Leigh Centurions dominate Championship award nominations as Featherstone Rovers overlooked and Super League target nominated as is ex-Hull KR man

The nominees for the Championship awards are in tonight and unsurprisingly they are dominated by the Leigh Centurions dominate them.

They have two of the four nominees for player of the year in the shape of John Asiata and Edwin Ipape being nominated. Ipape also picked up a huge award in the 1895 Cup Final as the Man of the Match scooping the Ray French Award.

He’s been excellent this season as has Asiata after Leigh thought off Super League interest to sign him.

It’s surprising that more Leigh players weren’t nominated with Caleb Aekins snubbed after a terrific season as has try scoring machine and reported Leeds Rhinos target Nene MacDonald. Had Blake Ferguson arrived at the club earlier, he’d have likely been nominated.

Ferguson has been a terrific try scorer but so has Tee Ritson who is also nominated for the player of the year after a superb season at Barrow Raiders.

Ritson is expected to move to Super League with Champions St Helens interested in him as a replacement for Regan Grace.

The final nominee is Joe Keyes who has been a top drawer signing for Halifax after leaving Hull KR last year.

There are no Featherstone players nominated for the headline award not even holder Craig Hall. However they do have one player nominated for the Young Player of the Year in Sam Eseh who is joined by London’s Oli Leyland and York’s AJ Towse.

The coach of the year will likely go the way of Adrian Lam but Simon Grix after assembling a superb squad at Halifax this year is also nominated and they’ll fancy their chances of making the Million Pound Game after pushing Fev close this weekend.

Paul Crarey would also be a worthy winner after taking newly promoted Barrow to fourth place and dreaming of the Million Pound Game.