocks	Wigan Warriors	833
2022	ENG Danny Houghton	Hull F.C.	1,031
2023	AUS Luke Yates	Huddersfield Giants	1,027
2024	AUS Cameron Smith	Leeds Rhinos	992

Club of the Year

Year	Club
2009	Huddersfield Giants
2010	Wigan Warriors
2011	Huddersfield Giants
2012	Wigan Warriors
2013	St. Helens
2014	Widnes Vikings
2015	Leeds Rhinos
2016	Hull F.C.
2017	Castleford Tigers
2018	Warrington Wolves

The Mike Gregory Spirit of Rugby League Award - Both players and non-players are eligible to receive the award, which will be judged by a panel from the governing body.
Fairplay Index Award for Super League
The Community Player of the year

Special awards

The ‘200 Club’ - retiring players who have played in over 200 games.

References

(Spring 2018). "The birth of Rugby League's 'Man of Steel'". Rugby League Journal.
(8 August 2008). "Players not necessarily best judge of Steel".
(9 October 2018). "Some players mock of Man of Steel voting with bizarre votes". League Publications.
(11 February 2019). "Man of Steel Panel Announced". Rugby Football League.
[https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/24881113 BBC Sport, "Rugby League star Steve Prescott dies of stomach cancer, aged 39", 9 November 2013]. Retrieved 9 November 2013
(19 February 2014). "'Man of Steel Steve Prescott Award' petition handed into Rugby League HQ in honour of Hull FC legend".
(6 March 2014). "Man of Steel award to be re-named in memory of the late Steve Prescott". Sky Sports.
(2009-10-06). "Man of Steel on SLTV". Super League.
(27 September 2018). "Woman of Steel: Lois Forsell, Tara-Jane Stanley and Georgia Roche on shortlist". [[BBC Sport]].
(10 October 2023). "Bevan French: Wigan Warriors stand-off wins 2023 Steve Prescott MBE Man of Steel award". BBC Sport.

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