The Leigh Leopards duo of Lachlan Lam and Edwin Ipape have been nominated for the Golden Boot award, one of the highest individual honours in rugby league.
The trophy, given to the best player across international matches in 2025, will be decided by five legends of the game, all of whom have received a ‘golden cap’ for representing their country on fifty occasions or more.
The panel includes England legend James Graham and new London Broncos owner Darren Lockyer, with fellow Kangaroos icons Cameron Smith and Petero Civoniceva and New Zealand’s Ruben Wiki making up the selectors.
The longlist currently sits at 18 players, before it is whittled down on Sunday once the international fixtures, including the third Ashes Test and the Pacific Championships final, have all concluded.
On the list sit Leigh’s Lam and Ipape, who are looking to become the first Super League-based players to win the award since Tommy Makinson in 2018.
The current Catalans Dragons winger won the trophy for excelling in the three-Test series between England and the Kiwis that year, and scored a hat-trick in the second match at Anfield.
The Leopards pair have excelled for their country of Papua New Guinea, helping them to clinch the title of the Pacific Bowl, after victories over Fiji and Cook Islands.
Lam picked up three assists across the two games, continuing that form that made him one of the best halves in Super League this campaign, whilst Ipape picked up a try and an assist.
Should either player win, it would be the first time in history that a PNG player would win the award.
Rugby League Golden Boot nominees revealed as Leigh Leopards duo included
Also named on the long-list are five of Australia’s Ashes stars, including full-back Reece Walsh and half-back Cameron Munster, who picked up Player of the Match in the first and second Tests respectively.
Reuben Cotter, Angus Crichton and Harry Grant join them, and you can’t argue against a Kangaroos winner given their strong performances that resulted in a series win with a game to spare.
Pacific Championship stars are amongst the list, with New Zealand having six players named, whilst Samoa boast four. Fiji’s Jahream Bula makes up the final spot on the list following his four-try performance over the Cook Islands.
Notably there is no English representation on the longlist.
International Rugby League Men’s Golden Boot longlist in full: Dylan Brown (New Zealand), Jahream Bula (Fiji), Reuben Cotter (Australia), Angus Crichton (Australia), Harry Grant (Australia), Payne Haas (Samoa), Edwin Ipape (Papua New Guinea), Lachlan Lam (Papua New Guinea), Moses Leota (New Zealand), Jarome Luai (Samoa), Casey McLean (New Zealand), Cameron Munster (Australia), Isaiah Papali’i (New Zealand), Junior Paulo (Samoa), Jeremiah Nanai (Samoa), Joseph Tapine (New Zealand), Matthew Timoko (New Zealand), Reece Walsh (Australia)
