2020 Man of Steel candidates
28 Oct 2019
Jackson Hastings won the 2019 Steve Prescott MBE Man of Steel award, can he win it in consecutive years or will there be a new name added to the list? Here is a list of players who are favourites for the award.
Gareth Widdop
Warrington Wolves announced the signing of Gareth Widdop early in 2019, he will join Blake Austin in the halves, who was shortlisted for the 2019 Man of Steel award. Widdop has played over 200 games in the NRL, and featured for England and Great Britain.
Jackson Hastings
The 2019 Man of Steel winner, Jackson Hastings could become the first player to win it in consecutive years since Saints’ Paul Sculthorpe. Hastings had a stand-out year for Salford in 2019, but in 2020 he’ll wear the cherry and white of Wigan.
Jonny Lomax
Saints fan were disappointed Jonny Lomax did not make the cut for the 2019 Man of Steel nominees after he helped guide the Red Vee to a League Leaders’ Shield and Grand Final trophy. He’ll be under the guidance of a new coach though, as Justin Holbrook has been replaced by Kristian Woolf.
Sam Tomkins
Catalans Dragons’ full-back Sam Tomkins won the award in 2012 at Wigan, he was one of Catalans’ star performers in what was a poor year for the club but the signing of James Maloney from Penrith Panthers, and the arrival of Tomkins’ brother, Joel will boost him to new heights in Perpignan.
Lachlan Coote
Coote is another one of the players that was on the shortlist for the 2019 Man of Steel award, Coote arrived at Saints from North Queensland Cowboys and quickly became a fans favourite. After settling well in his first season, Coote could really push on and have an even better year in his second season at Saints.
2019 @Betfred Super League Big Hits 😰
WARNING ⚠?? Not for the faint-hearted! #SuperLeague pic.twitter.com/P8AS8iQAwq
— Betfred Super League (@SuperLeague) October 16, 2019
Luke Gale
Luke Gale’s past two seasons have been hampered by injury but the 2017 Man of Steel winner has moved clubs and will be boosted by a fresh start. He previously won the award for Castleford Tigers but made the short move to Leeds Rhinos and will be hoping to be a key part in the clubs turnaround.
Luke Thompson
Former Saints coach Justin Holbrook labelled Luke Thompson as the ‘best prop in the world’ after his performance in the 2019 Grand Final. The England props power and toughness will make it hard for the opposition defence to stop him, and another year’s experience under his belt could make him unstoppable in 2020.
Blake Austin
The bookies favourite for the 2019 award, Austin did not end up winning the award but was in the five shortlisted. He’s settled in well to the Warrington squad and England, he’s also with the Great Britain squad on tour in New Zealand.
Daryl Clark
Daryl Clark and James Roby are fighting to be the best hookers in the competition, Roby was the stand-out performer at the beginning of the 2019 but injuries hampered his chance of winning the award. Clark is the driving force at Warrington with his runs from dummy half and work rate, he won the award in 2014 for Castleford Tigers.
Zak Hardaker
Zak Hardaker had a great year for Wigan last year, he was arguably one of the best full backs in the league. Next year at Wigan he’ll have an even stronger team in front of him with the arrival of Hastings and George Burgess. He previously won the award in 2015 at Leeds Rhinos.
