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,.BBC Sport, "Rugby League star Steve Prescott dies of stomach cancer, aged 39", 9 November 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2013 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 YearNatWinnerClubPosition1977David Ward Leeds1978George Nicholls St. Helens1979Doug Laughton WidnesLoose forward1980George Fairbairn Wigan1981Ken Kelly WarringtonScrum-half1982Mick MorganCarlisle1983Allan Agar Featherstone RoversCoach1984Joe Lydon Widnes1985Ellery Hanley Bradford NorthernStand-off1986Gavin MillerHull Kingston RoversLoose forward1987Ellery Hanley WiganStand-off1988Martin Offiah Widnes1989Ellery Hanley WiganLoose forward1990Shaun Edwards WiganStand-off1991Garry Schofield LeedsStand-off1992Dean Bell Wigan1993Andy Platt Wigan1994Jonathan Davies Warrington1995Denis Betts Wigan1996Andy Farrell WiganLoose forward1997James Lowes Bradford1998Iestyn Harris Leeds1999Adrian Vowles CastlefordLoose forward2000Sean Long St. HelensScrum-half2001Paul Sculthorpe St. HelensStand-off2002Paul Sculthorpe St. HelensLoose forward2003Jamie Peacock Bradford2004Andy Farrell Wigan2005Jamie Lyon St. Helens2006Paul Wellens St. Helens2007James Roby St. Helens2008James Graham St. Helens2009Brett Hodgson Huddersfield2010Pat Richards Wigan2011Rangi Chase Castleford2012Sam Tomkins Wigan2013Danny Brough Huddersfield2014Daryl Clark Castleford2015Zak Hardaker Leeds2016Danny Houghton Hull2017Luke Gale Castleford2018Ben Barba St. Helens2019Jackson Hastings Salford, 2020Paul McShane Castleford, 2021Sam Tomkins Catalans2022Brodie Croft Salford2023Bevan French Wigan2024Mikey Lewis Hull KR2025Jake Connor Leeds2026Brad O'Neill Wigan
Multiple winners PlayerWinsWinning years1 Ellery Hanley3 1985, 1987, 19892 Paul Sculthorpe2 2001, 20023 Andy Farrell2 1996, 20043 Sam Tomkins22012, 2021
Winners by club ClubWins1 Wigan Warriors 132 St. Helens 93 Castleford Tigers5 Leeds Rhinos5 Widnes Vikings 3 Bradford Bulls7 Warrington Wolves 2 Huddersfield Giants Hull Kingston Rovers Salford Red Devils9Carlisle 1 Catalans Dragons Featherstone Rovers Hull F.C.
Winners by country NationalityWins13529324252
Woman of Steel
In 2018 an additional category for the Woman of Steel from the Women's Super League was inaugurated. YearWinnerClub2018 Georgia Roche Castleford Tigers2019 Courtney Hill Leeds Rhinos2020No award2021 Jodie Cunningham St. Helens2022 Tara-Jane Stanley York City Knights2023 Sinead Peach York Valkyrie2024 Georgie Hetherington York Valkyrie2025 Eva Hunter Wigan Warriors2026 Jenna Foubister Wigan Warriors
Wheels of Steel In 2023 a new category for Wheels of Steel from the RFL Wheelchair Super League was inaugurated.
YearWinnerClub2023 Lewis King London Roosters2024 Joshua Butler Leeds Rhinos2025 Joe Coyd London Roosters2026 Rob Hawkins Halifax Panthers
Other awards Young Player of the Year YearWinnerClub1996 Keiron Cunningham St. Helens1997 Lee Briers Warrington Wolves1998 Lee Gilmour Wigan Warriors1999 Leon Pryce Bradford Bulls2000 Stuart Fielden Bradford Bulls2001 Rob Burrow Leeds Rhinos2002 Richard Horne Hull F.C.2003 Gareth Hock Wigan Warriors2004 Shaun Briscoe Hull F.C.2005 Richard Whiting Hull F.C.2006 James Graham St. Helens2007 Sam Burgess Bradford Bulls2008 Joe Westerman Castleford Tigers2009 Sam Tomkins Wigan Warriors2010 Sam Tomkins Wigan Warriors2011 Jonny Lomax St. Helens2012 Zak Hardaker Leeds Rhinos2013 Ben Crooks Hull F.C.2014 Daryl Clark Castleford Tigers2015 George Williams Wigan Warriors2016 Tom Johnstone Wakefield Trinity2017 Oliver Gildart Wigan Warriors2018 Jake Trueman Castleford Tigers2019 Matty Lees St. Helens2020 Harry Newman Leeds Rhinos2021 Jack Welsby St. Helens2022 Jack Welsby St. Helens2023 Josh Thewlis Warrington Wolves2024 Junior Nsemba Wigan Warriors2025 Harry Robertson St. Helens2026 Harry Robertson St. Helens
Coach of the Year YearNatWinnerClub2009Nathan Brown Huddersfield Giants2010Michael Maguire Wigan Warriors2011Trent Robinson Catalans Dragons2012Mick Potter Bradford Bulls2013Paul Anderson Huddersfield Giants2014Daryl Powell Castleford Tigers2015Brian McDermott Leeds Rhinos2016Lee Radford Hull F.C.2017Daryl Powell Castleford Tigers2018Shaun Wane Wigan Warriors2019Justin Holbrook St. Helens2020Adrian Lam Wigan Warriors2021Steve McNamara Catalans Dragons |- |2022 | |Matt Peet | Wigan Warriors|-2023Adrian Lam Leigh Leopards2024Willie Peters Hull KR2025Willie Peters Hull KR2026Matt Peet Wigan Warriors
Women's Coach of the Year YearNatWinnerClub2025Denis Betts Wigan Warriors2026Denis Betts Wigan Warriors
Top Try Scorer YearWinnerClubTries1996 Paul Newlove St. Helens281997 Nigel Vagana Warrington Wolves171998 Anthony Sullivan St. Helens201999 Toa Kohe-Love Warrington Wolves252000 Sean Long Tommy Martyn St. Helens222001 Kris Radlinski Wigan Warriors272002 Dennis Moran London Broncos222003 Dennis Moran London Broncos242004 Lesley Vainikolo Bradford Bulls362005 Mark Calderwood Leeds Rhinos272006 Justin Murphy Catalans Dragons252007 Henry Fa'afili Warrington Wolves212008 Ade Gardner St. Helens262009 Ryan Hall Leeds Rhinos292010 Pat Richards Wigan Warriors292011 Ryan Hall Sam Tomkins Leeds Rhinos Wigan Warriors282012 Josh Charnley Wigan Warriors312013 Josh Charnley Wigan Warriors332014 Joel Monaghan Warrington Wolves282015 Jermaine McGillvary Huddersfield Giants272016 Denny Solomona Castleford Tigers402017 Greg Eden Castleford Tigers382018 Ben Barba St. Helens282019 Tommy Makinson St. Helens232020 Ash Handley Leeds Rhinos142021 Ken Sio Salford Red Devils192022 Bevan French Wigan Warriors312023 Tom Johnstone Abbas Miski Catalans Dragons Wigan Warriors272024 Liam Marshall Wigan Warriors27
Top Points Scorer YearWinnerClubPoints1996 Bobbie Goulding St. Helens2571997 Andrew Farrell Wigan Warriors2431998 Iestyn Harris Leeds Rhinos2551999 Iestyn Harris Leeds Rhinos3252000 Sean Long St. Helens3902001 Andrew Farrell Wigan Warriors3882002 Paul Deacon Bradford Bulls3012003 Paul Deacon Bradford Bulls2862004 Kevin Sinfield Leeds Rhinos2772005 Paul Deacon Bradford Bulls3222006 Jamie Lyon St. Helens3162007 Pat Richards Wigan Warriors2482008 Pat Richards Wigan Warriors2692009 Pat Richards Wigan Warriors2522010 Pat Richards Wigan Warriors2882011 Jamie Foster St. Helens3302012 Scott Dureau Catalans Dragons2812013 Danny Brough Huddersfield Giants2082014 Marc Sneyd Castleford Tigers2242015 Luke Gale Castleford Tigers2472016 Luke Gale Castleford Tigers262 2017 Luke Gale Castleford Tigers317 2018 Danny Richardson St Helens296 2019 Lachlan Coote St Helens2592020 Lachlan Coote St Helens1522021 James Maloney Catalans Dragons2212022 Tommy Makinson & Mark Sneyd St Helens / Salford 2422023 Stefan Ratchford Warrington Wolves2002024 Mikey Lewis Hull KR216
Top Metre Maker YearWinnerClubMetres2003 Craig Greenhill Hull F.C.3,5942004 Michael Korkidas Wakefield Trinity4,0842005 Terry O'Connor Widnes Vikings4,1042006 Danny Nutley Castleford Tigers3,3722007 James Roby St. Helens3,3032008 James Graham St. Helens3,7742009 James Graham St. Helens4,7522010 James Graham St. Helens4,0362011 James Roby St. Helens5,0002012 James Roby St. Helens3,9712013 Jamie Peacock Leeds Rhinos4,0402014 Matty Russell Warrington Wolves3,5462015 Alex Walmsley St. Helens4,0922016 Chris Hill Warrington Wolves3,9832017 Alex Walmsley St. Helens4,2562018 Bill Tupou Wakefield Trinity4,1142019 Tommy Makinson St. Helens3,8032020 Ash Handley Leeds Rhinos2,5412021 Tom Davies Catalans Dragons3,3322022 Ash Handley Leeds Rhinos3,6462023 Tom Amone Leigh Leopards3,4672024 Matthew Dufty Warrington Wolves4,234
Hit Man The player making most tackles in the regular season. YearWinnerClubTackles2009 Malcolm Alker Salford Red Devils9812010 Dallas Johnson Catalans Dragons1,1062011 Danny Houghton Hull F.C.1,0602012 Danny Washbrook Wakefield Trinity Wildcats9912013 Danny Houghton Hull F.C.1,1792015 James Roby St. Helens1,0542016 Danny Houghton Hull F.C.1,3592017 Danny Houghton Hull F.C.1,1232018 Paul McShane Castleford Tigers1,1602019 Danny Houghton Hull F.C.1,2592020 Michael Lawrence Huddersfield Giants7492021 Joe Shorrocks Wigan Warriors8332022 Danny Houghton Hull F.C.1,0312023 Luke Yates Huddersfield Giants1,0272024 Cameron Smith Leeds Rhinos992
Club of the Year YearClub2009 Huddersfield Giants2010 Wigan Warriors2011 Huddersfield Giants2012 Wigan Warriors2013 St. Helens2014 Widnes Vikings2015 Leeds Rhinos2016 Hull F.C.2017 Castleford Tigers2018 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.
See also
Dally M Medal Lance Todd Trophy Harry Sunderland Trophy Albert Goldthorpe Medal Woman of Steel
References
External links Man of Steel Award at rlhalloffame.org.uk Man of Steel Award at superleague.co.uk