Hull FC skipper Gareth Ellis and his vice-captain Danny Houghton will share the Rugby League Writers And Broadcasters’ Association Player of the Year award.
Ellis and Houghton, who are both on a three-man shortlist for the Super League Man of Steel award, could not be separated in a poll of votes from writers and broadcasters so will jointly be presented with the Raymond Fletcher trophy at the association’s annual dinner in Liverpool on November 15.
Both players have led from the front as Hull won at Wembley for the first time in the club’s history and are currently 80 minutes from the Super League Grand Final after narrowly missing out on the League Leaders’ Shield.
It is the first time the award has been shared since it was first awarded, to St Helens’ Apollo Perelini, in 1996.
Third in the voting was Castleford Tigers winger Denny Solomona, the third nominee for Man of Steel who broke both the Super League and his club record with his 42 tries this season.
All three were included in the 2016 Dream Team, along with Warrington captain Chris Hill and Hull trio Jamie Shaul, Mark Minichiello and Marc Sneyd who also received votes in the writers’ poll.
