Why zero Wakefield Trinity players made Man of Steel top 10 list as legend explains decision

After the latest Man of Steel rankings were released yesterday, it came as a surprise to most to see no Wakefield Trinity players included in the top 10.

Table-toppers Leeds Rhinos had four players selected, whilst the now seventh-placed Hull KR had two men involved. Leigh Leopards, St Helens and Toulouse Olympique, who are all below Trinity in the table, also had nominees, but there was no room for any of Daryl Powell’s men in the rankings after the second third of the season.

In this batch of games, from rounds 10-18 Wakefield have won seven of nine games, with two of those victories coming against KR. They sit in third as it stands, with only 14 points difference separating them and Wigan in second.

Despite their great run of games, the five-man panel has opted against any Trinity players in the top 10, which is incredibly harsh on the West Yorkshire outfit.

The decision to exclude Powell’s players was explained on the Man of Steel: The Panel podcast, hosted by Brian Carney. Panel member and two-time Man of Steel winner Sam Tomkins was given the task of explaining why no Wakefield players were included.

He said: “I think there’s a lot of [Wakefield] players to be put in, Mike McMeeken certainly. Every time Wakefield play well, I know it’s cliche, but it’s always off the back of a platform.

“I think Jazz Tevaga could be [included] as well for some of his performances in the last stint. Jake Trueman was someone that we spoke about when whittling down this 10 to discuss. We said in the first podcast we saw the best of what he’s shown in his career so far.

“It’s really close, really difficult, and I’m sure there’s a lot of Wakey fans that are wondering why, but there’s plenty of time in these last nine games that we’re looking at.

“There’s just too many good players to fit them in for me.”

Players such as Caleb Hamlin-Uele can find themselves incredibly unfortunate not to make the top 10, particularly when players who are injured for the rest of the year have made the list.

Caius Faatili, after his two tries against Hull KR, was another who was mentioned by the panel, but they opted against his inclusion.

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