Wigan Rugby League legend Ellery Hanley reveals changes to Steve Prescott Man of Steel Award

A shake-up to the voting system for Super League's most prestigious individual honour was revealed today.

The panel will consist of 21 former players and coaches including former Men of Steel, and boasting a combined total of 46 Championship or Grand Final wins, 41 Challenge Cup winners’ medals – and sharing the common distinction of having made more than 200 career appearances.

A member of the panel will watch each Betfred Super League game in 2019 and award points to the three outstanding players: three points for their chosen man of the match, two for the runner-up, and one for the third-ranked player.

The scores will be made public every week from the first round of the season – which begins with the St Helens v Wigan blockbuster next Thursday night (January 31) - until Round 22 in mid-July. After that, the poll will be hidden until the awards ceremony in October.

Hanley, the only man to have won the award three times, was at the Super League launch at Old Trafford today.

He said: "The Man of Steel is the most prestigious and spectacular of all the awards. It’s a wonderful honour to have this role.”

The Man of Steel, renamed in 2014 after Steve Prescott, was originally picked by an anonymous panel but swallowed up the players' player of the year award in 2008, and has since then been selected by a poll of players at the end of each season.

Robert Elstone, the Super League Chief Executive, said: “We’re delighted to able to announce a new, refreshed voting system for the Steve Prescott MBE Man of Steel award.

“Rugby League was a pioneer in introducing the Man of Steel title more than 40 years ago, recognising the importance of celebrating the players who give so much to make the sport special.

“Who better, in that regard, to chair our new panel than Ellery Hanley MBE? A true great of the game, whose name still resonates well beyond it, and who is held in complete respect by the modern generation of players.

“Ellery will lead a panel with outstanding credentials. Its unrivalled and extensive knowledge and experience will underpin the award’s credibility and by sharing the votes after each round, we will create interest and talkability all the way through to awards night.

“We’d like to thank all of those involved in the new process and look forward to seeing the battle for the game’s ultimate individual award unfold over the course of the 2019 Betfred Super League season.”