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Albert GoldthorpeTHE ALBERT GOLDTHORPE MEDAL

Wakefield's Danny Brough and the Catalans' Thomas Bosc appear to be making the Albert Goldthorpe Medal a two-horse race after 13 rounds of this season's Super League competition, with both players picking up points for their role in the Millennium Magic weekend.
Brough picked up maximum points for his performance in Wakefield's stunning 54-16 win against Castleford Tigers, while Bosc scored two points as the Dragons came from behind with a late burst to beat Harlequins 18-16.
Brough now leads the table with 20 points, with Bosc one point behind him. Hull Kingston Rovers captain Michael Vella lies six points further back in third place.
After his breathtaking display for St Helens against Wigan on Sunday, for which he picked up three points, Saints' halfback Sean Long enters the top ten standings for the first time. Long lies in joint tenth position alongside Leeds' Jamie Peacock and Hull's Adam Dykes, after Dykes picked up two points for his performance against Hull Kingston Rovers.

About the Award

This is a new award that has been created by 'Rugby Leaguer & League Express' to honour the leading players in Super League, and to link Rugby League's modern heroes with the name of a man who was English Rugby League's first superstar 100 years ago.

It is intended to parallel the 'Dally M Medal', which is awarded to the NRL player of the year by Rugby League writers associated with the News Limited series of newspapers in Australia.
That award is named after the great Australian player Dally Messenger, who was a superstar of both codes, and guaranteed the success of Rugby League in Australia when he signed to play the new code in 1907.
Albert Goldthorpe's career also embraced the early part of the 20th century. He was born on 3 November 1871, one of five brothers, four of whom at one period played together in the same Hunslet team. He made his first team debut, at full back, as a 16-year-old in October 1888, and he was probably the finest individual talent in the game at the time of the Northern Union formation in 1895.
He had become one of the best known figures in English rugby both before and after the split.
He was still playing for Hunslet 20 years after his debut, when he led the club to unprecedented success, winning all four cups (the Challenge Cup, the Championship, the Yorkshire Cup and the Yorkshire League). Hunslet were the first team to achieve that feat.
When he finally retired in 1910 he had scored more goals and points than any player in the game's history at that time. After his playing career ended he served on the Hunslet committee until, in 1924, he was appointed as Hunslet's second fulltime secretary-manager, a post he held for seven years.
In 2006 a number of correspondents wrote to the local newspaper suggesting that the South Leeds Stadium should be re-named in his honour.
League Express reporters will cast votes for the Albert Goldthorpe Medal after every Super League game in the regular season. The three players who, in the opinion of our reporter, have been the three 'best and fairest' players in the game will receive three points, two points and one point respectively. To be eligible for a vote, however, a player must not have been suspended from the competition at any stage during the season.
An ongoing table of votes for the Albert Goldthorpe Medal will be published in League Express every week until round 21 of the Super League competition. From round 22 onwards the votes will not be published, and the reporters will not be informed about the total votes cast for each player. That is intended to ensure that reporters will not be influenced by the current state of voting in the final weeks of the season.
A ceremony will be held to honour the winner of the Albert Goldthorpe Medal in the week immediately following round 27 of the Super League season.

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Albert Goldthorpe's descendants are delighted that their ancestor will be honoured by League Express.
"I'm sure that the Goldthorpe family will be delighted that the tremendous achievements of Albert, and indeed the other players of that era, are to be formally recognised with an annual award," said Goldthorpe's greatgrandson Stephen McGrail.
"I'm sure that Albert would be proud and honoured to think that his achievements are to be remembered within the modern day Super League community.
"I have long felt that both Dally Messenger and Lance Todd are better known within the Rugby League community than Albert. It would be great to be able to raise the profile of Albert and the Hunslet community as a whole. If a publication such as yours would be able to instigate an award I'm sure that this would be achieved."

League Express

 
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