Connor aiming for elite company in Man of Steel running

Leeds Rhinos star Jake Connor will find out on Tuesday night if he has won the Steve Prescott MBE Man of Steel having made the final three nominees through the 27 rounds of weekly voting. 

Connor has received deserved recognition for his consistency across the season – highlighted through back-to-back nominations for Glen’s Vodka Player of the Month in May and June – where he picked up June’s majority vote.

And let’s not forget the countless Sky Sports’ Player of the Match medals he has picked up along the way.

In what has been an outstanding season individually, Connor finished as the third top points scorer on 181.

He's also second in try assisting charts with 30 assists and has scored an additional seven tries and kicked 76 goals.

If Connor wins the coveted award next Tuesday, he will become the fifth Leeds player to do so, and the first since Zak Hardaker in 2015.

A standout performer in this year’s Super League, Connor also debuted in the 2025 Dream Team, alongside his teammate James McDonnell.

Connor comfortably topped the Man of Steel leaderboard board at the halfway point before the published votes went dark, but has he gone all the way?

Let's have a look back at previous Leeds winners of the top individual prize in the Betfred Super League.

DAVID WARD 1977

The inaugural winner of the Man of Steel, David Ward collected the award in 1977. The award was sponsored by Manchester and Leeds-based Trumanns Steel, hence the distingtive title. The title was for the personality judged to have made the most impact on the season. Ward had led Leeds to victory at Wembley in the Challenge Cup Final and picked up the inaugural title. 

GARRY SCHOFIELD OBE 1991

Leeds had to wait another 14 years before claiming their next Man of Steel honour.  A cheque for £4,000 and a £300 silver champagne goblet were presented to Leeds skipper Garry Schofield. Appointed vice-captain of Great Britain, he was the only player to feature in all 10 Tests during the year. Rated Man of the Match in all three Tests in New Zealand, he was automatic Man of the Series, also gaining the Man of the Match rating against France at Leeds.

Schofield scored eight tries and three drop goals in the 10 Tests. He graduated to second place in the all-time Great Britain tryscoring chart in the season and third place in the tally of Test caps, despite still being only 25. He passed the 200-try landmark during the year and figured in the top ten try chart. He was voted the Leeds Player of the Year by a record margin and was the recipient of the Ernest Ward Trophy as Great Britain Player of the Year making the Man of Steel award the crowing glory of an incredible season.

IESTYN HARRIS 1998

Harris won the three major individual awards in 1998. The Leeds full back and occasional stand off was named the JJB Super League Players' Player of the Year; Rugby League Writers' Association Player of the Year; and Man of Steel as the personality to have made the most impact on the season.

All the awards were made before he played in the Grand Final and for Great Britain in the Test series against New Zealand, but Harris had long left his mark on the season with a series of outstanding performances. He headed the Super League points chart with 255 from 13 tries and 103 goals, including three drop goals.

In his first year as Leeds' captain, Harris led them in great style to a place in the inaugural Grand Final and finished with a Cup and League total of 283 points from 13 tries and 117 goals, including three drop goals. Harris also played for Wales against Emerging England in mid season.

Harris took the game's top individual award as the unanimous choice of a panel of officials and journalists as the personality who had made the most impact on the season. He received a trophy and a cheque for £5,000.

ZAK HARDAKER 2015

Leeds Rhinos full-back Zak Hardaker beat off stiff competition to be named the 2015 Steve Prescott MBE Man of Steel. Shortlisted alongside team-mate Adam Cuthbertson and St Helens forward Alex Walmsley, the England player received the award as the stand-out performer in 2015.

Hardaker, who was crowned Super League Young Player of the Year in 2012, had been at the heart of Leeds’ attack and defence that year, playing a major role in their Ladbrokes Challenge Cup victory and helping the Rhinos secure the League Leaders trophy, in what has been one of the closest end to a season in 20 years before completing the Treble at Old Trafford.

Hardaker secured the award following a two-part selection process incorporating a ballot of every Super League player before the final decision was made by specially convened five-man Man of Steel Selection Panel.

HOW IS THE STEVE PRESCOTT MBE MAN OF STEEL DECIDED NOW

The prize has been awarded annually for the last five decades but various systems have been used to decide the winner.

It was renamed the Steve Prescott MBE Man of Steel ahead of the 2014 Super League in tribute to the former St Helens, Hull, Wakefield, England and Ireland full-back who had responded inspirationally to the diagnosis of a rare form of stomach cancer in 2006, and raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for charity before his death at the age of 39 in November 2013.

In 2019 a new format for awarding the Steve Prescott MBE Man of Steel was introduced, whereby a panel consisting of 21 respected former players voted on a match-by-match basis, awarding consistency throughout the season. 

A member of the panel watches each Betfred Super League game throughout the season and award points to the three outstanding players: 3 points for their chosen man of the match, 2 for the runner-up, and 1 for the third-ranked player. 

After the final round of the regular season, the top three players in the Man of Steel Leaderboard will be announced. Three panel members will then meet to ratify the winner. The scores are made public every week from the first round of the season until Round 15 where they will then be hidden from the public eye.

The 2025 Steve Prescott MBE Man of Steel will be crowned at the Rugby League Awards Night in Manchester on Tuesday October 7 – in the build-up to the Betfred Super League Grand Final at Old Trafford on October 11.

The Awards Night will again celebrate the inclusivity of Rugby League with the outstanding players of the Betfred Women’s and Wheelchair Super Leagues also recognised – with the Woman of Steel and Wheels of Steel awards – in a ceremony which also includes Betfred Championship and League One.