The five-man panel who will decide Super League’s next Man of Steel

The five-man panel who will decide who wins this year’s Man of Steel has been decided, Love Rugby League can reveal.

Last week it was announced that a new system would be introduced to determine the recipient of the award, which was won last year by Leeds Rhinos halfback Jake Connor.

In more recent years, the winner has been decided on a points scoring system, with points allocated from every game on a 3-2-1 basis to the best players on the pitch.

However, that will change this season, with five previous Man of Steel winners to decide who has been the competition’s best player.

Those five people will be Ellery Hanley, Joe Lydon, James Roby, Paul Sculthorpe and Sam Tomkins, a quintet of the highest calibre after their respective careers in the game.

Hanley is one of the most iconic figures in the sport’s history, winning the Man of Steel three times as well as the Golden Boot, which he won in 1988.

Lydon, who was Man of Steel in 1984, was part of the Wigan Warriors side that dominated the game in the 80s. He is one of only four players to received the Harry Sunderland, Lance Todd and Man of Steel award.

Roby is St Helens’ all-time appearances maker and widely-regarded as one of Super League’s all-time greats. He was named Man of Steel in 2007 and won six Grand Finals.

Another St Helens great is Sculthorpe, who is the only played in history to win back-to-back Man of Steel awards, having done so in 2001 and 2002.

Finally, Tomkins is also a two-time winner, first winning it in 2012 and then again in 2021. He won three Grand Finals during his time with Wigan Warriors.

The panel will meet three times during the year to discuss the performances of players during that period of time.