The Super League Man of Steel final three will be confirmed soon and we’ve looked at the main contenders and their pre-season chances.
Winning the Man of Steel award is an honour that only befalls some of the very best of our sport with the list of winners marking the best of the best.
It’s a system that has changed over the years but an example of how difficult it is to win would be the fact that stars such as Kevin Sinfield, Danny McGuire and Rob Burrow never won it.
Just three players have won it twice with Ellery Hanley the only man to win it three times though his successes predate Super League.
Mikey Lewis claimed the prize last year and he’s certainly in with a shout to claim it this year with Hull KR flying high at the top of Super League and well in line to lift the League Leaders Shield.
Voting for the Man of Steel is done by a panel with three, two and one point awarded in each game to the three best performers. Those voting points were public until Round 15, after which they have been done behind closed doors.
We’ve looked at the top ten on the Man of Steel leaderboard from the point it went ‘dark’ and assessed how they’ve performed in the second half of the season, and what their pre-season odds to claim the award looked like as well.
Super League Man of Steel leaderboard
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Jake Connor was leading the way at the halfway stage and deservedly so and it’s fair to say he’s had an impressive run of games since then, albeit maybe not quite as dominant.
Connor was a dark horse to land the award heading into the season, priced up at 25/1 but a Leeds Rhinos player who was even longer odds is arguably his biggest threat on recent form.
Lachie Miller has been in red hot form for Leeds Rhinos, scoring six tries and making three others in his last eight games whilst also averaging an incredible 194 metres per game.
Miller had been tied-sixth with 11 points when the scoring went dark and it’s easy to imagine that he has been able to close a ten-point gap on Connor given the number of Man of the Match performances he has put in.
Pre-season, Miller was a huge 33/1 to be crowned Super League Man of Steel which is the same odds that Aidan Sezer was. The Hull FC captain sat fourth, eight points back from Connor, when the leaderboard went dark but injuries have likely ended his chances of becoming just the second Hull FC man to lift the award.
Herman Ese’ese could be that man though with the forward just five points back from Connor after Round 15 and having continued to impress since.
Wigan pair Jai Field and Junior Nsemba were both in contention and at good prices but both men have suffered as a result of Wigan’s mid-season dip in form.
Last year’s winner Mikey Lewis would also be a chance but it’s hard to see him catching any of Connor, Ese’ese or Miller, with the latter having likely overtaken him.
Super League Man of Steel leaderboard after Round 15 and respective pre-season odds (Betfred)
1: Jake Connor – 21 points and 25/1
2: Herman Ese’ese – 16 points and 18/1
3: Jai Field – 15 points and 16/1
4: Aidan Sezer – 13 points and 33/1
5: Mikey Lewis – 12 points and 12/1
T6: Nick Cotric and Lachie Miller – 11 points each. Cotric unpriced and Miller 33/1
8: Junior Nsemba – 10 points and 25/1
T9: Edwin Ipape, Mason Lino and Arthur Mourgue – 9 points each. Ipape 25/1, Lino and Mourgue unpriced.
Pre-season Super League Man of Steel odds
