Jake Connor is the 2025 Steve Prescott MBE Man of Steel.
The Leeds Rhinos stand-off and goalkicker, who turns 31 later this month, has been recognised for his contribution to a huge improvement in performances at AMT Headingley in 2025, as Brad Arthur’s team have climbed from eighth in the table in 2024 to a fourth-placed finish – the club’s best since 2017.
Connor was a surprise signing from Huddersfield Giants last winter, having made almost 100 appearances for the club in two stints, in addition to almost 150 in six seasons with Hull FC.
He is the first Leeds Rhinos player to be crowned Man of Steel since Zak Hardaker in 2015, and only the fourth in the 48 years since David Ward was the inaugural winner in 1977.
The Steve Prescott MBE Man of Steel is determined by a panel of former players who award points after every match in the regular season.
It was the last of 15 awards presented at the Rugby League Awards Night in Manchester’s Deansgate Hilton, ahead of the last fixture of the 2025 domestic season – Saturday’s Betfred Super League Grand Final at Old Trafford.
Harry Robertson, who has established himself in the St Helens backline this season and earned a place in Shaun Wane’s England squad before turning 20 last month, has been named the Betfred Super League Young Player of the Year – a decision made by the RFL’s Performance and Talent Department.
Willie Peters of Hull KR is the Betfred Super League Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season after guiding the Robins to their first League Leaders’ Shield, and to their second consecutive Old Trafford appearance in Saturday’s Grand Final against Wigan Warriors – in addition to Wembley victory in June for the club’s first Challenge Cup triumph since 1980.
The Coach of the Year is determined by a poll of the 12 Betfred Super League head coaches.
Eva Hunter of Wigan Warriors is the seventh winner of the Woman of Steel award – and the first from Wigan.
Hunter, a 20-year-old second-row, has had a stunning season as the Warriors have completed a treble of the major domestic honours, scoring a try in their 42-6 win against St Helens in their first Betfred Women’s Challenge Cup Final appearance at Wembley, and excelling again in a much tighter 16-12 victory over Saints in the Betfred Women’s Super League Grand Final on Sunday.
The Warriors also won the League Leaders’ Shield, and Hunter made Wigan club history by scoring in 13 consecutive matches – breaking the previous record of 11 held jointly by Steve Ella, Martin Offiah MBE and Sam Tomkins.
Wigan completed a clean sweep of honours for the Betfred Women’s Super League, with Denis Betts named Coach of the Year, and Hunter’s team-mate Isabel Rowe winning the Young Player of the Year award.
Joe Coyd of London Roosters is the third winner of the Wheels of Steel awarded to the player of the year in the Betfred Wheelchair Super League – and in a notable night for the Roosters and the Coyd family, his elder brother Tom received the Coach of the Year award.
The Roosters enjoyed their best ever season, reaching the finals of the Betfred Wheelchair Challenge Cup and the Super League for the first time.
Finlay O’Neill, whose Halifax Panthers team beat them in both finals to complete their own treble, was named Young Player of the Year. O’Neill, a 20-year-old who played the running game for the Halifax community club King Cross and took up Wheelchair Rugby League after suffering an injury, has made rapid progress to earn a place in the England squad who leave for a four-match tour of Australia later this month.
York Knights dominated the Betfred Championship awards in recognition of their success in winning the League Leaders’ Shield and the AB Sundecks 1895 Cup.
Paul McShane, the 35-year-old hooker who was the Steve Prescott MBE Man of Steel as a Castleford Tigers player in 2020, won the Betfred Championship Player of the Year award.
Mark Applegarth was the Betfred Championship Coach of the Year, but the Knights were denied a clean sweep by Jack Smith, a 20-year-old goalkicking threequarter who was named Betfred Championship Young Player of the Year after impressing for London Broncos following a loan move from Leeds Rhinos.
The Betfred League One Player of the Year was shared between Lewis Else of Rochdale Hornets and Zarrin Galea of Workington Town. Else has maintained impressive consistency having won the award in 2024, while Galea has excelled in his second season in Cumbria.
Louie Roberts of Swinton Lions won the Betfred League One Young Player of the Year award, and Carl Forster has been recognised as the League’s Coach of the Year after steering North Wales Crusaders to the title in his first season after retiring as a player.
All six awards in Betfred Championship and League One are decided by a poll of the head coaches in each competition.
The Awards Night, hosted by Brian Carney and Jenna Brooks from Rugby League’s broadcast partners Sky Sports, also paid tribute to a number of players who have announced their retirement after making more than 200 Super League appearances – Leroy Cudjoe, Chris Hill, Oliver Holmes, Craig Kopczak, Michael Lawrence, Michael McIlorum, Stefan Ratchford, Sam Tomkins, Jordan Turner and Kris Welham – in addition to two of the coaching mainstays of the Super League era, John Kear and Brian Noble.
There was also formal recognition for the Hull FC wing Lewis Martin and Dani McGifford of St Helens, the leading try-scorers in the Betfred Super League and Women’s Super League respectively, and Jarrod O’Connor of Leeds Rhinos, who was the top tackler in the Betfred Super League with 1047 from 26 regular-season appearances.
Award Winners
Betfred Super League
Steve Prescott MBE Man of Steel – Jake Connor (Leeds Rhinos)
Young Player of the Year – Harry Robertson (St Helens)
Coach of the Year - Willie Peters (Hull KR)
Betfred Wheelchair Super League
Wheels of Steel – Joe Coyd (London Roosters)
Young Player of the Year – Finlay O’Neill (Halifax Panthers)
Coach of the Year – Tom Coyd MBE (London Roosters)
Betfred Women’s Super League
Woman of Steel – Eva Hunter (Wigan Warriors)
Young Player of the Year – Isabel Rowe (Wigan Warriors)
Coach of the Year – Denis Betts (Wigan Warriors)
Betfred Championship
Player of the Year – Paul McShane (York Knights)
Young Player of the Year – Jack Smith (London Broncos)
Coach of the Year – Mark Applegarth (York Knights)
Betfred League One
Player of the Year – Lewis Else (Rochdale Hornets) and Zarrin Galea (Workington Town)
Young Player of the Year – Louie Roberts (Swinton Lions)
Coach of the Year – Carl Forster (North Wales Crusaders)
