Man of Steel Awards

The awards were started in 1977 when David Howes, the Rugby League's public relations officer, organised sponsorship worth £3,000 from Trumanns Steel Limited for awards in six different categories; Trumanns Man of Steel, Division One Player of the Year, Division Two Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, Young Player of the Year and Referee of the Year. The awards were voted on by the members of the rugby league press.[1] The first awards were made at the end of the 1976–77 season with the inaugural award winners being:[1]

• Trumanns Man of Steel - David Ward, Leeds
• Division One Player of the Year - Malcolm Reilly, Castleford
• Division Two Player of the Year - Ged Marsh, Blackpool Borough
• Young Player of the Year - David Ward, Leeds
• Coach of the Year - Eric Ashton, St Helens
• Referee of the Year - Billy Thompson

In 2008, the voting for the award was changed, with the winner being chosen by the players of the Super League instead.[2] In 2019, in response to criticism that some players were not taking the voting seriously,[3] a panel of former rugby league players was chosen to determine the winner of the award. The voting was changed to a system similar to the Australian Dally M Medal, with points being awarded to the best performing players after each game (three points for the man of the match, two points for the runner-up, and one point for the third best player).[4]

Former England player Steve Prescott died of cancer in 2013, aged 39.[5] Following a short campaign, a petition with over 12,000 signatures was sent to the Rugby Football League, calling for the Man of Steel award to be renamed in Prescott's honour.[6] In March 2014, the RFL officially announced that the award would be called the "Steve Prescott Man of Steel" from the 2014 season onwards.[7]

The player making most tackles in the regular season.

Year	Winner	Club	Tackles
2009	Malcolm Alker	Salford Red Devils	981
2010	Dallas Johnson	Catalans Dragons	1,106
2011	Danny Houghton	Hull F.C.	1,060
2012	Danny Washbrook	Wakefield Trinity Wildcats	991
2013	Danny Houghton	Hull F.C.	1,179
2015	James Roby	St. Helens	1,054
2016	Danny Houghton	Hull F.C.	1,359
2017	Danny Houghton	Hull F.C.	1,123
2018	Paul McShane	Castleford Tigers	1,160
2019	Danny Houghton	Hull F.C.	1,259

Year	Club
2009	Huddersfield Giants
2010	Wigan Warriors
2011	Huddersfield Giants
2012	Wigan Warriors
2013	St. Helens
2014	Widnes Vikings
2015	Leeds Rhinos
2016	Hull F.C.
2017	Castleford Tigers
2018	Warrington Wolves

• The Mike Gregory Spirit of Rugby League Award - Both players and non-players are eligible to receive the award, which will be judged by a panel from the governing body.
• Fairplay Index Award for Super League
• The Community Player of the year

• The ‘200 Club’ - retiring players who have played in over 200 games.