hammertime
Well-known member
Great to see players and ex-players of WT dominating the players in contention for Player of the Year!
Benji, Ellis, Benny Galea & Richards all seem to be in the mix… man I wish we could get those latter 2 back to Leichhardt!
http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/australian-hold-loosens-on-player-of-year-award-20101016-16o8h.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Australian hold loosens on player of year award
Daniel Lane
October 17, 2010
THIS year's Rugby League International Federation's player of the year award could break Australia's stranglehold on it with Super League players, New Zealand's Benji Marshall and England's Gareth Ellis all in strong contention.
The award, won by Australians Billy Slater in 2008 and Jarryd Hayne last year, is voted on by a panel of 20 judges, 10 of whom are from Australasia and the others from the northern hemisphere.
They take club, finals and representative games into consideration, and co-ordinator Geoff Armstrong said the third instalment of the award that began during the '08 centenary celebrations had proved the toughest.
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''It's a real challenge for the judges to compare the individual player's football abilities and their impacts on either the NRL or Super League,'' Armstrong said. ''They have to name the overall best player, best player in each position and the best rookie.''
Armstrong said the voting process highlighted that unlike the previous two seasons there hadn't been a standout player in the past year.
''Todd Carney was the Dally M player of the year, Darius Boyd was the Players' Association winner but neither were rep players. Boyd played Origin but he certainly didn't dominate,'' he said. ''The Man of Steel candidates were Richards, Sam Tomkins and Adrian Morley, and they're three vastly different players. When you dig a bit deeper it gets even more interesting because last year Greg Inglis, [Billy] Slater and Johnathan Thurston were Australia's best players in the Four Nations but this year, by Thurston and Inglis's standards, wasn't their best.''
The award will be presented before the Four Nations final and, while he refused to give any idea of the voting trends, Armstrong suggested NRL fans might be surprised to learn English Super League players were in strong contention to be named the best player in particular positions.
''Australians like Pat Richards, Ben Galea and Clint Newton are all in contention,'' he said. ''Danny Buderus was nominated, as was Craig Fitzgibbon, for lock of the year.
''Richards was Super League's Man of Steel [award] winner this year. Then there's Sam Tomkins from Wigan, who has played fullback and five-eighth for them this year … It's hard to get a handle on the differences between the UK game and ours, but based on what he did for the Super League this year, along with the tries he scored in the Test against France, makes him electrifying.''
Benji, Ellis, Benny Galea & Richards all seem to be in the mix… man I wish we could get those latter 2 back to Leichhardt!
http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/australian-hold-loosens-on-player-of-year-award-20101016-16o8h.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Australian hold loosens on player of year award
Daniel Lane
October 17, 2010
THIS year's Rugby League International Federation's player of the year award could break Australia's stranglehold on it with Super League players, New Zealand's Benji Marshall and England's Gareth Ellis all in strong contention.
The award, won by Australians Billy Slater in 2008 and Jarryd Hayne last year, is voted on by a panel of 20 judges, 10 of whom are from Australasia and the others from the northern hemisphere.
They take club, finals and representative games into consideration, and co-ordinator Geoff Armstrong said the third instalment of the award that began during the '08 centenary celebrations had proved the toughest.
Advertisement: Story continues below
''It's a real challenge for the judges to compare the individual player's football abilities and their impacts on either the NRL or Super League,'' Armstrong said. ''They have to name the overall best player, best player in each position and the best rookie.''
Armstrong said the voting process highlighted that unlike the previous two seasons there hadn't been a standout player in the past year.
''Todd Carney was the Dally M player of the year, Darius Boyd was the Players' Association winner but neither were rep players. Boyd played Origin but he certainly didn't dominate,'' he said. ''The Man of Steel candidates were Richards, Sam Tomkins and Adrian Morley, and they're three vastly different players. When you dig a bit deeper it gets even more interesting because last year Greg Inglis, [Billy] Slater and Johnathan Thurston were Australia's best players in the Four Nations but this year, by Thurston and Inglis's standards, wasn't their best.''
The award will be presented before the Four Nations final and, while he refused to give any idea of the voting trends, Armstrong suggested NRL fans might be surprised to learn English Super League players were in strong contention to be named the best player in particular positions.
''Australians like Pat Richards, Ben Galea and Clint Newton are all in contention,'' he said. ''Danny Buderus was nominated, as was Craig Fitzgibbon, for lock of the year.
''Richards was Super League's Man of Steel [award] winner this year. Then there's Sam Tomkins from Wigan, who has played fullback and five-eighth for them this year … It's hard to get a handle on the differences between the UK game and ours, but based on what he did for the Super League this year, along with the tries he scored in the Test against France, makes him electrifying.''
