the man of steel awards have been a joke for the last ten years,and the real meaning of the award has been lost. This in my opinion are the 5 main candidates for a real man of steel award.

Steve menzies. awesome player awesome season. real embodiment of the award.

Andy lynch superb season in a very poor side.

Tomas Leuilie the real steel in the Wigan side for me

Michael Monaghan not only a good player and a good season but a real standard out in a superb team.

JJb fantastic season in an average team.

Sam Tomkins, Michael Monaghan or James Roby

James Roby. There is no debate.

5000 metres. 5000. Five THOUSAND metres. FIVE thousand metres. FIVE THOUSAND METRES!!!

OMG!!!

Also done WAY more 40:20s than Lee Briers and WAY more assists than Michael 'He's so creative' Monaghan.

Tomkins
Monaghan
Roby

What is the real meaning?

Year Nat Winner Club Position

1977 England David Ward Leeds Hooker
1978 England George Nicholls St Helens Forward
1979 England Doug Laughton Widnes Loose forward
1980 Scotland George Fairbairn Wigan Fullback
1981 England Ken Kelly Warrington Scrum-half
1982 England Michael Morgan Carlisle Second-row
1983 England Allan Agar Fev Scrum-half
1984 England Joe Lydon Widnes Wing, Fullback
1985 England Ellery Hanley Bradford Loose forward
1986 Australia Gavin Miller Hull KR Prop
1987 England Ellery Hanley Wigan Loose forward
1988 England Martin Offiah Widnes Wing
1989 England Ellery Hanley Wigan Loose forward
1990 England Shaun Edwards Wigan Stand-off
1991 England Garry Schofield Leeds Stand-off
1992 NZ Dean Bell Wigan Centre
1993 England Andy Platt Wigan Prop
1994 Wales Jonathan Davies Warrington Centre
1995 England Denis Betts Wigan Second-row
1996 England Andrew Farrell Wigan Loose forward
1997 England James Lowes Bradford Hooker
1998 Wales Iestyn Harris Leeds Stand-off
1999 Australia Adrian Vowles Castleford Loose forward
2000 England Sean Long St Helens Scrum-half
2001 England Paul Sculthorpe St Helens Stand-off
2002 England Paul Sculthorpe St Helens Loose forward
2003 England Jamie Peacock Bradford Second-row
2004 England Andrew Farrell Wigan Loose forward
2005 Australia Jamie Lyon St Helens Centre
2006 England Paul Wellens St Helens Fullback
2007 England James Roby St Helens Hooker
2008 England James Graham St Helens Prop
2009 Australia Brett Hodgson Huddersfield Fullback
2010 Ireland Pat Richards Wigan Wing

I can't see why the winners in the last ten years are a 'joke' and how it has lost it's real meaning. I thought the meaning of it was if you were the stand out player despite your position/ability/strengths. So props, wingers or whatever position were all as likely to win it as each other.

Not enough Carlisle players win it these days.

Ireland! LoL!

There is no problem with Richards playing for Ireland – his parents are Irish I understand and he clearly didn’t declare for Ireland just to play in the World Cup as he has continued to turn out for them in the lower key games such as the European Cup

What?

Kieron Cunningham-Wales

There is no doubt he's a great player. But he's made 778 scoots from dummy-half. That's 28 per game

and more than double the next highest, 371 by Danny Houghton. People laugh at Mickey Higham's tendency for scooting but that's just ridiculous.

Just making an average of 6 metres per scoot takes him almost to his total, and that's not even taking into account other carries. Are Roby and Graham the only ones taking the ball in for St Helens these days?

Sam has WAY more tries, WAY more tackle busts, WAY more clean breaks, makes more metres per carry, misses fewer tackles, gives away fewer penalties. Oh, and has the same number of 40:20s.



FWIW I've always preferred the idea of MoS going to players like Andy Platt, Jamie Peacock, James Lowes, Andy Farrell, Paul Sculthorpe, Denis Betts, rather than 'glamour players'. I'd have no problem with Roby winning it, the selfish one-trick-pony scooting scouse get.

Steve Menzies is the one for me. Thirty seven years old and still showing us how it should be done.
What a legend.

Gavin Miller wasn't a prop.

Roby. An absolute machine. He appears to be literally made of steel.

You used to have MOS and 1st division player of the year, which carried slightly different connotations. For instance, in '95 Betts won MOS and Goulding won 1st Division POTY, which makes sense. The year before, Jiffy won both, which is an extra-remarkable feat.

MOS to honour the [isteel[/i it takes to get to the top, SLPOTY award to recognise the skills.
Every so often, you'll get a player that qualifies for both.

I didn't say anybody complaining when Harris won it in 98... was he a Man of Steel?

Or how about Jamie Lyon, was he a Man of Steel?

Or Roby in 2007, he won MOS by scooting very well and was second fiddle to KFC, was he a true Man of Steel?


The only reason anybody is complaining about the award now is because last year it was won by a Wigan player who had a huge influence on our champion team and people fear it could be another Wigan player again this year.

Got to be Roby; tough as teak, machine like reliability and importantly, goes about his business in a dignified and sportsmanlike manner.

Steve Menzies without a doubt.

When was the last time a player from a team finished outside the top 4 won MOS, nevermind from 6th?

That bald fella for Cas perhaps?

I’m surprised we don’t have a fully fledge RLFANS end of year award. Anyone fancy putting it together?

Turned out for the Exiles though as an Aussie.

A true Man of Steel besides being a very good player and influential, should show great sportmanship, honesty and respect to the opposition and be an ambassador to the game.

Unfortunately Tomkins dosn,t quite fit most of these parameters, the likes of Menzies and Roby do in bucketloads.

I wonder how James Graham won it then...