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Super League star “absolutely robbed” in Man of Steel shortlist says ex Leigh Leopards star

Leigh Leopards

Throughout Super League history we have seen players from Leeds Rhinos, Wigan Warriors, Warrington Wolves, Hull FC, St Helens, Castleford Tigers, Salford Red Devils and Huddersfield Giants win the Man of Steel Award.

In 2021, Catalans Dragons joined the club via Sam Tomkins but of the 2023 Super League roster only Hull KR, Wakefield Trinity and Leigh Leopards had not won the Man of Steel.

Many felt Leigh would have a chance to change that in 2023 via someone like Lachlan Lam or John Asiata.

This is an opinion shared by former Leigh man Gregg McNally who said on social media:

“Wow, John Asiata has been absolutely robbed not to be in this!”

In alphabetical order – and also the order in which their teams finished in the table – the Man of Steel nominees are:

Bevan French, whose consistent brilliance has been a key factor in Wigan Warriors’ success in winning the League Leaders Shield;

Tom Johnstone, the powerful wing who has been the joint leading try-scorer in the Betfred Super League with 27 after joining Catalans Dragons from Wakefield Trinity last winter;

Jack Welsby of St Helens, who has been Super League’s Young Player of the Year in each of the last two seasons and has excelled at full-back throughout the 2023 campaign.

Johnstone and Welsby will face each other in Perpignan on Friday night, as the Dragons host the Saints in the first semi final, exclusively live on Sky Sports.

Then on Saturday at 1245pm, French’s Warriors host Hull KR in the second semi final, with that match shown live on Channel 4 and Sky Sports.

Since 2014, the winner of Super League’s most coveted individual award has been named the Steve Prescott MBE Man of Steel, with the award named after the former St Helens, Hull FC and Wakefield Trinity full-back, who died the previous November at the age of 39 after an inspirational seven-year battle against a rare form of stomach cancer.

For the last five seasons, the winner has been determined by points awarded to the outstanding players in every Betfred Super League fixture by a panel of former players chaired by Ellery Hanley MBE.

The winner of the 2023 Steve Prescott MBE Man of Steel will be announced next Tuesday (October 10) at Emirates Old Trafford, at Rugby League’s biggest and most inclusive Awards Night – when the winners of more than a dozen other awards will also be celebrated, including the 2023 Woman of Steel, and the first winner of the Wheels of Steel as the year’s outstanding player in Wheelchair Rugby League.

The nominees for those awards, and also the Coach of the Year and the Young Player of the Year in the Betfred Super League, have already been announced.

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