Man of Steel Awards


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.

The Steve Prescott Man of Steel award

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:
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.

Name change

Former England player Steve Prescott died of cancer in 2013, aged 39. 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.

Men of Steel

Multiple winners

Winners by club

Winners by country

Woman of Steel

In 2018 an additional category for the Woman of Steel from the Women's Super League was inaugurated.
YearWinnerClub
2018 Georgia Roche Castleford Tigers
2019 Courtney Hill Leeds Rhinos

Other Awards

Young Player of the Year

Coach of the Year

Top Try Scorer

Top Points Scorer

Top Metre Maker

Hit Man

The player making most tackles in the regular season.
YearWinnerClubTackles
2009 Malcolm Alker Salford Red Devils981
2010 Dallas Johnson Catalans Dragons1,106
2011 Danny Houghton Hull F.C.1,060
2012 Danny Washbrook Wakefield Trinity Wildcats991
2013 Danny Houghton Hull F.C.1,179
2015 James Roby St. Helens1,054
2016 Danny Houghton Hull F.C.1,359
2017 Danny Houghton Hull F.C.1,123
2018 Paul McShane Castleford Tigers1,160
2019 Danny Houghton Hull F.C.1,259

Club of the Year