Houghton named favourite for Man Of Steel

Danny Houghton has been named as the favourite to pick up the Steve Prescott MBE Man Of Steel.

Betway have priced Houghton as 11/8 to pick up the prestigious gong, slightly ahead of teammate Gareth Ellis.

Houghton’s heroics in the Challenge Cup final, making a try-saving tackle on Ben Currie with under two minutes remaining, have seen his odds slashed, with many of social media left outraged by the fact he didn’t pick up the Lance Todd Trophy.

Marc Sneyd, who was named as the Challenge Cup Man of the Match, is down as 7/1 to win the Man Of Steel alongside teammate Jamie Shaul and Warrington’s Chris Sandow.

Kurt Gidley is priced at 10/1 while you can get 14/1 odds on Scott Taylor winning the award. Albert Goldthorpe Medal leader Luke Gale is at 100/1.

Staggeringly, neither Daryl Clark or Super League top scorer Denny Solomona have been included in the odds, despite their performances this season. John Bateman has also been left out.

Betway’s Alan Alger said: “After Saturday’s epic Challenge Cup final almost every single bet slip for this year’s Man of Steel award has had Danny Houghton’s name on it. The Hull man’s 78th minute match-winning tackle was one of over 50 hits he made during an energy-sapping match and the betting suggests he’s now right up there to be named rugby league’s hard man of 2016.

“Although he had to settle for a runners-up medal on Saturday at Wembley, Warrington’s Kurt Gidley was a standout performer in defeat. The Aussie fullback tackled like a back-rower for 60 minutes before limping off the pitch with a double head injury. That fearless performance won’t be forgotten and he’s still in with a shout at 10/1 to soften the blow of losing a cup final by receiving the Man of Steel accolade.”

The full odds are below: