Three of Australia’s Four Nations winning squad have been named on the shortlist for the Golden Boot.
Darius Boyd, Cooper Cronk and Cameron Smith have all been nominated for the prestigious award after superb seasons domestically and on the international stage. They are joined by New Zealand international Jason Taumalolo, who was the joint recipient of the Dally M along with Melbourne’s Cronk.
The winner shall be decided by a panel of journalists and former winners of the award. Among the panel is the first recipient of the award, 1984 winner Wally Lewis, former Wigan star Brett Kenny and Garry Schofield.
The winner of the Golden Boot will be exclusively revealed in the January edition of Rugby League World magazine.
Of the players on the shortlist only Cameron Smith has won the award previously in 2007. The last winner was Johnathan Thurston, who became the first person ever to win the award three times.
The prestigious award, which determines the world’s best player, was introduced in 1984. The competition took a hiatus between 1991 and 1998 before being reintroduced in 1999, with Andrew Johns winning it that year before becoming the first player to win it twice in 2001.
For more information about the shortlist, buy the digital edition of League Express, available right now at this link.
PREVIOUS WINNERS
1984: Wally Lewis
Wally Lewis was the inaugural winner of the Golden Boot.
1985: Brett Kenny
1986: Garry Jack
1987: Hugh McGahan & Peter Sterling
1988: Ellery Hanley
1989: Mal Meninga
1990: Garry Schofield
1999: Andrew Johns
2000: Brad Fittler
Andrew Johns won the Golden Boot twice, in 1999 and 2001.
2001: Andrew Johns
2002: Stacey Jones
2003: Darren Lockyer
2004: Andrew Farrell
2005: Anthony Minichiello
2006: Darren Lockyer
2007: Cameron Smith
2008: Billy Slater
2009: Greg Inglis
2010: Benji Marshall
2011: Johnathan Thurston
2012: Kevin Sinfield
2013: Johnathan Thurston
2014: Shaun Johnson
