Five rugby league legends appointed to revised Man of Steel selection process

The Steve Prescott MBE Man of Steel will pick the brains of five legendary former winners to help crown the victor in 2026.

The process to establish Betfred Super League’s best player is undergoing a refresh in readiness for the new season which kicks-off with newcomers York Knights versus champions Hull KR on Thursday (live on Sky Sports, kick off 8pm).

Rugby league icons Ellery Hanley MBE, Joe Lydon, Paul Sculthorpe MBE, James Roby and Sam Tomkins have accepted invites to take part in the detailed analysis towards selecting the winner of the prestigious award.

In recent years, respected former players - from a long list of 25 - would award points to every game’s three best players: three to their player of the match, two to the runner-up and one to the third-ranked performer.

Points would be tallied up over the season, with a weekly leaderboard published, before the system went ‘dark’ at Round 15. A shortlist with the eventual victor was announced at the Rugby League Awards Dinner during Grand Final week.

However, under a fresh format, the new-look five-man panel will meet on three separate occasions throughout the season to evaluate the competition’s leading performers.

Hanley, Sculthorpe, Lydon, Roby and Tomkins will together assess candidates after Round 9 (April 26), Round 18 (July 12) and the final Round 27 (September 11).

Following each meeting a shortlist of the leading performers from that block of games will be publicly announced.

At the end of the regular campaign, the panel will meet again to draw together a final shortlist for the Steve Prescott MBE Man of Steel and begin deliberations on the eventual outcome.

Hanley, deemed one of the greatest players the sport has even seen, remains the only person to win Man of Steel on three separate occasions [1985, 1987 and 1989] while his former Wigan and Great Britain team-mate Lydon earned it in 1984 while playing for Widnes.

Lydon, who went on to hold a series of roles with England, Wales and Ireland’s rugby union set-ups post-playing, is a newcomer to the Man of Steel selection process.

Similarly, Roby, the hugely-decorated ex-St Helens and England hooker who won Man of Steel in 2007, joins for the first time as does ex-Wigan, Catalans and England ace Tomkins, who bagged the award in 2012 and 2021.

Both Hanley and former Great Britain captain Sculthorpe, a two-time Man of Steel winner (2001/2002), have extensive experience in judging.

The panel will have scope to adopt a holistic approach to ascertaining who is the best player of the Super League season, taking into account not just individual performance data such as assists, tries scored and metres made but leadership, consistency and game-defining moments in both defence and attack.

Rhodri Jones, RL Commercial Managing Director, said: “I would like to put on record my personal thanks to the long list of ex-players who have provided their expertise and time over the last six seasons to determine the sport’s most prestigious individual award. A refreshed approach to determine the Steve Prescott MBE Man of Steel award demonstrates the need to refine our processes from time to time. I am looking forward to hearing the five panellists discuss their thoughts on the outstanding performers throughout the season.”