Super League’s Young Player of the Year award is often overlooked compared to the likes of the Steve Prescott Man of Steel trophy, but for any up-and-coming player the accolade is a huge achievement, with many past recipients going on to do great things in the game.
Past winners include icons such as Kieron Cunningham, who won the award in the competition’s first-ever season, Lee Briers, Rob Burrow and Sam Burgess. This year, four players have the chance to write their name into the history books, in what will be each star’s biggest personal accolade of their career to date.
The nominees, who were announced earlier this week, were revealed to be Wigan Warriors forward Junior Nsemba, Hull FC winger Lewis Martin, St Helens’ Harry Robertson and Huddersfield Giants’ George Flanagan Jr. All of whom have had incredible seasons in their own right, but as the saying goes – there can only be one winner.
We have ranked each individual in order of how likely they are to win the award, with one man a clear favourite after such a breakthrough year that has helped his side develop into a team able to compete with the top sides in the league.
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Super League Young Player of the Year nominees ranked
4th. Junior Nsemba
Should the back rower emerge victorious, Nsemba would become only the third player to win the award back-to-back, following in Sam Tomkins’ footsteps in 2009 and 2010, and Jack Welsby’s in 2021 and 2022. Whilst it has still been a brilliant year for the 21-year-old, his second half of the season hasn’t quite been up to the standard of what we have come to expect from him, and he has started from the bench in three of the last five regular season games.
3rd – George Flanagan Jr
Signed as a prospect and an emerging talent, Flanagan Jr’s opportunities this year have come in bulk, with Huddersfield picking up so many injuries across the campaign, particularly in the spine. The full-back has been a shining light in a poor Giants team this year, and is by far and away their top points scorer in 2025. His 128 points this year is almost three times more than Jacob Gagai in second, highlighting his influence in the team.
2nd – Harry Robertson
Robertson came through the Saints system as a full-back, but this year has been used in the centres in place of Konrad Hurrell. The 19-year-old has had a stellar year, scoring 14 tries in all competitions this campaign, the youngster has shown his versatility and ability to learn a new position, and it is something that has hugely paid off for Paul Wellens’ side. Robertson is only behind Jake Wardle in tries scored by centres this year, and also has five assists to his name. If you exclude the game where he failed a HIA against Catalans in the opening three minutes, Robertson averages over 100m per game, an impressive feat for a developing youngster.
1st – Lewis Martin
Martin is the league’s top try scorer and has been one of, if not the best winger in the competition in 2025. His season was capped off with an inclusion in the Super League Dream Team, alongside teammate Herman Ese’ese, in what has been such a transformative year for Hull FC.
The 21-year-old deserves to win the award, and it is highlighted by two key stats. First, Martin is the first Hull player in the modern era to score at least one try against every other side in the league this year. Second, he is one of only three players in the competition to have played every minute of every game this year. His 25 tries is only part of his game, however, with the winger averaging just short of 120m per game from an average of 17 carries, showing his strong work to carry the ball out from back-field.
The upcoming Ashes series may be too early for someone still developing, but Martin has proved this year he can compete with the league’s best, and should a call from Shaun Wane come at the end of the year, it will be thoroughly deserved.
Every minute, of every game ✅
Lewis Martin finished the 2025 Betfred Super League campaign as one of only three players to not miss a single minute of action across the entire season 😤
⚫️⚪️ #COYH | @ecostrad pic.twitter.com/NpmqQKHHN9
— Hull FC (@hullfcofficial) September 22, 2025
