Man of Steel shortlist announced

Castleford Tigers stand-off Rangi Chase, St Helens hooker James Roby and Sam Tomkins, the Wigan Warriors full-back, have today been shortlisted for the prestigious 2011 Engage Super League Man of Steel award.

The Man of Steel is the player who is deemed by his peers to have made the biggest impact on the season and has been the sport’s most coveted individual award since its inception in 1977.

Chase, a former Junior Kiwi, was an outstanding figure for Castleford and played an important role in The Exiles’ victory over England in June.

Roby, England’s first choice hooker, has once again led from the front in a St Helens team which defied massive injury problems to roar into the Super League play-offs.

Tomkins has delivered much of his early promise for Wigan to put himself in contention to add the Man of Steel title to the Super League Young Player of the Year award he won in 2009 and 2010.

The 2011 Engage Super League Man of Steel will be crowned at a gala dinner in Manchester on Monday October 3 when a number of other prestigious awards, including Coach of the Year and Young Player of the Year, will be presented.

The winner of the Man of Steel award is decided by a secret ballot of every player in Engage Super League, who each cast three votes on a 5pts, 3pts and 1pt basis.