Super League confirm format change for Steve Prescott MBE Man of Steel voting as five legends set to make up panel

The format for the selection process for the Super League Man of Steel is changing, with the alteration coming into effect for the 2026 season.

Last year’s winner, Jake Connor, was crowned as the competition’s best after he was shortlisted alongside Wigan duo Bevan French and Jai Field for the top award.

The individual honour first came about in 1977, with then-Leeds RLFC player David Ward, father of former Super League coach Danny Ward, being the inaugural recipient.

Since 2014, the award has been named after former full-back Steve Prescott MBE, who passed away in 2013 after a brave fight against cancer.

The award was initially chosen by a vote from members of the press. However, that changed in 2008, when Super League players then got to vote on who their best player of the campaign was.

From 2019 up until 2025, the ‘3-2-1’ system was introduced, whereby a panel of 21 former players award the top three players from each individual fixture points, with the man of the match getting three, and so forth.

After the scores went private at the half-way mark of the season, the shortlist would then be announced, as the top three players were named as candidates for the award, before the winner was announced after three members from the panel ratify a winner.

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Super League Man of Steel award set for format change

In 2026 the format will change again, and this time, a panel of five legends of the game will meet at three points during the season to evaluate the award’s front-runners.

That panel is made up of: Ellery Hanley, Joe Lydon, Paul Sculthorpe, Sam Tomkins and James Roby.

Meeting after rounds nine, 18 and 27 have been completed, a shortlist of the leading performers will be announced after each meeting, before the quintet make their final shortlist at the end of the season.

The panel will then meet again to decide an eventual outcome, and subsequently determine which player should be awarded the Steve Prescott MBE Man of Steel trophy.

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