Momentum is growing for inspirational Huddersfield Giants captain Danny Brough to be crowned Super League’s Man of Steel.
Huddersfield edged closer to claiming the League Leaders Shield with Friday’s highly-significant 30-12 triumph at title rivals Wigan, with Brough again pulling the strings.
It was yet another top display from the 30-year-old goalkicking half-back, who has been a model of consistency throughout the year.
Brough’s achievements have already taken him to the verge of winning the highly-prestigious Rugby League Express Albert Goldthorpe Medal, which is presented to the player judged to have made the biggest individual impact during a Super League season.
He is expected to continue to be a major force as the Giants look to beat London Broncos at The Stoop this weekend, Wakefield Trinity Wildcats and Bradford Bulls and finish top of the table for the first time in 81 years.
And if that’s the case, Brough has to be the Man of Steel favourite, with players from every club in Super League about to vote on who they believe should pick up the coveted award – with Leeds Rhinos star Danny McGuire already championing his half-back rival’s cause.
“You don’t have to be a rugby league expert to appreciate how well Danny Brough has gone for Huddersfield this year,” said McGuire.
“They are top of the table and he has been instrumental in getting them there. From what I’ve seen on Sky and on highlights, Broughy hasn’t had many off days.
“Huddersfield have beaten us three times and I think he was man-of-the-match each time.
“His kicking game is probably the best in the competition, but he has added a lot more than that to his game. He’s a good runner and his passing game is very strong.
“Along with Jamie Peacock, I would say he has probably been the best player in Super League this year, so he gets my vote.”
Those sentiments have been echoed by former Giants captain and now top RL columnist Garry Schofield, who has always been a Brough fan.
“I’m sure he’ll be the Man of Steel,” said the Great Britain legend. “He’s a half-back who has the ability to stand out in one of the unfancied sides, as he proved at Wakefield and when he first went to the Giants.
“He seems to have something in his game that no-one else in Super League has – that indefinable x-factor that separates the great players from the good.”
To add further fuel to Brough’s claims, he is closing in on two long-standing club records.
So far this season, the Scotland World Cup captain has kicked 130 goals and scored 286 points.
He is, therefore, getting closer to Ben Gronow’s 147 goals set in 1919–20 and Pat Devery’s 332 points scored during the 1952–53 season.
If Brough were to pick up the award, he would become the second Giants player to become Man of Steel, following in the footsteps of 2009 winner Brett Hodgson.
That was also the season Nathan Brown was named Super League Coach of the Year, an award which is surely in the grasp of current Giants chief Paul Anderson.
