Jukes and Higham lead Leigh hunt for awards

The nominations for the Championship and League 1 awards have been released by the RFL, and Leigh are once again in the running for the major prizes.

Veteran Centurions hooker Mickey Higham and Leigh coach Neil Jukes are on the shortlists for player of the year and coach of the year, respectively, in the Championship.

Ex-Sheffield Eagles players also feature heavily, with London Broncos coach Andrew Henderson on the list for coach of the year in the Championship, while Misi Taulapapa and Dominic Brambani make the list for Championship player of the year.

Toulouse Olympique dominate the shortlists for League 1, with coach Sylvain Houles looking top bet to claim coach of the year in that division.

The 2016 Kingstone Press Championship and League 1 awards shortlists:

Championship Player of the Year:  Mickey Higham (Leigh Centurions), Dominic Brambini (Batley Bulldogs) and Misi Taulapapa (Featherstone Rovers)

Championship Young Player of the Year: Jordan Baldwinson (Featherstone Rovers), James Cunningham (London Broncos), Josh Guzdek (Dewsbury Rams)

Championship Coach of the Year: Neil Jukes (Leigh Centurions), John Kear (Batley Bulldogs), Andrew Henderson (London Broncos)

League 1 Player of the Year: Mark Kheirallah (Toulouse Olympique XIII), Jonathan Ford (Toulouse Olympique XIII), Kuni Minga (Toulouse Olympique XIII)

League 1 Young Player of the Year: Clement Boyer (Toulouse Olympique XIII), Vincent Rennie (Newcastle Thunder), Danny Yates (Rochdale Hornets)

League 1 Coach of the Year: Sylvain Houles (Toulouse Olympique XIII), Paul Crarey (Barrow Raiders), Alan Kilshaw (Rochdale Hornets)

The winners will be announced at the 2016 Kingstone Press Championship and League 1 annual dinner in Leeds on Monday September 12.