In the driving rain, chemical air, freezing cold and on a plastic pitch?

He played very well behind a amazing pack.

In snow, with their legs tied together in a car park

Don't get all the negativity about this. Sinfield is not just a Leeds legend, but a legend of the Super League era. Not one other player has achieved what he has, and he's the driving force behind Leeds' success. Not quite a one man team, but I'd venture to suggest they'd be considerably poorer if Sinfield was injured for any length of time. Is there a player in world rugby who makes a greater contribution to their team's cause? I don't think so.

All this bitterness. I'm perplexed by the sheer number of people who seemingly can't comprehend what it is that Sinfield does and why he's so highly rated by other players and coaches who really understand the game. For years now Sinfield has been far and away the best leader in English rugby - both as a captain and in terms of leading the team around, he's the best kicker in English rugby - both in general play and conversions, his reading of the game is bettered by very few, and he's one of the few players in this country who can really control a game. Plenty claim he's average, but by every single definition of the word he is not. He's exceptional as are his achievements.

Why is there such a struggle to understand that leading a team round the park for 80 minutes of every game - as Sinfield does - is actually far more important than being a sublime broken field runner like Barba or Tomkins. Why is having a bit of everything as well as exceptional leadership and kicking not seen as being as good as being fast and elusive? This isn't about being the most entertaining player, it's about being the best player and to argue that Sinfield is unworthy of that accolade but Barba is? That's farcical. Would I pay the entrance fee just to watch Sinfield as I would for Slater, Barba or Tomkins? Probably not, but he'd be the first name down on my team sheet every single time because game after game and year after year he has been the difference. His highlights reel might not be as fancy, but few trophy cabinets can compare and he does it all with grace, grit and good sportsmanship.

If he was at Wigan or Warrington they'd be champions, he's also the reason they are not.

None of this is to say that others wouldn't be deserving of the award, but to suggest that Sinfield is undeserving? To me that shows bitterness and a complete ignorance of what he does.

well said sir

Martin Sadler has apparantly spoken to Darren Lockyer on the subject of MrSinfield, and Lockyer thinks he is well worthy if the award and rates him as high as any in the NRL.

I'll take Lockyers opinion over people on here.

Well done Kevin, shame RL fans seem to see the negatives in anything. It may also cause some Aussies to spit the dummy out which is always a good thing

You are way off the mark there. I would have Sinfield in my team like a shot if I could. The reasons I put as to why I don't believe he is worthy of the award has nothing to do with his ability over Cam Smith or Barba. The reason I don't believe he is worthy is because he hasn't done any of what you have said in a high intensity meaningful competition like the NRL, SOO, WCC(Where the Aussies take it seriously) and at test level against Australia. He has however done it in SL where Leeds have actually played around 6 matches that you could classify as intense. That is just not enough to be classed as the worlds best.

IMO for an SL based player to deserve the award, then SL needs to up its intensity and England need to start regularly beating the Aussies in international competitions. Until that day, SL will be compared to NRL in the same way we compare Championship rugby to SL.

The best point made so far and the most important. No doubt the point will be glossed over. Saying Sinfield is the best in the world is like saying the Rhinos are the best Club team after winning the WCC!

Anyone know who actually votes for these awards?

Agreed. At least when Hanley and Schofield won the award they had at least demonstrated their ability at club level in Oz.

Before anything else is said, congratulations to Sinfield on winning the Golden Boot, personally I would rather see an England player win it than an Aussie any day of the week...

That said, to give him the award on the past year I think is a bit unfair. Yes he is a good leader, no question about that, but to name him the best player in the world is OTT for me. Compared to Cameron Smith, who also leads his team around the park and can kick goals from anywhere, Smith's abilities at the top level for Melbourne, Queensland and the Aussie test games vs NZ this year have been great. 50+ tackles in international and origin games as captain and then leading the team is a outstanding effort, and Smith was also able to lead his team to finish in the top 2, not 5th. Everybody will have their own opinions and is entitled to them, but as somebody who watches SL and NRL weekly Cameron Smith has by far been consistently the best player of 2012.

I also think, whilst Sinfield takes a lot of plaudits for being captain at Leeds, their turn around from the CC final loss to play off win was impacted more by the return of Danny McGuire to the team than anything else. Again, I agree Sinfield led well but McGuire has been fantastic for Leeds over the past few years and him returning from injury and his end of season performances were more key to Leeds than just having Sinfield as captain.

Once again, got nothing against the bloke and pleased that an Englishman has won the trophy. For years, we have been on the wrong end of unjust decisions in favour of the Aussies so nice to get one over on them for a change!

define better?