Steve Prescott MBE Betfred Super League Man of Steel – nominees announced

Three of the top four teams in the final Betfred Super League table have a player included on the shortlist to be crowned the 2025 Steve Prescott MBE Man of Steel, as the outstanding player of the 30th Super League season.

Mikey Lewis of table-topping Hull KR, the 2024 winner, is in contention at the age of 24 to become only the fourth player to win the award more than once since it was introduced in 1977, and only the second to retain it – which would mean following in the footsteps of Paul Sculthorpe MBE, who was crowned Man of Steel in both 2001 and 2002.

Lewis is joined on the shortlist by Jai Field, the 28-year-old Australian whose consistent brilliance from full-back has been crucial as the 2024 champions Wigan Warriors have retained their position in the top two.

The third contender is Jake Connor, who turns 31 next month but has enjoyed probably the best season of his career after a surprise move from Huddersfield Giants to Leeds Rhinos, relishing the playmaking responsibility of the stand-off position to drive the Rhinos to their first top four finish since 2017.

Connor’s Rhinos play in the first round of the Play-Offs this Saturday night at home to St Helens, while Lewis and Field enjoy a breather as Hull KR and Wigan Warriors have already secured home matches in the semi finals on the first weekend of October as their reward for finishing in the top two.

The shortlist and winner of the 2025 Steve Prescott MBE Man of Steel have been determined by a panel of distinguished former players who have awarded points to the top three players in each of the 161 fixtures of the regular season.

The 2025 Steve Prescott MBE Man of Steel will be crowned at the Rugby League Awards Night in Manchester on Tuesday October 7 – in the build-up to the Betfred Super League Grand Final at Old Trafford on October 11.

The Awards Night will again celebrate the inclusivity of Rugby League with the outstanding players of the Betfred Women’s and Wheelchair Super Leagues also recognised – with the Woman of Steel and Wheels of Steel awards – in a ceremony which also includes Betfred Championship and League One.

The Man of Steel title was introduced in the 1976-77 season, with the Leeds hooker David Ward the first winner, and has been awarded annually for the last five decades.

It was renamed the Steve Prescott MBE Man of Steel ahead of the 2014 Super League in tribute to the former St Helens, Hull, Wakefield, England and Ireland full-back who had responded inspirationally to the diagnosis of a rare form of stomach cancer in 2006, and raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for charity before his death at the age of 39 in November 2013.