HUDDERSFIELD Giants have completed a clean sweep of the major engage Super League awards!
Inspirational captain and goalkicking full-back Brett Hodgson was last night named the Man of Steel, while Nathan Brown was crowned engage Super League Coach of the Year and the Giants chosen as the engage Super League Club of the Year.
All three are massive honours in the game, although the coveted Man of Steel collected by 31-year-old Australian Hodgson is the award that receives the highest attention.
The Man of Steel is the player deemed to have made the biggest impact on the Super League season by his peers, who vote for the award in a secret ballot.
Hodgson polled more votes than the two other players on the shortlist, Warrington Wolves captain Adrian Morley and St Helens prop James Graham, to become only the fourth Australian to be crowned Man of Steel since the award was instigated in 1977.
With Hodgson setting a mighty lead as club captain, Huddersfield Giants enjoyed their most successful season of the Super League era, finishing a best-ever third and reaching the Carnegie Challenge Cup Final at Wembley for the first time since 1962.
His success also comes on the back of being named the Rugby League Writers Association Player of the Year and taking the full-back spot in this season’s Super League Dream Team, alongside teammate and hooker Scott Moore.
Like Hodgson, Brown’s award came in his first season in Super League since he flew in from Australia to join Huddersfield at the end of last year.
In winning the Club of the Year award, Huddersfield were praised for making “a significant investment in coaching and talent development in the last 12 months.
“That investment has been reflected in an increasing number of club-trained players being given an opportunity to shine in engage Super League.”
