Leigh Leopards owner Derek Beaumont has hit out at Super League for failing to sell itself properly with the omission of one star from the Man of Steel list.
Beaumont witnessed his side miss out on their chance to make a first-ever Super League Grand Final as Wigan Warriors swept them away 38-0.
It was a dominant performance from Wigan who controlled the game for almost all of the 80 minutes, implementing an industrious yet dominant gameplan with sprinkles of flair from the likes of Bevan French and Jai Field.
Both of those men scored brilliant individual tries whilst also laying on two assists a piece but it was French’s try that has caught the eyes of most, including Beaumont.
The Leigh owner took to X to share footage of the incredible try and make the claim that Super League can get in its own way when it comes to advertising, having failed to elect French to either the Super League Dream Team or the Man of Steel shortlist.
Is Bevan French the best player in Super League ‘by a mile’?
Less than 24 hours after Bevan French sliced his team apart, Beaumont took to social media to argue: “He is the best player in the comp by a mile but not in dream team or nominated for man of steel! We keep working towards fixing our game! We should have this man on billboards everywhere advertising our sport. The Haaland of RL and that’s from a United and Leopards fan!”
As it stands, Bevan French is currently the reigning Man of Steel but that’s set to change on Tuesday night when a new name takes the prize at Super League’s end-of-season awards.
He is the best player in the comp by a mile but not in dream team or nominated for man of steel! We keep working towards fixing our game! We should have this man on bill boards everywhere advertising our sport. The haaland of RL and that’s from a United and leopards fan! https://t.co/TJKEGAK1Bh
— Derek John Beaumont (@derek_beaumont) October 6, 2024
It’s hard to watch the footage of that try and argue against Bevan French being the best player in Super League but equally, it’s hard to argue against the season’s accolades of both Mikey Lewis and Marc Sneyd who beat French out to both the Dream Team and Man of Steel nominations.
That circles back round to a point made by pundit Jon Wilkin recently in which he argued that the Man of Steel voting must change because the best players in over-achieving teams often win it, as opposed to the best player in the competition.
French also saw his bid to retain the Man of Steel award hampered by injury which will have certainly played a part in his snub but he’s undoubtedly one of the biggest ticket sellers in Super League and failing to market him is questionable.
Wigan boss Matt Peet lauded French’s performance on Saturday, even claiming that a large percentage of the 20,511 crowd in attendance had turned up to watch the Australian specifically.