I agree on your second point, or like someone on the VT suggested; an award for Best Forward and Best Back.

On the first point, I wasn't around in 1977 but early winners included Doug Laughton, George Fairbairn and Joe Lydon so that doesn't really compound the theory that it should be awarded for "unseen work and graft" surely?

Wigan's achievement of finishing top has to be put in context of their squad strength. On paper they do not have the strength of us, Saints or Leeds. They have one world class player in Tomkins, another real top player Finch who was great for the first half of the season but has tailed off recently, and the rest of their squad is good but not great. Good enough to be finishing 3rd to 5th but not to finish top.

Look at their pack compared to ours, they are not on the same page.

And yet despite losing home and away to us they have finished top which means they have been remarkably consistent through the season, thanks to

1) Sam Tomkins setting them apart from other sides - Wigan rarely drop points to smaller clubs, because they have a player that annihilates weakness. When Ronaldo was at United he had the same effect, United were relentless and smaller clubs struggled to get an upset against them. For all Warrington's strength we don't have a player like that.

2) Shaun Wane despite criticism, has done a superb job in his rookie season as coach, to get the team to overachieve without having the firepower (Tomkins apart) that his rivals do.

So the Man of Steel and Club of the Year awards are well deserved.

Surely Hock and Leuluai are better than good as well?

They are, yes.

.

As has been said. Hock and Tommy are more than good and Charnley has been excellent this season too. Lima was arguably the form prop in the comp until he announced he was leaving. Apart from those, I'd pretty much agree. We've worked to our strengths and for the most part it's worked. I do think that if more emphasis was put on the LLS then Warrington or Leeds would have won it.

Come on guys, I can understand fans from other forums taking the bait but not regulars!

Tomkins. Ball in hand.
Absolute class. Frightens the life out of me, every time he attacks the line, and I'm only watching him on the telly. Defenders must pooh bricks.

Tomkins. Without ball in hand.
At best, average. When he's "not on his game", he stinks the house out.

So, 50% of his game is not good at all (imo), yet he gets Man of Steel. There's more to our game than attacking.

ATEOTD, he's won it, so be it. He's been nominated before, it was only a matter of time before he got it.
I'd bet a hearty sum of money, he'd rather be playing on Saturday night, though, than having a little silver salver on his mum's mantlepiece.

Roby, well everybody spat their dummies out when he won it a few years back, when he was only playing 50% of the match time, whilst being a teammate of Cunningham. It's almost like MonaghanM wasn't nominated last year, whilst interchanging with Higham., eh?

TBH, Westwood would struggle to win it.
We all know his true value to our team. Workaholic, tackling machine, but he's not a glamour second rower, in the mould of a Denis Betts, for example, who'd get you 10-20 tries a season.

Hypothetical question.
Go into a Sport's Bar in London on any Saturday, and ask a Cockney who's won a (RL) trophy this year. Chances are, you might get a few who say "I saw Warrington win the Challenge Cup, before Final Score came on". Ask him who won Man Of Steel, and he'll look at you as if you've just come from the moon, or say "Man of Steel, is it summat to do with bodybuilding? Either way, it sounds a bit gay, dunnit?"

Tomkins has won. Well done, Tomkins.
I can't wait for Saturday. Unless Sky have him as a guest summarisor, he wont be there. WE WILL.

Voted by peers who know more about pro-RL than anyone on here. That'll do for me (even if he comes across as odious).

From reading Ben Galea twitter he didn't get to vote and knows other players who didn't.

The voting details were sent to the chairmen/CEO of each club by email from the RFL. Only HKR players didn't vote which says something about their management.

Players don't HAVE to vote, but I understand the majority do.