Man of Steel? It depends who you ask
24 Sep 2019
Every year, a Super League star is awarded the Steve Prescott MBE Man of Steel, it’s simple, the best player in Super League, throughout the regular season.
It’s a simple question, all that is needed is a simple answer.
But it’s not that simple.
Lachlan Coote. George Williams. Liam Watts. Blake Austin. Jackson Hastings. They are the nominees the 2019 Man of Steel.
It’s a decision that no one takes lightly, a decision that is not made through social media, a decision that is made throughout the course of a season, round by round, by a group of panellists, consisting of Rugby League legends.
A panellist that will not be influenced by unconscious bias, they’re not lazy, instead following a procedure of watching live games, and then re-watching the games, along with the stats supplied by Opta.
A procedure that takes its time, the question of who the best Super League player is, is simple to some, but the answer is not always that easy.
??? The 2019 @StevePrescott1 Man of Steel Shortlist has been announced.
Find out more 👉 https://t.co/TEBGjEo2rY pic.twitter.com/UEaBMTs4wB
— Betfred Super League (@SuperLeague) September 18, 2019
There will be glaring omissions, but that’s the beauty of sport, fans have their loyalties and their opinions, which, in today’s world can be shared through a tweet or status, then before you know it, there’s a thread and an argument going back and forth.
In the 2018 Premier League campaign, Heung-Min Son, Kevin De Bruyne and Eden Hazard, didn’t make the PFA Team of the Year, but the much-scrutinised Paul Pogba did, whose performances were negatively dissected by pundits and fans throughout the season, rightly or wrongly.
The 2019 Super League Dream Team’s omissions included Jonny Lomax, Niall Evalds, Oliver Gildart and Zak Hardaker.
The full-back position was one of the most hotly contested, Lachlan Coote the eventual winner beat former Man of Steel winner Hardaker and Salford Red Devils’ Niall Evalds.
The one glaring omission to the Man of Steel shortlist and 2019 Dream Team is Lomax, Coote will be Saints’ only representative in the Man of Steel shortlist, but Lomax, won the treble at St Helens’ awards dinner; Player of the Year, Players’ Player of the Year and Members’ Player of the Year.
The obvious choice for a Man of the Match performance is normally the player that has scored the most tries or the player that’s been in the headlines throughout the season, but delve a bit deeper, into the mind of a former legend and it’s hard to compare their knowledge to the average onlooker.
For transparency, the votes have been published up until Round 22, since then, the votes were hidden to build the excitement surrounding the new Super League awards, and who will win the coveted Man of Steel award.
