Salford Red Devils’ star Brodie Croft beats out Wigan Warriors’ Jai Field to Man of Steel thanks to late season turnaround

Salford Red Devils’ mercurial half back, Brodie Croft has been named the 2022 Steve Prescott MBE Man of Steel.

The Man of Steel is perhaps British rugby league’s most prestigious award, and for only the second time it has been scooped by a Salford Red Devils player in the shape of former Brisbane and Melbourne Storm man Brodie Croft.

Croft has had a brilliant season and is undoubtedly the signing of the year totally taking Super League by storm and helping the Red Devils to an unlikely play-off spot especially after a difficult mid-season.

They went as far as the semi-finals with an amazing 28-0 win over Huddersfield in which Croft conjured up a key moment setting up Kallum Watkins for a lovely try.

However, that day saw Croft’s season cut short by a head knock which ruled him out of the semi-final against St Helens which Salford were unlucky to lose and it might have been a different story had he played.

Despite missing out on that big moment, Croft has been awarded the Man of Steel tonight beating of superb competition including Jai Field who many believed was a shoe in for the award given his start to the season.

Croft also saw off competition from Jack Welsby of St Helens to be crowned Man of Steel in his first season with the Red Devils. Croft also becomes only the second Salford player to win the award, following in the footsteps of Jackson Hastings who lifted the trophy in 2019.

It was a season of two halves for the Red Devils in 2022 and it was that dramatic second half turnaround in form, that saw Croft climb the weekly leaderboard. Croft claimed points in 6 of Salford’s last nine fixtures to top the leaderboard at the end of the regular season.

This season Croft missed just one regular season game, in round 27, and in those appearances, he contributed 25 try assists, 7 tries to Salford’s campaign. However, his involvement went deeper than just scoring, he also featured in the top 10 for carries (433), metres (2761) and clean breaks (30).

Croft was presented his award by two-time Man of Steel and former team-mate and friend of Steve Prescott, Paul Sculthorpe MBE at the Betfred Super League Awards in Leeds.

Sculthorpe said of Croft: “Being a two-time Man of Steel, I know first-hand what it means to a player to receive this recognition.

“Brodie has shown all season what an exceptional talent he is. His creative flair, leadership and doggedness have been as huge asset to Paul Rowley’s rejuvenated Salford Red Devils team.

“It is no shock that the run Salford put together at the end of the season was mirrored by an exceptional series of performances from Brodie. Highlighted by the 25 try assists he provided this season.”

The full list of award winners at the 2022 Betfred Super League Awards were:

Top Tackler – Danny Houghton (Hull FC)

Top Try Scorer – Bevan French (Wigan Warriors)

Loch Lomond Spirit of Super League Award – Peter Mata’utia

(Awarded to those who make a significant contribution to the sport beyond the field of play)

Young Player of the Year – Jack Welsby (St Helens)

Coach of the Year – Matt Peet (Wigan Warriors)

Steve Prescott MBE Man of Steel – Brodie Croft (Salford Red Devils)