The award was created by League Express in 2008 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.

Albert Goldthorpe Medal Winners

Current Medal Table

Click here to see the current complete Medal points table (PDF format).