Leeds Rhinos ace leads Man of Steel race: early top-5 revealed as Hull KR and St Helens stars also feature
A Leeds Rhinos player leads the race to be named this year’s Steve Prescott MBE Man of Steel.
Rhinos full-back Lachie Miller is in pole position following the first meeting of the panel of rugby league legends who will decide this year’s winner. Teammate Brodie Croft is also high on the leaderboard, in fourth place.
Panellists Ellery Hanley MBE, Paul Sculthorpe MBE, Sam Tomkins, James Roby and Joe Lydon, who have all won the prestigious award, debated the form of players across the opening nine rounds of Betfred Super League. Hull KR and England hooker Jez Litten was voted second with club-mate Tyrone May coming in third and St Helens hooker Daryl Clark completing the top-five.
Super League’s leading try scorer and two-time player of the month Maika Sivo was on an initial 10-man shortlist, but didn’t make the five. Miller made more tackle breaks (70) and carries (206) than any other Super League player during the opening nine rounds.
His tackle evasion rate of 74 per cent was also the highest in the competition and he weighed in with nine try assists for the league leaders. Hanley, the only player to win Man of Steel three times, said: “One of Lachie Miller’s great attractions is the public comes to see him. He announces himself in every game. If you went to any opposition club Leeds were playing against, I bet Lachie Miller would be on the top of their list of players they need to get on top of.
“He’s one of the hardest players to tackle in Super League and has been sensational throughout the season so far. His field position is absolutely brilliant at full-back and his pass accuracy has been magnificent for some of the tries he has created both on the left and right. Lachie Miller is number one at the moment, but a lot can change through the rest of the year.”
Miller was fourth in last year’s Man of Steel rankings behind teammate and winner Jake Connor, who is a surprise omission from the current shortlist. The 2025 Man of Steel was decided under a different system where the top-three players in each game received points which decided who received the award at the end of the campaign.
Croft was named Man of Steel in 2022 when he played for Salford Red Devils. The panel will meet again after round 18 and round 27 before having a final deliberation to decide their three-man shortlist and eventual winner which will be announced at the rugby league awards night in Manchester on Tuesday, September 29.