JACK WELSBY has been voted Super League’s Player of the Year by League Express readers for the second consecutive season.
The St Helens fullback retained the award he first won in 2022, claiming 32 percent of the vote in the annual League Express Readers’ Poll to finish ahead of Wigan’s Man of Steel winner Bevan French.
Lachlan Lam, whose father Adrian won the Coach of the Year award with 37.6 percent of the vote after the pair helped Leigh win the Challenge Cup, finished third.
French had the consolation of winning the Overseas Player of the Year, with 38.1 percent, although he surprisingly missed out on a place in the Super League Team of the Year, with Hull KR’s Mikey Lewis earning the stand-off berth.
In his final season, St Helens’ James Roby claimed both the Mature Player of the Year and Club Captain of the Year awards, in each case ahead of Wigan’s Super League winner Liam Farrell.
George Delaney of Saints won the Young Player of the Year, with 30.1 percent, and came second in the Newcomer of the Year category behind Leigh’s Edwin Ipape.
In the newly-introduced Moment of the Year category, Leigh’s Wembley triumph came top with 35.8 percent of votes, ahead of St Helens winning the World Club Challenge.
London Broncos duo Dean Parata and Mike Eccles won Championship Player and Coach of the Year respectively, while Dewsbury’s Reiss Butterworth and North Wales’ Carl Forster took those prizes in League One.
St Helens’ Emily Rudge edged out York’s Woman of Steel Sinead Peach for Women’s Player of the Year, although Valkyrie’s WSL-winning Lindsay Anfield earned Coach of the Year.
And in another new category, Wheelchair Player of the Year, Nathan Collins beat Leeds teammate Josh Butler.
*See the full list of award winners and voting breakdown in this week’s League Express.
