Quote: OzWelsh "in the 4 years the RLIF award has been going they've had 3 alternative winners to the Golden Boot.
2009 - Jarryd Hayne
2010 - Todd Carney
2011 - Billy Slater'"
The main reason for this in those three years is that the RLIF award recognises performances from October to October. So when Jarryd Hayne won it, his performances in the 2009 4N Final didn't come into it. It was for what he did in the 2008 World Cup and the 2009 NRL & State of Origin.
The Golden Boot is January to December.